Taking school to the forest
Forest School was developed as part of Scandinavian Early Years education in the 1950s and was introduced in the UK in the mid-1990s. Since then, many British schools have added time for Forest School into the curriculum, especially for younger children.
Forest School offers children the opportunity to play in a ‘wild’ natural woodland environment, with experienced staff who are skilled at offering children a sense of freedom and independence, whilst supporting their learning and development. This allows children the time and space to explore and learn at their own pace, encouraging them to make their own choices and to become independent thinkers.
Research shows that the benefits of Forest School include:
- Increased independence, confidence and self esteem
- Development of social skills in a more challenging environment
- Development of language and communication skills
- Improvement of physical motor skills
- Positive attitudes to learning – high levels of concentration and motivation
One of the many advantages of the British boarding schools we recommend is that they often have suitable space within their campuses to offer all their pupils the Forest School experience. Some particularly good examples of boarding schools in England with such facilities would be Abbotsholme School, which was established by a pioneer of outdoor education and has its own farm; Bredon School, another with its own farm, as well as a dedicated forest school area set deep in its extensive grounds; All Hallows Preparatory School, which even has pizza ovens and outdoor food preparation areas in its Forest School, and Caterham School, which has great plans for the woodland it recently purchased, including extending outdoor education well into Senior School.
Please do contact us to find out more.
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