Forest School Principle 1

The Forest School Association (FSA) defines long-term Forest School provision as being a minimum of 2 hours per session over 24 consecutive weeks, or 2 full school terms. This is so that participants can witness the change between 2 seasons. At Wildwood Nature School, we offer at least 2 hours of Forest School, 5 days a week, over the 3 terms of a school year, for 7 consecutive years.

As Middleton and Swift (2021) explain, giving children the opportunity to witness these changes as they come week after week to the same site while also recognising the constancy that exists (e.g. the tree structures, the topography of the land), “help[s] children manage inevitable changes in their own lives” (2021, p29).

The long-term principle also helps foster the crucially important relationship between the learner and the natural world. Cree and Robb (2021) suggest that it’s this relationship that serves as the true teacher in Forest School. 

The long-term principle builds not only the relationship between the participants and the site, but also with the Forest School leader and other supporting adults. As children become familiar with the site, boundaries and activities and have built trust with their leader, they feel safe and become freer to try new things, take risks and be more authentically themselves. Learners’ behaviour also changes over the long-term – as they become familiar with the rules and what’s on offer, there is a calmer sense of purpose. Play also extends and develops with time. 

This principle also highlights the importance of the planning-observation-review cycle. What makes Forest School sessions different from other educational experiences is the emphasis on responding to the participants and nature. While there will nearly always be a session plan, the Forest School leader may choose to wildly diverge from it if the children express a different interest or something in nature appears that requires attention e.g. an animal or a new plant. The leader’s role is to carefully observe how the participants are responding to the activities on offer and the environment, and then to reflect on what worked and didn’t work, as well as what could be offered in the following session based on their needs and interests.  

References:

Cree, J. & Robb, M (2021) The Essential Guide to Forest School and Nature Pedagogy. Oxon: Routledge.

Forest School Association, b. (n.d.), What is Forest School? https://forestschoolassociation.org/what-is-forest-school/ [accessed 09.12.2021]

Middleton, C. & Swift, E. (2021) ‘A deeper dive into the Forest School Principles’ in Harding, N. Growing a Forest School from the roots up! Carlisle: Forest School Association, p26-52.