We've had a busy 2022 spring and summer visiting our Forest School and Outdoor Curriculum Leader trainees, many of whom are delivering in their school grounds and we can confirm that the 'coolest' place to be in a heatwave is under the trees! Research shows that tree cover in school grounds improves mental wellbeing and academic attainment but we also believe that school grounds hold the key to unlocking inequality of access to green and blue spaces, offering all children the opportunity to connect with local nature and wildlife. We believe that equipping teachers and leaders with the skills and confidence to take groups outside is a key way this can be achieved.
Often the first step schools and settings make to embrace and develop an outdoor offer is staff training. Our training team can deliver Outdoor Learning or Forest School taster INSET training aimed at engaging and developing confidence for whole staff teams, this is a great starting point, some schools may be ready to jump straight to our accredited training courses.
Our Forest School and Outdoor Curriculum Leadership courses are similar but have quite different outcomes for what is then delivered in school or local green spaces. I would suggest choosing based on what outcomes the school/ you are looking for. The Forest School training is all about facilitating child led, explorative and discovery- based play and learning in a holistic way, connecting with nature, meeting children's needs and providing children with the growth mindset to develop resilience, self- regulation skills, creativity, physical development, social skills etc. but is not always easy to map against the National Curriculum. If the school/ you are looking to improve the school grounds for both learning and wildlife and work towards a whole school involvement in outdoor learning that is mapped against the National Curriculum, then our Outdoor Curriculum Leadership training is the right course for you.
Earlier this year we visited Oliver's Battery Primary School to chat with their most recently qualified Forest School Leader, Teacher Charlotte Homewood and the Head Teacher Carley Redfern about the Forest School training journey and offer in school grounds:
