Forest School at Holland Park Ecology Centre resumed this week for our Nursery and Reception children. This highly valued outdoor experience dovetails with our Early Years curriculum for the development of key life skills and socially adept young people.
 
Miss Danison, Head of Pre-School, details below the educational benefits of a Forest School experience

Forest School is an outdoor education process that is holistic and child-led. It enables the children to develop through healthy engagement with risk, problem-solving and self-discovery, all within a natural environment. Forest School is grounded in philosophies that support the development of key skills and extended the educational provision in the great outdoors.

The children attend Forest School at Holland Park Ecology centre. They engage through weekly sessions over a six week period. Each session targets the children’s confidence and forms of expression. The work the children engage in at Forest School promotes the children’s personal development and reinforces our five Core Values: Resilience, Respect, Responsibility, Community and Excellence. Children learn vital skills to promote the awe and wonder of nature and the role that the experiences play in looking after our world. There is considerable research indicating that experience with the natural word is of benefit to children in terms of health and well being, and that childhood experiences of nature affect behaviour and attitude towards the environment as they develop as adults.

At Forest School, this week, the children were given opportunities to achieve and develop their confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in the woodland area. The skilled Forest School teachers, Matthew and Trevor, led the sessions with Nursery and Reception. They taught the children the rules in order to keep themselves safe in the Forest School. The children were enthused about playing the ‘1, 2, 3 where are you?’ game, as well as making magic wands for forest fairies and wizards. The Nursery children enjoyed exploring the forest whilst creating natural crowns, fit for a woodland King or Queen! The children were careful to only use natural materials found on the ground and learnt the importance of allowing living things to grow. The children have thrived learning at Forest School and are excited to continue their explorations in nature. We cannot wait to take part in all the other exciting nature adventures and activities in the weeks to come.

Miss Danison