The Outdoor Classroom in Practice, Ages 3–7

A Month-By-Month Guide to Forest School Provision

Karen Constable

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781138310087
• eBook ISBN: 9781351388177
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Early Childhood Education

The outdoor environment is an integral part of many early years settings and schools, but is it being used to its full potential?

The Outdoor Classroom in Practice, Ages 3-7 offers guidance on how the outdoors can be used to teach and challenge children across a range of settings by drawing on forest school practice. Following a month-by-month format, it explores theme-related play experiences, planning, evaluations of how the ideas described were carried out and what impact they had on children's learning and development.

This fully updated second edition includes:

• over 150 new full-colour photographs to illustrate practice
• activities and objectives for both early years and KS1, including links to indoor play
• discussion and support for those working with children with special educational needs
• detailed information on the role of the adult and of the environment
• sections covering health and safety guidelines and specific risk assessment in all chapters

Written by a leading authority on forest school practice, this book aims to inspire and help practitioners make the most of the outdoor environment all year round.

1 September

Preparing for forest school

In the United Kingdom September is the start of the new school year and for many nurseries the beginning of a new intake of children, particularly those starting their pre-school year. It is a time of great change for families with young children, which can be unsettling for even the most confident young child. Providing a secure start to any opportunities you are offering is essential and will ultimately help the children to settle and learn happily and quickly.

Before leaving the setting to take learning outside it is important you are well prepared. Start with a well-stocked forest school kit bag. This will become an essential resource. It will go with you on every session, be restocked after every visit and needs to be easily carried to your outside classroom. What and how much of everything you take with you will depend upon several factors: the age and number of children you are taking, the distance from your main setting, the type of outdoor provision you offer. The following list is by no means comprehensive, but it a starting point for new leaders.

The forest school kit bag

• ● First-aid kit
• ● Emergency procedures documents
• ● Medical information for each individual and emergency contact details for each member of the group (would you include adults in this list? Discuss this in your setting before setting out for the first time)
• ● Risk assessments
• ● Mobile phone, fully charged, or a walkie talkie, with the second handset audible back at your base
• ● A small bottle of clean water
• ● Accident forms
• ● Medication for individuals, and instructions for administering
• ● Wet wipes, hand gel
• ● Nappy sacks and toileting things
• ● Suncream (have you gained parental permission to use suncream on all your children?)
• ● Spare clothing
• ● Thermos of hot water, but not boiling
• ● Chocolate/sugary food
• ● Plastic bag
• ● Roll mat and blanket
• ● Fire blanket
• ● Bucket of water or sand if you will be fire lighting
• ● Burns kit
• ● Bivi bag.

On an everyday basis some of these resources will need to be taken back and forwards from your main setting. How you transport it is up to you and your colleagues. Some people prefer to carry a large backpack, others, myself included, like everything stored in a box or basket that can be carried by the children. However, there will be some things that can be left at the site and replenished as necessary. Your fire-extinguishing sand or water can remain at the site in a lidded bucket. Other items could be locked away into a small shed or store. If you choose this option, make sure that the shed is unlocked on your arrival and locked when you leave at the end of your time.

You might agree to have all paperwork in the setting; this helps to make medical details and contact details safer and readily available at all times. Using a mobile phone would ensure a quick response back at the base. Just a word of caution: make sure your mobile network coverage is adequate for calling. If not, consider using a two-way radio instead.

You will also need a first-aid kit. This may be kept in the site or added to the kit bag – whichever you decide is the most practical for you – however it is essential that it is maintained. Your setting will have its own requirements regarding first-aiders – make sure you adhere to these. Is your outdoor area close to your indoor space, or do you need to consider how you would get help to your forest school if you needed it? Choosing one member of staff, with the appropriate first-aid certificate, to be responsible for updating first-aid kits usually works well. Maintaining dated and signed records means that others can take over if necessary.

Your first-aid kit

• ● Latex gloves
• ● Bandages
• ● Plasters
• ● Burns gel
• ● Burn dressing
• ● Dressings
• ● Eye wash
• ● Scissors
• ● Cotton wool
• ● Antiseptic wipes
• ● Tick removers
• ● Sterile water
• ● Cling film
• ● Bites and stings cream or spray (parental permission required)
• ● Cool packs.

To Do

• ● Ensure all parents have given written consent for their children to attend forest school.
• ● Send out clothing lists.
• ● Plan and deliver workshops for parents and children.
• ● Set up your forest school kit bag and first-aid kit.
• ● Update staff on any changes since the previous visits.
• ● Check your forest area. Look for any evidence of trespassers, danger caused by fallen branches or damaged boundaries.
• ● Replenish your forest school resources.
• ● Set up your observation and assessment procedures.

Keeping a weekly outdoor news display keeps parents informed

September at forest school

Have you considered how forest school is introduced to your new parent group? For some parents, the idea of their child being outside regularly may be why they chose your setting. Do you deliver what you are saying you do? For others forest school may be just another part of their child’s day, about which they have no strong feelings either for or against this style of learning. There will also be the group of parents that are a little overwhelmed about how their child will cope with a new environment, without the closeness of a parent. So, while you are considering how your new children will make this transition, consider how you can also support parents in the early stages.

Setting up opportunities for parents to visit will remove some of their anxiety, but within this consider how the child will behave if their parent comes too. You don’t want to set a precedent that the child believes that a parent will always be there. If you feel this is a consideration in your group, perhaps you could arrange for parents to visit with a different group of children. Alternatively, set up a forest school ‘fun session’ just for parents. This usually gets more dads involved than you might expect at other events, so is a good way to get to know more about the child’s family life.

Within this month of transitions and new beginnings for many of your children, much of your work in forest school will be settling in and reassuring the more wary members of your group. Consider whether the children need to have their key worker present for some of their early visits and wherever possible make sure they visit with a friend in their group. Keeping these early sessions shorter also reduces anxiety for new children.

Invest time now in settling in and instilling the forest school rules and you will hopefully eliminate problems further down the line.

Keep the rules very simple for the children and send the rules home for the parents to reinforce as well. We post ours onto the class blog so that it is always accessible.

Forest school rules

• ● Don't go in or out of the area without a grown up
• ● Keep out of the log circle area.
• ● Don't climb the gates or fences.
• ● Respect the plants and animals that live in our forest area.
• ● Don't pick up a stick longer than your arm.
• ● Look after your friends.
• ● Have fun and enjoy your visit.

Indoors out – Using small-world play for exploration

EYFS learning objectives

• 30–50 months: I can engage in imaginative play based on my first-hand experiences.
• 40–60 months: I can talk about the features of my own immediate environment.

KS1 learning objectives and cross-curricular links: Geography

I can use aerial photographs and simple maps to identify landmarks and basic human and physical features.

EYFS adult-initiated ideas

Take some time to set up a small-world area that the child...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1 September
• 2 October
• 3 November
• 4 December
• 5 January
• 6 February
• 7 March
• 8 April
• 9 May
• 10 June
• 11 July
• 12 August
• Conclusion
• Useful books