The Six Principles of Forest School
In 2011, the UK Forest School community agreed on 6 principles that would become The Forest School ethos. These principles are what shape forest school and make it stand out from any other form of outdoor learning, this is because it is a much wider, specialist approach. Today, I’m going to share these 6 principles with you and explain how each one will look in a Forest School session.
1: Forest School is a long-term process of frequent and regular sessions in a woodland or natural environment, rather than a one-off visit. Planning, adaptation, observations and reviewing are integral elements of Forest School.
This means it is an expectation that Forest School sessions regularly take place, ideally once a week, but if that’s not possible at least every other week. The group taking part should be the same group of learners for an extended period of time, ideally, they would be given the opportunity to experience the different seasons so participants can really connect with their environment. The structure of the sessions planned should be based on observations and allow learners and practitioners to work together, observe the interest of participants and plan the future sessions accordingly, it’s important that there is an opportunity for child-led learning. Reviewing and allowing reflection is a very important part of these sessions and there should be an opportunity for this in all sessions. The first session should also allow time for boundaries to be set.
2: Forest School takes place in a woodland or natural wooded environment to support the development of a relationship between the learner and the natural world.
Woodland is the ideal environment for a Forest School, but this isn’t always an option for all, therefore you can use other outdoor environments, you can still embed the forest school principles even without many trees around! What is important is that participants have a space where they can discover and explore and have the opportunity to foster a relationship with nature through their personal experiences. As participants begin to build up their relationship with their natural environment, they will learn how to look after it and understand the impact they can make on it.
3: Principle 3: Forest School aims to promote the holistic development of all those involved, fostering resilient, confident, independent and creative learners
Forest School sees their participants as a whole and the aim is to create well rounded, independent learners, we focus on their physical, social, cognitive, linguistic, and emotional learning, Forest School isn’t all about curriculum and vocabulary. Where possible, forest school does try to link up with participants' experiences in their wider world, such as home, school, and other educational settings they may attend.
4: Principle 4: Forest School offers learners the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and to themselves.
I think this principle is one of the scarier ones, but it has HUGE benefits for participants. This principle really allows you to work with the interests of participants and give them some control to manage their risks. This in turn creates positive attitudes, builds on interests, and can be very motivating. The Forest School leader will have risk assessments in place and will monitor these activities very carefully, the activity will also match the developmental stage of the learner to ensure safety. Risk is a part of life, so exposing children to this will help them in their later life as they will be able to spot and respond to risk appropriately, using their own judgements.
5: Forest School is run by qualified Forest School practitioners who continuously maintain and develop their professional practice.
It is a requirement that qualified Forest School practitioners hold a minimum accredited Level 3 Forest School Qualification. The leader is also required to be DBS checked and hold a first aid certificate. The Forest School leader will have policies, risk assessments, and documentation to ensure the safe running of sessions. The Forest School practitioner will be knowledgeable and hold the forest school ethos close, making it the heart of all that they do. As mentioned earlier, reflection is a huge part of forest school, so the leader themselves will be a reflective practitioner.
6: Forest School uses a range of learner-centred processes to create a community for development and learning
All learning taking place in forest school is learner-centred, the forest school leader will respond to the needs and interests of their learners. Therefore, sessions will be carefully planned, there will be opportunities to build on relationships, choices will be given and importantly play will be an integral part of the process. Sessions will support the preferences and abilities of all participants. Reflection will be embedded to allow the practitioner to plan and develop future sessions as well as give the opportunity to celebrate each individual’s achievements. It may look in some sessions that the practitioner is just standing and watching, and this is exactly what they should be doing! Observations will allow the chance to scaffold but also introduce new experiences, after all, the practitioner is also a learner and the forest school process is collaborative work!
So, there we have it, the principles and ethos of forest school. The holy grail of becoming a forest school practitioner!
