How Forest School Supports The EYFS Part 2

Today I move into part two of my look at how Forest School can support the EYFS or the early years foundation stage. Part 2 concentrates on the prime areas of learning which are, namely Communication and Language, Physical Development and Personal, Social and Emotional development.

If you didn’t catch part one I recommend you do, so that it lines you up for what is to come next. To just explain a little more what I’ll be doing over the next few minutes is taking a look at the early years development matters document , sort of like the early years curriculum if you will.

From that, picking out the points contained within the prime area and how forest school can support the development of a child in each given area….Now its not me just listing off how amazing Forest School is. Well alright it is, but at least there’s a purpose to it!

These prime areas echo ideas of holistic development which is key approach within the Forest Schools ethos and which is why each can compliment the other. Once again for colleagues already in the early years get your development matters document at the ready.

Communication and Language

Forest School provides children with opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves, to speak and to listen in a range of play situations.

The use of communication and language at Forest School is highly important not only for safety reasons but also for play reasons. Everyday play choices at Forest School, or times where children are taking care of themselves such as putting a coat on, holds talk opportunities, not only amongst the children themselves but also between Forest School leader an child. Children need to communicate to get across their play ideas or how their feeling making talk paramount during any session.

The woodland environment lends itself to a vast and rich plethora of language from flower, tree and fungi names, to play situational language or narratives and the names of items that have been brought to enhance play. Another example could be carabiner which was a word that popped up today in a session I was running.

During a Forest School session, teamwork is encouraged in which to work effectively and to negotiate. Ultimately children need to communicate in order to get across their ideas and opinions. Children also come to realize, and are encouraged to the idea, that they are able to achieve more with support from others rather than on their own.

The children very soon begin to operate as a group choosing to play together, allowing for differences between themselves. If the child is unable to communicate their needs as easily as they could here, the Leader can model or show how to do this or use different specific words by dropping them into their speech or explaining what they are doing outloud so a child may overhear.

Personal, Social And Emotional

At Forest School children are able to develop a positive sense of themselves, their abilities, and others through self selected play. In these moments children will naturally choose play at their level of development and which motivates them, showing a variety of skills.

For observing children this can offer either a fantastic play opportunity for them to join in with or a role model to learn from. Either way it provides entry to conversation between two or more children and an admiration for another’s skills or knowledge. At Forest School children are given time, space and the right environment to form positive relationships and key skills in which to socialize.

Skills such as co-operation, attention, listening, and so on. This also includes the management of feelings which can sometimes be negative, but through the support and guidance of the Forest School leader, children are supported in understanding and managing both negative and positive emotions well.
This area also includes the development of independence.

Forest School alongside it’s social focus also promotes the development of independence. Independence to look after ones own care, their own self regulation, their own health, their own safety and to be given the opportunity to make their own choices whether that end positively or negatively. Children are given this opportunity at Forest School as a safe environment for trial and error to occur and lessons to be learnt either way so developing a more robust child.

This is not to say that the promotion of independence brings about selfishness but it is to say that a person needs to be able to look after themselves and their needs in life as apposed to having to rely on someone else. This is where the notion of learnt helplessness simply the whole idea of children not being to do things for themselves, even though they are capable. To hear more about learnt helplessness there is a link below to another episode I did on this area.

Physical Development

Children are literally handed a vast opportunity to be active and interactive with their environment and the challenging terrain within it. From this they are able to develop coordination, control and mastery of their small and larger movements. This allows children to move safely and negotiate obstacles.

This is also true for the use of resources that are brought in to enhance children’s play for example scissors, axes or ropes. Through their use they require children to develop key physical skills whilst also working on other areas of development, areas that are key to their holistic development; development of the whole child.

At Forest School children are also encouraged to take risks, learning how to keep themselves safe, for example, when climbing. Within risk there is a huge amount of developmental benefit not least to physical development where children have to manage and negotiate their body movements to remain safe and secure.

The outdoor nature of Forest school requires children to seriously consider their nutrition and how this can impact their experience. By this I mean that if a child takes on board food during a session they will maintain a steady energy state allowing them to access their learning.

However if a child is unable to manage their food intake they will have a drop in energy levels and so their basic needs will become unmet and so learning cannot happen efficiently. At this time children are also learning about what types of food are most appropriate for providing the required energy.

This prime area is also supported by the need for children to self care meaning to look after themselves. This relates to knowing if they need to put a layer of clothing on to keep warm or take it off if they become too hot as just one example.

You will have noticed some overlap between each area and this is yet another hallmark of the Early’s Years attempt for the prime areas to align with a holistic development approach , an approach central to the Forest School movement. Holistic development being the progression of the whole child and their developmental areas all at that the same time and not one in isolation from another.

In the next instalment of this mini, mini series we take a look at how Forest School can support the specific areas of the EYFS. Areas such as Maths, Literacy, Understanding the world and Expressive arts and design.

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