Nursery World - EYFS Best Practice: All about ... forest schools

The forest school approach is growing in popularity, and it is
taking a variety of different formats as settings embrace it in ways
that reflect their individual needs. Nicole Weinstein explains.

Forest schools and outdoor learning are becoming ever more popular across the UK, with early years settings and schools so keen to ensure that children are experiencing the awe and wonder of nature that they are redeveloping their outdoor spaces, buying in forest school leaders and negotiating the use of local woodland. After-school and holiday clubs and family forest school drop-ins are also popping up across the country as demand from parents rises.

There are now more than 35 training providers on the GB Forest School Trainers Network, and the Forest School Association (FSA) - the professional body for forest schools set up in 2012 - estimates that about 12,000 people have now gone through forest school training. Many settings are forging ahead with their forest school programmes despite local authority cuts to these services.

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