Social

Forest School creates opportunities for joint working, such as sharing tools and participating in shared activities. These encourage people to work together as a group, which strengthens their bonds and social ties. These opportunities include:

• Playing team games
• Working together to create things
• Making collaborative decisions
• Developing friendships with others in the group
• Participating in child-led activities
• Working with others taking on board others ideas and getting along
• Developing vocabulary and listening skills by recounting what’s being done and enjoyed through the review process
• Showing others how to do something – sharing knowledge

 

Physical

Outdoor activity increases fitness levels and builds active, healthy bodies that can have lifelong health benefits. Participation can:

• Improve fine and gross motor skills
• Increase physical activity which provides increased health benefits such as an improved immune system or reduced weight or build up strength and stamina.
• Develop strength and muscle tone through moving about the site
• Develop or maintain dexterity through craft activities – using scissors and tying knots
• Develop core strength using equipment such as slacklines or moving objects about
• Improve balance
• Enjoy being in nature which helps regulate emotions
• Improve large muscle development or rehabilitation
• Be in an environment where there is less risk of germ transmission
• Benefit from sunlight which provides a source of Vitamin D

 

Intellectual

Forest schools encourage the concept of 'thinking outside the box' in order to get participants, particularly children, to realise that there may be more than one way to solve a problem.

• Exposure to outdoor-based learning can significantly increase academic performance
• Learning about hazards and what they can do to keep themselves safe.
• Allow time and freedom to work things through and problem solve.
• Developing concrete concepts around letters and numbers
• Allow time to create, build and use imagination
• Learn life and practical skills
• Exposure to natural settings may be widely effective in reducing ADHD symptoms

 

Creativity

Forest School gives participants the freedom to choose and explore the way challenges and activities are approached. This fosters an environment where people are encouraged to think critically and creatively and ‘outside the box’. Sessions can provide:

• A range of opportunities to find different ways to express oneself
• A space for participants to grow and develop their own way of solving problems at their own pace and in their own way
• A non-judgemental environment where no idea or interpretation is a bad one
• Allowing people to share their work without fear of ridicule where others can learn to be creative through watching those around them and hearing their ideas

 

Emotional

Forest School allows time and space to ‘play’ which protects children’s emotional development and helps regulate emotions in everyone. Whereas a loss of or lack of free time and a hurried lifestyle can contribute to anxiety and depression in people of all ages. Sessions give opportunities to:

• Explore one selves strengths and limitations through manageable challenges
• Develop independence
• Achieve manageable tasks, which gives a sense of achievement and builds confidence and self-esteem
• Have the freedom to express feelings, develop self-awareness and self-control and regulate emotions
• Reduce stress and anxiety leading to better all-round emotional wellbeing
• Increase self-belief and positivity about self and the world around

 

Spiritual

Forest School sessions allow the time, space and opportunity to take a break from our busy schedules and develop a sense of self, who we are and our relationship with the natural world around us. Participation helps:

• To keep us connected with nature and the environment, noticing and experiencing first hand as the seasons change. This helps develop a sense of responsibility and ownership for maintaining the environment for ourselves and future generations
• People to enjoy just ‘being’ and appreciate the intrinsic value of participating in learning for learning’s sake – no targets or goals
• Participants tap into their own intrinsic motivation which is present in us all given the right circumstance to do, explore and discover in our own time and direction
• Give an opportunity for people to find their own inner peace and calm by creating a stress-reducing environment
• Give participants an opportunity and time to think about their own aesthetic and spiritual meaning