Participation In Forest Schools Essay

This essay will analyse the impact of participation in the Forest Schools programme on a child's information processing, conceptual resources, perpetual skill, language learning and other vital aspects of their formative brain development (number one reference). As well as exploring these crucial factors of a child's cognitive development in relation to forest schools and the outdoor classroom, it will examine various historical perspectives and learning theories that have helped to influence practitioners in schools today to identify the importance of allowing children between the ages of nought to seven to engage in outdoor learning. The final part of the essay will review an argument based on whether children benefit from actively being taught in outdoor classrooms on a regular basis or whether traditional school classrooms based inside are more suitable for children in the United Kingdom, due to the intense focus placed on the Early Years Foundation Stage and the National Curriculum in schools by the current Conservative Government.

The Forest School Programme has occupied the imagination of many early years professionals and is defined by the Forest School Initiative (add In year), as:

‘An inspirational process that offers children regular

The structure is based primarily based on current observations and collaborative work between the children and the practitioners leading the session, and should consistently display a progress in their child’s all round development (forest schools association). Forest schools also allow teachers to gradually become accustom to individual children and their preferred learning characteristics, due to the small groups that the children work in whilst participating in the programme. This is exceptionally important