Wealden Times | WT191 | January 2018 | Interiors supplement inside

Vinehall School
What are they? Forest Schools embrace opportunities offered by
the outdoors to extend learning and play beyond the classroom
door. At Vinehall our wonderful grounds inspire learning
across the curriculum, encouraging children to become more
aware of and engage joyfully with the natural environment
throughout the seasons in an exciting and creative adventure.
Why do parents like them? The outdoors is a wonderful antidote to
the demands of our modern life and helps to connect our generation
of children with the pleasures of the natural world. Used well, Forest
Schools are one way of offering a structured approach to using
the outside, engaging children in a different way and providing a
safe way of exploring the ‘wild’. Parents should be urged to look
beyond glossy Forest School marketing to find out more about what
happens in practice; there are plenty of ways to promote children’s
well-being through the outdoors, encouraging happy and healthy
children. We ended our summer term by bringing families together,
smoking a wild salmon over the camp fire and participating in a
competitive den building evening. Great fun was had by all!
Why do schools like them? The outdoors provides an opportunity
to bring the curriculum alive and to explore the potential of the
(free!) natural materials around us. For example, our Nursery have
created fairy gardens and made potions, as well as enjoyed a bear
hunt (or two) in the woods. Reception classes have discovered
who laid the egg in the forest (it was a dinosaur!), noticed
seasonal changes and been able to embed their mathematical
skills using twigs to compare and measure. Older children have
pretended to be ‘hunter gatherers’, linking with their history
topic, collecting fruits and berries to cook over the camp fire.
Camp fire activities are wonderful, not just for enriching topics,
but for promoting safety and for bringing together the ages.
How successful are they? Outdoor learning engages the
children’s interest and encourages hands-on investigation and
observation to promote learning at a deep level, even if it gets
messy. It provides an opportunity to promote important lifeskills
including building resilience, confidence, independence,
risk-taking and collaborative learning. Qualities such as openended
problem solving, have-a-go attitudes and a space in which
to trial ideas without worrying about making mistakes, are all
valuable formative experiences for our children’s future lives.
How do they work following the traditional school curriculum/
assessments? Staff are encouraged to be creative when delivering
learning opportunities; they weave in activities to cover set objectives
while engaging the children’s interest and developing important
life-skills and knowledge. If we can nurture a sense of wonder and
encourage our children to appreciate the natural world around them,
as future leaders at any level they will have a heightened awareness and
empathy for our special, yet vulnerable planet. Therefore the outdoors
has the potential to support a holistic learning and global change.
vinehallschool.com
Sutton Valence
Preparatory School
svs.org.uk
One School,
many journeys
Every child is cherished for who they are
Traditional values, small class sizes
Glorious location, superb facilities
Outstanding Early Years provision
Proven exam success for independent and state entry
Please contact Mrs Anne Leckie: T: 01622 842117 | E: leckiea@svs.org.uk
157 wealdentimes.co.uk
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