Our Forest School nursery is registered with Ofsted and our curriculum meets all the requirements of the EYFS statutory framework. The nursery is also registered with the Forest School Association, and we’re working towards becoming a recognised best practice provider within the next 9 months. We’re members of the Early Years Alliance and embrace their vision of a society where every child has the opportunity to learn through play.
On this page, we share more information about the Forest School ethos and the benefits for children of this approach to learning. We also explain what “learning through play” means and how we combine Forest School and play-based learning with the key requirements of the EYFS framework.
What is Forest School
Forest School is a child-centered learning approach that takes place in nature. At Forest School, children develop and learn through a focus on curiosity, self-motivation, problem-solving, creativity and a supported engagement with risk.
Forest School in its current form emerged in Sweden and Denmark in the 1950s and first appeared in the UK in the 1990s when a group from Bridgewater College went to Denmark to observe their early years settings. On their return, they opened the first Forest School in the UK.
The benefits of Forest School
Over the past 30 years, a lot of research has gone into measuring the benefits of Forest School and time and again, studies show how powerful it is in helping children become engaged, lifelong learners.
Learning through play
Learning through play empowers children to become creative, engaged, lifelong learners. It allows them to experience agency and to be supported rather than directed. Learning through play means seeing children as capable and providing opportunities for them to apply their thinking and actions in a context where others have the same rights.
Practically, it happens when children experience an activity as joyful, when it helps them find meaning in what they are doing, and when it involves active, engaged, thinking, as well as iterative thinking and social interaction.
These principles are at the centre of our Forest School learning approach.
The EYFS framework
Children learn and develop more from birth to five years old than at any other time in their lives. The purpose of the EYFS framework is to set standards for the learning, development and care of children at such an important stage. It gives parents and carers confidence that the statutory principles and areas of learning that underpin your child's nursery experience are in place. You can read the full framework here.
The framework is about how children learn, as well as what they learn. It includes 4 guiding principles and 7 areas of learning that are the building blocks for the nursery experience we offer.
So, what do children do at nursery?
Every day is different - and very much built on the children's interests. We’ve included a few examples of some of our regular activities below, but there is much more. Parents are provided with a daily update on Tapestry, so you’ll always be able to see what you child did each day.
