4.2 Summarise own personal development and learning during the Forest School
training process and explain how this may inform own wider practise.
Formative childhood, adolescent and adult experiences have led me towards the path I’m
currently following in my Forest School Adventure.
As a child I remember long, hot, cloudless summer holidays making dens and mud pies in the
family back garden, camping holidays as a family under canvas (normally in the rain, but
happy nonetheless!) before experiencing youth camps from the age of 11 in both Scotland
and France where we experienced something akin to Beach School and Forest School under
the name of Summer Educational Programme.
Upon attending University, I was involved with Team building activities as both a participant
and then later as a lecturer and a facilitator of these types of skills both in and outside of the
classroom, also writing my Degree thesis on Outdoor Management Development. This was
further explored by the acquisition of the skill to develop Cooperative Learning Activities to
deliver across a school Maths Department and then a whole school setting. This also provided
me with the opportunity to create a Nurture Group within the afore mentioned school where
part of our educational journey was using the outdoor garden space as a learning tool, not
strictly Forest School as learning and academic achievement had to be rather strictly adhered
to, but with some generic elements.
Whilst my daughter lived in South Africa, we set up an Anti-Poaching and Tactical Firearms
Training company with her husband, which along with the arms training curriculum also
involved writing a scheme of work to facilitate the delivery of survival skills such as bivouac
and self defence,shelter building, catching and cooking food, safe fire lighting and
extinguishing, tracking animals…etc again not strictly Forest School but with some generic
Forest School skills amongst other more specific skills needed for that particular type of
training.
Whilst living in both Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, I used to encourage the students I worked
with to be outside as much as possible, weather and heat allowing – bit difficult to even
breathe during a sandstorm and in 55-degree heat, general principles of play but again not
really a specific link to Forest School.
Now I’m working in Germany were there is great emphasis within early years education upon
nature and the environment and being outside every day, regardless of the weather, this
encouraged me to pursue a qualification in Forest School Leadership, which presented itself
in the form of the Wildly Educated Level 3 Forest School Leader course. I’ve previously
being involved as an observer whilst Forest School has been taking place in a Pupil Referral
Unit and a Visually Impaired SEN school in the UK. I feel strongly about Alternative
Provision for school refusers or students who are overcoming trauma, abuse, neglect…etc.
I began the course with the expectation that I would complete 1 Unit of the portfolio every
month, however working full-time and having people to come and visit and stay for
prolonged periods of time has altered my completion schedule and I sometimes struggle to
motivate myself to follow the course as I’m finding self-taught input difficult without
suggestions from peers to share their experiences and ideas.
training process and explain how this may inform own wider practise.
Formative childhood, adolescent and adult experiences have led me towards the path I’m
currently following in my Forest School Adventure.
As a child I remember long, hot, cloudless summer holidays making dens and mud pies in the
family back garden, camping holidays as a family under canvas (normally in the rain, but
happy nonetheless!) before experiencing youth camps from the age of 11 in both Scotland
and France where we experienced something akin to Beach School and Forest School under
the name of Summer Educational Programme.
Upon attending University, I was involved with Team building activities as both a participant
and then later as a lecturer and a facilitator of these types of skills both in and outside of the
classroom, also writing my Degree thesis on Outdoor Management Development. This was
further explored by the acquisition of the skill to develop Cooperative Learning Activities to
deliver across a school Maths Department and then a whole school setting. This also provided
me with the opportunity to create a Nurture Group within the afore mentioned school where
part of our educational journey was using the outdoor garden space as a learning tool, not
strictly Forest School as learning and academic achievement had to be rather strictly adhered
to, but with some generic elements.
Whilst my daughter lived in South Africa, we set up an Anti-Poaching and Tactical Firearms
Training company with her husband, which along with the arms training curriculum also
involved writing a scheme of work to facilitate the delivery of survival skills such as bivouac
and self defence,shelter building, catching and cooking food, safe fire lighting and
extinguishing, tracking animals…etc again not strictly Forest School but with some generic
Forest School skills amongst other more specific skills needed for that particular type of
training.
Whilst living in both Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, I used to encourage the students I worked
with to be outside as much as possible, weather and heat allowing – bit difficult to even
breathe during a sandstorm and in 55-degree heat, general principles of play but again not
really a specific link to Forest School.
Now I’m working in Germany were there is great emphasis within early years education upon
nature and the environment and being outside every day, regardless of the weather, this
encouraged me to pursue a qualification in Forest School Leadership, which presented itself
in the form of the Wildly Educated Level 3 Forest School Leader course. I’ve previously
being involved as an observer whilst Forest School has been taking place in a Pupil Referral
Unit and a Visually Impaired SEN school in the UK. I feel strongly about Alternative
Provision for school refusers or students who are overcoming trauma, abuse, neglect…etc.
I began the course with the expectation that I would complete 1 Unit of the portfolio every
month, however working full-time and having people to come and visit and stay for
prolonged periods of time has altered my completion schedule and I sometimes struggle to
motivate myself to follow the course as I’m finding self-taught input difficult without
suggestions from peers to share their experiences and ideas.
