Highbridge’s Churchfield School and Nursery has unveiled a unique new outdoor classroom and ‘forest school’ to help children learn about sustainability, wildlife and build their confidence after the lockdowns of the past year.
Becky Holman, the new Forest School Leader at Churchfield School and Nursery, has transformed an area of unused land at the school into the new facilities, which are proving very popular with children.
The new facilities include a vegetable garden, pond, crafting area, den building and loose objects play area, plus a ‘mud school’ and a circle seating area around a fire.
“What was a piece of unused land next to the nursery has been turned into an exciting forest school and working outdoor classroom that is full of activities for use in early years settings,” says Becky, from Primary Forest Schools.
She adds: “The forest school’s fire circle here is where the children eat, where we convene, and where we talk to them about what we’re going to be doing. They built the forest school circle and they have also planted, grown, cooked and eaten their own vegetables from here.”
“We’ve got radishes, sweetcorn, runner beans and potatoes growing, which teach the children about sustainability and where food comes from, rather than them just finding food in a little bag or tin in the supermarket. We’re promoting their wellbeing, and encouraging learning outdoors.”
“We are also doing crafting, and there’s a loose parts play area where the children build obstacle courses and structures like dens and igloos. There’s also a ‘mud kitchen’ that is very popular with the younger children. We are also re-establishing a pond here where there are toads growing.”
Rebecca Lihou, Churchfield’s Nursery Manager, says the benefits to the children are numerous: “We felt that after the Covid lockdowns of the past year that parents and children have been through quite a lot. Outdoor provision is essential, especially in the pandemic. Becky’s done a fabulous job in making a safe environment for children to be able to explore. Some of our families don’t have gardens so this is a safe place that they can use.”
“Our forest school provision is for early years foundation stage children from zero to five, and also for extended provision as well, for our primary children after school.”
She adds: “Becky is also doing great parent and child sessions where they can come and use the environment, making a forest fire and toasting marshmallows. Very soon this will be open to the Highbridge community as a whole, not just the Churchfield community, which is part of our headteacher’s vision to provide facilities from birth to 11.”
Headteacher Ross Minton says: “As a zero-to-11 school, I think this sets up our children to build their resilience and confidence and to help their self-development using activities that they can really engage in.”
“When things don’t work, that’s OK, they can learn from their mistakes at an early age, which grows their confidence for when then they go into school.”
“I’m really impressed that this hands-on learning builds their vocabulary and their rich oracy that we want to develop. It is really exciting.”
Becky added that local firms, parents and staff have donated garden produce, plants and other items and she thanked Sanders Garden Centre and Yeo Valley for their support.
