Evaluation: Being a newly qualified teacher I have a keen interest in furthering my professional development and when the opportunity came along for myself and another teacher to be trained in Forest Schools I jumped at the chance. I had heard about Forest Schools during my time as a student at Stranmillis University and had also heard reports from friends who already implement it in their schools and was therefore interested to learn more about what all it entailed.

Admittedly, I was slightly nervous at first of the prospect of taking my (rather challenging) bunch Primary 1's outdoors and wondered what on earth they would be able to do as part of Forest Schools. I originally thought it was all about making fires, chopping wood and building tents but I was wrong! The training I received from Brain Poots opened my eyes to the number of possibilities that Forest Schools lends itself to and how it can be used to further enhance my teaching from inside the classroom and the curriculum as a whole. The lessons were child led, fast paced, cross curricular and helped develop a number of Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities such as working with others and being creative. Indeed, all the children in my class were really engaged even the ones who are more difficult inside the classroom! Many of the rules for Forest schools also helped to reinforce school rules for the outdoors. I was encouraged to see that over the course my pupils started to develop a better respect for nature and their local environment. Indeed, many of the children started reminding children older than them to 'leave nature alone' and stop picking flowers and kicking balls at the trees!

As well as this, observing Brian take my class for two Forest School sessions also showed me that my Primary 1 class were very capable of taking part in a number of outdoor lessons and could remain focussed and on task regardless of the numerous distractions the outdoors bring. Upon reflection I realised that I had quite narrow views of what my class, and specific children would be able to do and it was lovely to see these expectations were too low. It was also interesting to see that one of the children with autism and social and emotional behavioural difficulties was really interested and thrived in the outdoors. As well as this, it was encouraging to see that some of the quieter girls in my class became more confident and took more risks in the outdoors compared to what they are like in the classroom.

All the children in my class loved Forest Schools for different reasons such as;

"being outside in the rain"

"building the dens for the animals because we used sticks"

"collecting all the stuff"

"finding the feathers because I was good at it"

"finding a worm, it was nice"

"I liked all of it"

Indeed, it was clear to see the enthusiasm and enjoyment shared by the whole class as whenever it was Primary 3's turn for Forest Schools instead of my Primary 1's turn, they were always disappointed which was a very good sign! From speaking to parents, they also commented on how their children had spoken so enthusiastically how much they enjoyed Forest Schools and looked forward to Brian coming in each week to train us. They also said how the hoped that Forest Schools would continue next year which was pleasing to hear. The classroom assistants from my Primary 1 and SCU1 also said that it was a very enjoyable experience for both the children and staff. They liked being outdoors enjoying the fresh air and the change of routine in the day whenever we had a Forest Schools session.

As there were two teachers being trained in Forest Schools within school I also had the opportunity to observe Forest School sessions with the Primary 3 class. This was very useful as I could clearly see the progression in the content and expectations of these sessions compared to Primary 1. Additionally, myself and the other Primary 3 teacher are switching year groups next year so it was great to have the opportunity to observe Forest Schools sessions with the year group I will be teaching from now on.

As well as this, I am due to take over the role of Eco Schools this incoming year and therefore the skills and knowledge I have gained from the Forest Schools training will be very useful to me for developing outdoor learning within school. Outdoor learning is a topic of Eco Schools and implementing regular Forest Schools sessions throughout the school will be very useful in helping to achieve this target. Indeed, it is clear to see that the training and experience will have a ripple effect throughout our school and benefit other areas of school life.

I would recommend the Forest Schools training to any teacher who has a keen interest and enthusiasm for the outdoors and developing their pupils' skills outside the classroom. I have seen the many benefits to the children in my own class as well as other classes within school. I look forward to developing Forest School lessons with Primary 3 and sharing this good practice with my colleagues in school. As an Eco Schools leader I hope to continue to implement Forest Schools throughout the classes to help achieve the outdoor learning target and our Eco Schools Green Flag award. The training I have received from Brian has been really informative and great fun and I have really enjoyed learning about Forest Schools, as have my classroom assistants and pupils.

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