Evaluation: I was first introduced to Forest School when I was invited to attend an information session in Hazelwood Integrated Primary School, the first school to have Forest School in Northern Ireland. I still remember sitting at that meeting thinking to myself how simple and yet impressive this concept was - taking our children into their natural surroundings and letting them experience it.

What followed was an opportunity for me to take my Year 6 class over to Hazelwood to join their Year 6 class in a Forest School session. I jumped at the opportunity, and I'm so glad I did. The children loved it. As I watched, I could see children working together (not only with their own class mates but also children from another school), laughing, having fun, and all this while still learning so many key life skills!

The following year I received an email from the local council about having NIFSA offer our school some training and sessions of Forest School. I saw this as a great opportunity and got initial planning meetings set up. What followed was a programme of Forest School for our Year 5 children, with two teaching staff receiving the training for Forest School Leadership. Unfortunately, due to a change in leadership in the school, Forest School went by the wayside (although I'm delighted to hear that the school, which I've since left, is now offering Forest School again to their nursery pupils).

My journey takes me onto Waringstown Primary School where I am now the Vice Principal. In one of my meetings with the principal, I mentioned Forest School, still burning in the back of my mind as something I wanted to offer pupils. My principal was happy to let me run with this idea, and here we are now, with a grant provided from 'The Big Lottery Fund,' training up six adults in Forest School Leadership and making Forest School as part of our P4 Curriculum.

As we come to the end our training, and the end of our first cycle of Forest School, I personally feel a great satisfaction knowing that we are providing something so wonderful to our pupils. To my knowledge, we are the first school in the Southern Region Education Authority to provide this to our pupils, and now with two P4 teachers (including myself) trained as Forest School Leaders, it will have a weekly place in our teaching timetable, meaning that eventually every child in Waringstown Primary School will get to enjoy and experience Forest School.

During my time in education, I have witnessed the power of new technologies, which has been revolutionary and amazing, yet it has also been detrimental on a whole other level. One example, written about by Victoria Ward in The Daily Telegraph, stated that "one in seven of more than 1,000 parents questioned by babies.co.uk website admitted that they let them (toddlers) use the gadgets for four or more hours a day". This article goes on to talk of children as young as four becoming so addicted to smartphones and iPads that they require psychological treatment! What a sad situation!

In a more recent Telegraph article, the opening sentence reads; "'Forest School' is a Scandinavian import that might just be the salvation of our cosseted, tech-addled children."

In the article John Blaney, the Forest School programme manager at Bridgwater College in Somerset, the home of the Forest School concept in the UK is quoted as saying, "Denmark changed everything. We observed their five to seven-year-olds, and saw they were outside all day in woodland, exploring freely. What a breath of fresh air, coming from the UK where we wrap our children in cotton wool. " Here we are, just over two decades on from the first Forest School being set up in the UK, with an estimated 11,000 Forest School sessions taking place in UK schools. As an educationalist, I hope to increase on this number, not only in my own school, but in so many others. I am passionate about what Forest School sets out to do, and talk about it at any opportunity. I have encouraged colleagues in other schools to look into funding options to get NIFSA into their schools. I believe that ETI, the teaching Inspectorate in Northern Ireland, with their interest in Eco Schools and other 'extra' curricular activities, will soon be passing very positive judgments on what Forest School offers.

As I come to my conclusion of this evaluation, I thought who better to ask than the pupils themselves. I asked my current P4 class to give me a one line statement on what Forest School is to them. Below are a few of their responses;
"I like Forest School because it is fun! "
"I like Forest School because I like working in groups."
"I like Forest School because we do different things."
"I like Forest School because it is interesting and you see bugs!"
"I like Forest School because I like to play in mud "

I could continue to write many more statements similar to the above, although there was one that sums it all up for me; "I like Forest School because it is the funnest (sp) outside thing ever!

This comment was written by the youngest member of my class. His simple statement says it as it is. Forest School is incredibly fun, and it's outside. To me, the most important learning will be best done through fun.

And let's not forget, 'having fun' is the third rule of Forest School!

Martin Gault

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