What is Forest Classroom and how does it help support children’s mental health?

Forest Classroom is a time for children to be in the natural world and follow their own interests, helped by the facilitating adults. It is run each week and can be for any age group.

We play games, use tools, tell stories, play in the mud, use hammocks and tight rope/slacklines, climb trees, do nature-based crafts, and are taught how to take responsibility for managing risk. We learn about nature and our place in it. We have campfires and use them for cooking and making art supplies. Forest School runs for the whole year, in all weathers. It complements academic learning.

There have been many studies written on the way that being outdoors supports Mental Health for children and adults; reducing anxiety, building self-esteem, calming anger and helping to learn the ability to self-regulate. Please see these links to take you to a few of them as a snapshot.

Outdoor learning training | Sussex | Circle of Life Rediscovery This was written by the founder of the Forest School Association, Jon Cree and shows the level to which Forest School Leaders observe, reflect and adapt to help the children they work with and how the natural environment plays a huge role in inclusively helping all children.

Mental health & being outdoors | Health & wellbeing | Muddy Faces Many papers have been written about how Forest School helps people with mental health issues but as this paper underpins, the benefits apply to everyone.

Forest Classroom is about community, helping children risk assess independently. It increases awareness of nature, ecological issues, and their place in the real world. It gives the opportunity for a different type of learning environment

Can you help?

We really value the help of volunteers for our Forest Classroom sessions. Here’s what one of our volunteers said:

‘I've been discovering the joy of Forest Classroom over the last half term and wanted to share that with you. Initially I thought I wouldn't volunteer to help because I didn't have any experience, but with Miss Shepherd leading it, it turned out I just needed to be willing to interact with children, ask questions, and be willing to join in with what interests them (and wear warm waterproof clothing!). Through this I've got excited with more than one child when they've finally got sparks from a fire steel, and shown them they've really persevered, or helped a girl to recognise that she's been brave in watching the fire being lit when she's scared of fire and could have gone to do something else. I've enjoyed being taught by a boy who explained his new knowledge of mycelium (the lacey pattern of fungus roots) to me, and I've helped children realise they already have knowledge and ideas by asking 'what do you think' or 'have you got any ideas' in response to their questions of me. I've seen a child show another child how they've just learnt to climb a tree, and I've seen that next child put that into practice when they hadn't been able to work out how to start the process on their own, and I've witnessed the joy and pride in them as they've realised that not only have they learnt something new, they've enabled someone else to achieve that too’.