Teach Secondary 13.8

Gordon Cairns explains why you don’t necessarily need ample wooded or cultivated green space to put on some forest school activities for your students... W ould it be fair to divide teachers into ‘indoor’ types and ‘outdoor’ types? Those needing four walls and a ceiling to be in place before they can even think about their five-minute starter can find it tempting to stereotype the latter group – think ruddy complexions, walking boots worn in the classroom, constant stares out of the window as they to gauge that day’s weather prospects. (Of course, those outdoor types may just as easily roll their eyes at colleagues who insist on driving two minutes to pick up their lunch.) Shed those misconceptions However, our ‘indoor’ teachers could perhaps learn something from their outward bound colleagues. If they can adjust their mindset to the outdoors, they may be able to deliver a range of benefits to their charges that simply can’t be achieved within the school building. For one thing, recent studies have found that being exposed to green space reduces behavioural problems, gives young people a cognitive boost and could even lead to improved academic achievement. Another piece of research from 2016 examined attitudes towards teaching outside among education professionals based in Amsterdam– a city with a marked lack of green spaces near schools. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the researchers found that teachers were more likely to use green spaces if any happened to be situated near their school – but also that these same teachers were more likely to organise excursions to other green spaces situated further away. Teachers who possessed little or no experience of actual fieldwork were altogether less likely to take their students out on excursions. It seems that once teachers become comfortable with taking their students outdoors, they’re more likely to repeat the experience. And that when they do, they’ll typically shed some common misconceptions surrounding forest schools – namely that you need a forest, or a wood, or at least a few trees before being able to use elements of forest school in your teaching practice. Little cityoases Which is lucky, since most forest schools in England today are run in urban open spaces – in fact, any space where there’s a bit of greenery. While I’m admittedly lucky enough to run forest school sessions in mature woodland, during quiet moments we can still sometimes hear the hum of the nearby motorway, which doesn’t detract from the feeling of being immersed in nature. “It’s not enough to simply holdyour class outdoors; thereneeds tobea specific purpose toyouractivity” No parks? NOPROBLEM... teachwire.net/secondary 24