ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the traditional Forest School environment, and identifies other spaces where learning can take place outside, including beaches, fields and school playgrounds. The term 'Forest School' conjures up pictures of woodlands, tall trees, scrubby bushes, leaf mulch on the ground, and rotting, fallen tree trunks. Using a public park can provide children with the same opportunities as a private recreation area, but with more need for careful and frequent risk assessment. With a growing movement towards the use of the outdoors, practitioners are becoming more creative about their provision and with this; Forest School is finding its way into a wider environment and being accessed by many more children. Forest School qualifications were initially introduced through Bridgwater College in Somerset. Staff with a Forest School award are generally more confident and, as a result, more willing to work outside the comfort of the usual nursery and pre-school settings.
