A Pilot Study to Assess the Feasibility of Using Base-line Data at School Starting Ages as a Measure of the Effectiveness of Forest School in Early Years Settings

Abstract

There is interest in the UK in the relevance of Forest School to social and emotional development in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Forest School is a way of working with children and young people in the outdoor environment. Research undertaken to date has been qualitative in nature, and indicates that Forest School does offer such developmental opportunities. Anecdotal accounts from schools also indicated that the impact of Forest School should be measurable quantitatively in the Foundation Stage Profile (FSP) outcomes, which is the baseline used by schools at entry. The pilot investigation aimed to discover if there was a positive relationship between children’s scores on the FSP and their experiences of Forest School during their early childhood education. The pilot uses FSP data from Essex schools from 2007/08, now in the public domain. We compared results from the Foundation Stage Profile from schools participating in Forest School with those who are not, matched by key criterion. The research questions we explored included whether there was a positive relationship between participation in Forest School and FSP outcomes, and how the effect of Forest School was shown across the six areas of the FSP. The findings did not show statistically-valid correlations, which has led us to question the relationship between an academic measure and one grounded in social and emotional development.

Keywords

• Forest school
• foundation stage profile
• concentration
• early years
• motivation
• outdoor experience
• self esteem

A Pilot Study to Assess the Feasibility of Using Base-line Data at School Starting Ages as a Measure of the Effectiveness of Forest School in Early Years Settings

Abstract

There is interest in the UK in the relevance of Forest School to social and emotional development in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Forest School is a way of working with children and young people in the outdoor environment. Research undertaken to date has been qualitative in nature, and indicates that Forest School does offer such developmental opportunities. Anecdotal accounts from schools also indicated that the impact of Forest School should be measurable quantitatively in the Foundation Stage Profile (FSP) outcomes, which is the baseline used by schools at entry. The pilot investigation aimed to discover if there was a positive relationship between children’s scores on the FSP and their experiences of Forest School during their early childhood education. The pilot uses FSP data from Essex schools from 2007/08, now in the public domain. We compared results from the Foundation Stage Profile from schools participating in Forest School with those who are not, matched by key criterion. The research questions we explored included whether there was a positive relationship between participation in Forest School and FSP outcomes, and how the effect of Forest School was shown across the six areas of the FSP. The findings did not show statistically-valid correlations, which has led us to question the relationship between an academic measure and one grounded in social and emotional development. 

Keywords

• Forest school
• foundation stage profile
• concentration
• early years
• motivation
• outdoor experience
• self esteem

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