Nan Pratt is currently in charge of the schools' Wildlife Watch scheme for BBOWT, the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. She was previously the Forest School coordinator in Swindon, and has also worked as a secondary Head of Geography and Environmental Science.
Forest Schools is an inspirational process that offers children, young people and adults, regular opportunities to achieve, and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a local, treed environment, (which can be the school grounds). Forest School leaders take children out on a weekly basis, providing opportunities for learning and play, fulfilling many of the demands of the national curriculum, building self-confidence and social skills and improving motivation. Children cannot fail in Forest School; hence self-esteem is raised bringing with it many benefits to both the child and the group.
Use of the outdoors as a normal classroom, encourages young people to be independent by increasing their confidence and affinity with the natural environment. This autonomy, and the inspiration of nature, encourages free-thinking and gives fantastic opportunities for developing imaginative thought, and a broader vocabulary. With growing respect for the natural world and heightened observation skills, (sound, sight, touch and smell), children develop creative ways to interpret the world around them.
Nan's workshop will give an introduction to the work of Forest Schools, and offer participants the chance to learn maths with sticks, collect memories, build sculptures and hunt for textures in a woodland setting.