The benefits of Forest School are linked to the long-term, regular sessions, and echo the holistic development aims in the six guiding principles (see here). Research has shown that children can benefit in a multitude of ways ranging from improved confidence to social, emotional, intellectual, physical and language development (Murray & O’Brien, 2005).
Case studies have shown that with a Forest School apporach, children can:
Develop self-regulation skills.
Cope with and learn from failure.
Build resilience (the skill of coping with risk and failure).
Gain a sense of achievement.
Increase motivation and concentration.
Improve problem solving.
Expand their vocabulary and communication skills.
Feel empowered and have new perspectives.
Build positive relationships with adults and peers.
Have overall improved wellbeing and mental health.
Forest School can increase a child’s confidence and self-esteem through exploration, problem solving, and being encouraged to learn how to assess and take appropriate risks depending on their environment. The use of learner-led outcomes means information is retained better and also generally increases curiosity and motivation to learn in general. This motivation can have a positive impact on attitude to learning in school.
Previously ‘quiet’ children have been shown to improve in their confidence and communication to work with others, and children who were initially un-cooperative learnt that sharing and working together had positive consequences – and increasingly did this (Murray & O’Brien, 2005).
Sessions with mixed ages or year groups can allow interactions between older and younger children that do not normally come into contact – allowing opportunities for children to learn from and teach each other.
Learners also gain a respect for nature through many small interactions and noticing changes around them through the seasons. Providing students with an opportunity to appreciate the wider, natural world encourages a responsibility for nature conservation in later life.
Crucially, many of these benefits can manifest themselves beyond the Forest School environment, known as the ‘ripple effect’ (Murray & O’Brien, 2005). Children may influence their parent’s attitude to the outdoors through their enthusiasm, knowledge and confidence gained in Forest School.