Healthy happy bairns.
OWLS East Lothian is celebrating National Dress a Tree Week this year to launch the group under its new name.
Please join us to celebrate trees and to raise awareness of the importance of outdoor spaces and places for children to learn, play and grow.
Dress a tree in your local woods or school grounds.
Photograph it.
Send your photo to: kmisselbrook@sandersonswynd.elcschool.org.uk
We will then share the photos through our web page and other media to show how East Lothian celebrates nature!
OWLS East Lothian is celebrating National Dress a Tree Week this year to launch the group under its new name.
Please join us to celebrate trees and to raise awareness of the importance of outdoor spaces and places for children to learn, play and grow.
Dress a tree in your local woods or school grounds.
Photograph it.
Send your photo to: kmisselbrook@sandersonswynd.elcschool.org.uk
We will then share the photos through our web page and other media to show how East Lothian celebrates nature!
Last few spaces available
Nature Nurture Booking Form May 2015
This course is available to all Early Years Practitioners in East and Midlothian
Aimed at Nursery and Early Years Staff, Nature Play and Nurture is a short course in using the outdoors as an environment for nurture, play and exploration. Three days (9am–3pm) of hands on training by two experienced forest school / kindergarten leaders and a ½ days observation of a Nature Play and Nurture programme.
Nature Play and Nurture CPD for Early Years
Aimed at Nursery and Early Years Staff, Nature Play and Nurture is a short course in using the outdoors as an environment for nurture, play and exploration. Three days (9am–3pm) of hands on training by two experienced forest school / kindergarten leaders and a ½ days observation of a Nature Play and Nurture programme.
This course is free to East Lothian practitioners.
Course venue: to be confirmed
Course dates
Session 1 Friday, 20th September 2013, 9am–3pm,
Session 2 Friday, 4th October 2013 9am – 3pm
Session 3 Friday, 8th November 2013 9am – 3pm
plus one observation visit on one of the following : Tuesday am 3, 10, 17, 24 September, 1, 22, 29 October, 5 November
Course aims for participants to
To book this course please complete the linked form and return to: Pauline McLaren, Room 2.17, John Muir House, Haddington, East Lothian. EH41 3HA Or E-Mail to pmclaren@eastlothian.gov.uk
Tea coffee and biscuits will be provided. Participants should bring a packed lunch. Participants will be provided with a course folder and notes, and are advised to bring pen, paper and camera.
The following link is to a great resource book for anybody working in an early years setting who wants to develop their outdoor learning opportunities. Easy to read but detailed with lots of easily applied ideas.
http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/docs/foundation_stage/learning_outdoors.pdf
“the best kept classroom and the richest
cupboard are roofed only by the sky”
Margaret McMillan (c1925)
Nursery Schools and the Pre-school Child NSA Publication
Another great report on the value of outdoor play opportunities for children. This one by the Forestry Commission on a project at Merrylees School in Glasgow. Thanks to Judith Wood for high lighting this report.
Lots of East Lothian schools and nurseries are thinking along these lines often initiated or prompted by parents. It is something parents can really help schools achieve Its fun – its healthy – and its good for the birds and beasties and if that’s not enough reason then it also helps children’s learning. So if you like what you read – get your parent council interested and get stuck in!
Natural Play Study_Forestry Commission_100811[1]
Overview
Natural Play: Making a difference to children’s learning and wellbeing
presents the findings of a longitudinal study of the pioneering partnership between Forestry Commission Scotland, Glasgow City Council and Merrylee primary school in Glasgow. It provides evidence to show that children’s engagement with a natural play space within school grounds has a multitude of positive impacts on their learning and physical and emotional wellbeing. The study also provides a value for money assessment, concluding that the cost of developing natural play spaces is comparable with those of building traditional tarmac playgrounds. In view of the benefits outlined in the report, it is argued that the provision of a natural playspace within school grounds represents excellent value for money.
Some great new resources on the Learning and Teaching Scotland website. The first one is a comprehensive and practical guide for using the outdoors to achieve educational objectives. It makes the argument that forest school leaders have been making for years now and seeks to place Scotland at the centre of a developing recognition of the importance of nature and the outdoor environment to learners.
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/Images/outdoor_learning_support2_tcm4-675958.pdf
The second is a shorter review of how outdoor learning can be developed strategically to enhance and deliver curriculum objectives
Outdoor learning is an integral part of good practice within learning and teaching. Schools need to take a strategic approach to developing outdoor learning. Building your Curriculum is a collaborative and participative process ………..
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/Images/building_your_curriculum_outside_in_tcm4-656470.pdf
This document published in the last week is very timely. The discussion at a conference celebrating forest school development in East Lothian held on the 28th October stressed the need for a more strategic approach to the development of outdoor learning. The document makes some clear suggestion about how this could be done both at a regional and school / nursery level. The following are described in more detail in the document – but they form the basis of a comprehensive acion plan.
Whitecraig primary made a short video about their experience as a exemplar for the nature, play and nurture training held at the school earlier this year. This involved the nursery class working with Aline Hill from Big World training and Ros Marshall a nursery teacher and forest school leader, to run an outdoor learning programme. The programme included sessions that could be observed by staff taking a three day course in Nature Play & Nurture. Stobhill Primary in Gorebridge is currently hosting this training and acting as the exemplars. A further course will be available in the spring.
Support from the Start – East & Midlothian’s Equally Well test site has supported the development of forest school and nature play and nurture over the last two years. Staff and volunteers have been trained through different levels of training, and equipment has been purchased. Lots of children have had time in the woodlands of East Lothian as part of their learning at school or nursery.
Its time to celebrate the hard work of everybody that has been involved, and to tell the stories of its impact on children.
Sanderson’s Wynd have kindly agreed to host a celebration on Friday 28th October – a programme is being developed for circulation at the start of the new term – but put this date in your diary.
If you have been involved if forest school or nature play in East or Midlothian and want to tell your story then you can do that at this event. I am very keen to get people to display children’s work connected to forest school, and to hear from teachers / rangers and volunteers if their are particular stories abut the impact of a forest school.
Whitecraig and Campie joint forest school programme for nursery children has a very good reason to celebrate as they are the runner up in a hotly contested national school section for the Scottish Finest Woods award. Lynne Welsh nursery nurse an former Whitecraig pupil collected the award from the Scottish Environment & Climate change minister Stewart Stevenson at a ceremony at the Royal Highland show
For more information on the October celebration event – contact myself or Tina Misselbrook at Sanderson’s Wynd primary
Regards
Steven Wray
I have been following the learning of the amazing P2P class at Sanderson’s Wynd who have published their own e-book. Its a re-telling of the Jack & the Beanstalk story and I think their version is better than the original.
In public health at the moment there is a lot of talk about the ‘assets model’ – basically building on and supporting what helps people stay healthy in a community. Assets that support children to have positive experiences, to explore the world in a variety of ways and to be proud of themselves, their peers , their families and communities have got to be amongst some of the most important community resources. Following the class blog gives you no doubt that the children of P2P are the beneficiaries of such assets. Whilst I am sure there is lots of work going on in schools and communities that is just as positive, this is a story we can all share by promoting and even purchasing the book. The children have decided to donate the funds they raise to Save the Children for a project in Malawi.
This is an asset everybody can afford to invest in by buying their book at the princely sum of 71p at this link:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jack-And-The-Giant/dp/B004NNVWIE/ref=sr_1_…
P2P have alsobeing out in the woods for forest school – for some really joyful photos visit the Sanderson’s Wynd Forest School blog https://www.edubuzz.org/sandersonswyndforestschool/
