Abstract

This small-scale practitioner research focused on one junior school in the North of England, and was carried out with the aim of improving its Forest School.

The thesis examines a commonly held tension among Forest School practitioners: balancing the academic demands of the National Curriculum and its associated End of Key Stage Tests, with providing enjoyable outdoor experiences for children.

Research literature has been used to develop a personal theory of outdoor learning that can underpin one possible approach to using Forest School. The thesis shows how this theorising has precipitated a new understanding of how Forest School might be improved: when planning for Forest School, in order to maximise children’s National Curriculum learning, both outdoor activities and children’s lessons linked to those experiences, should be planned around their interests. This new understanding identified the gap in knowledge which this research set out to fill: what exactly are children interested in at Forest School?

An archive of photographs taken by children at Forest School was used, alongside supporting data gathered from children’s drawings and written work. Thematic content analysis was used to interpret the data. The data are presented largely through a retrospective visual ethnography, with photographs and quotes from children illustrating each theme.

The research found that children were interested in thirteen themes. Each theme is represented visually. This allows the key elements of interest to be seen and identified easily by teachers. The broad range of interests are linked to four theoretical concepts: relationships, active engagement—fun, place and sensory experience.

Now that the researcher is aware of what sparks children’s interest outdoors, moving forward, this new contribution to knowledge can be used in order to improve Forest School provision. Knowing about children’s interests will allow the development of a planned set of interesting and enjoyable outdoor experiences for them at Forest School, which are linked to classroom learning and the aims and objectives of the National Curriculum.