Features

"Children learn by carrying out small manageable tasks or investigating what's around them," says Judy Powell, Education Team Manager with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. "Forest schools are of real benefit. They complement normal classroom learning."

Indeed, the team at the county wildlife trust were so impressed by the teaching method that they have trained to be Forest school leaders, and are now running sessions from the education centre at Foxburrow Farm.

Several teachers and learning assistants from a range of nursery and primary schools in Carlton Colville, the Woodbridge Area and Stowmarket have also been offered training as part of the partnership with Suffolk County Council's Early Years Team and the Greenlight Trust.

So it was out with the textbooks at Combs Wood in Stowmarket this week, as pupils at the Combs Pre School instead made mud pies, created faces on trees, and weaved spiders webs with coloured string.

Sceptics may say it's all fun and games, but Emma Kerridge, who led this particular group of 3 to 4 year old's believes there's more to a mud pie than first meets the eye.

"This hands on experience gives you the whole story about what soil is and that mixing it with water makes it take on a new form," she says. 'We had a session the other week where we looked at animals that live in the woods, their tracks and their habitats. We looked at shelters and survival. The children have learned new words and identified oak leaves and different trees. It is a learning process and there are definite links with the curriculum."

Locally, 13 nursery schools and one primary school have now completed the first Forest Schools programme. All the teachers are very positive about the project and want to continue doing it.

"The children built up a relationship with the wood and the leader. We've had interest from some more schools who want to become involved in Forest Schools and will be doing another project this year working with 12 settings in four new areas in Suffolk," says Judy.

So if you go down to the woods today, you could be in for a big surprise.