The Guardian – Lucy Ward
“Grey clouds are looming above Chrishall Holy Trinity and St Nicholas CE primary school in the rural north-west corner of Essex, but a row of bright wellies are lined up ready for action outside the reception classroom. Inside, class “praying mantis” are sitting in fleeces and overtrousers, writing and drawing preferred activities on mini-whiteboards for their weekly morning in the forest. A clutch of girls have joined forces to portray a den, buckets for mud-carrying and stick figures of themselves, while Louis – bundled in many layers – has drawn “a massive secret hideout”. Each student in turn describes their plan to Liz Bicknell, a veteran outdoor learning specialist who – accompanied by her small white dog Fluff – co-ordinates the forest school here. A falling tree might not be audible in an empty forest, but it’s a safe bet that Mrs B would be: her cheerfully commanding tones are just the thing for guiding four- and five-year-olds in the great outdoors.”(more)