Every now and then it is good  to ask the big questions like what is the purpose of education? Which is exactly what a DfE select committee was asking before Christmas (see the last FSA bulletin).  While one can be somewhat cynical of any government consultations this does give an opportunity for one to focus on these big questions and where does our practise fit.
See the full FSA submission (must be signed in).

What brought this into even more focus for me was a recent conversation with a parent (and friend) about parents evening.  Our conversation went a bit like this;
Parent  “just come out of a meeting with three of Elly’s teachers and all were saying the same thing….it was all about her test results and progress made, or not, in mainly literacy and numeracy.  I have this frustration as I didn’t know what to respond to and how I should articulate my questions given such a clear agenda coming from the school…ie it’s the results that help them get on in life!”
Me  “mmm….maybe you need to have a clearly defined set of questions written down before you go to the parents evening next time, and stick to your guns.  What do you as a parent wish for?  After all parental choice has been this government’s mantra for many years”
Parent..”Obviously I want Elly to have good life chances but more importantly I need to know at this point in time she is happy and loving learning.”  Elly is 9 years old.  There was a short pause and then he launched into a list of desires, which I saw as commendable and were actually embodied in the FSA response to the select committee’s questions about the purpose of education.  A list that is not really reflected in government and external targets indicators.  So here they are;
•    Does she get on well with her peers and contribute to the school community?
•    Does she persevere at learning and show some motivation to want to try and succeed and even if she doesn’t, is she OK with that?
•    Does she show some thinking about what she is doing?
•    What skills and talents does she show at school and how is school working with these rather than the usual literacy and numeracy stuff?  What creativity does she show?
•    What areas does she struggle with and why do you think that may be?
•    I would like to know how she might be different at school from home and would have loved the teachers to have asked me what she is like at home.
•    What simple things can we do at home..not just the helping with homework!?
If my parent colleagues’ questions give a clue as to what education is for, where does Forest School fit with these purposes of education and how should education shift to accommodate these aspirations?
The following list summarises thoughts on the purpose of education taken from the responses to a call for members to contribute to the FSA response to the ‘purpose’ consultation;
•    well-being,
•    resilience,
•    relationship-building,
•    fostering a sense of self and purpose in life and giving learners the life skills to be both autonomous and connected individuals who can thrive in an uncertain connected world;
•    to form and learn from relationships – be these with their peers, family, teachers, the wider and natural world;
•    fulfilling learners innate potential;
•    encouraging a sense of place and community;
•    to contribute to a sustainable world.

So where does Forest School fit?
Well if Forest School is following the 6 principles, or at least aspiring to do so, then I feel it is certainly about resilience and as most practitioners know there is a significant relationship building aspect to Forest School.  Working at things that might at first be a struggle but if there is motivation and purpose can contribute significantly to the above educational purposes.
Take tree climbing, for example, the purposes this fulfills are endless;
•    It can be a massive confidence building exercise, starting off small, just getting off the ground, through to climbing to the branches above head height.
•    It is good exercise and building essential hand eye co-ordination and physical stamina skills – working many muscle groups often not used elsewhere.
•    It is fantastic for building critical thinking – where can I put hands and feet?  And every tree needs assessing and looking at to keep ourselves safe as well as negotiate my way to a safe and yet risky high spot!
•    All our senses come alive – from the feeling of a living being in our hands and feet through to the sounds of the tree moving in it’s short journeys, the birdsong in the branches and wind as it brushes our face and whispers through the leaves.
•    It is free and something ultimately transferrable to all our recreational lives
•    Imagination can’t help but be stimulated – recently watching two 7 year olds hanging upside down on a low branch made me laugh out loud as they shared a ‘bat’ story.
•    It builds relationship from the act of being supported by tree climbing peers and adult educators through to connecting to some of the most magnificent beings in our natural world.
•    And finally it is fulfilling and fun – only two weeks ago while running some Forest School training I took great pride in searching for and climbing a tree on a new site and my co-trainer exclaimed I looked like a cheshire cat up there in the oak branches!!

So if we all agree that the ‘education purpose’ list above – which is by no means exhaustive, is an important starting point, then it is not hard to see how Forest School Fits.
Will this make any difference in our current education climate?  I have just stepped down from being a school governor.  Having been a governor on and off for the last 18 years at 3 schools, I think this has been my last stint.  A number of reasons behind this, but the one overriding one is that, as governors, we are having to look more and more at statistics, numbers and test results…it feels like it has become a numbers rather than names game.

As a parent and governor what I am more interested in is the individual learners and not the numbers.  What ever happened to “every child matters”?  My fear is that shifting the education system is a mighty hard task in the current political climate.  The latest announcements of plans to introduce tests for 4 year olds and 7 year olds, and appoint a new head of OFSTED, who will follow the current political directions of education rather than operating in an independent and objective way, only makes these fears worse.  Incidentally if you are concerned about the introduction of the new baseline assessments for 4 year olds (which are in all but name ‘tests’) please do visit this site. Many of us may be justifiably sceptical of consultations and government’s underlying agendas.  These often seem at odds with taking into account every individual learner’s needs, desires and motivations.  However it is always good to step back, question our practise and how it supports our own educational purposes.  This alone should mean we are having some effect on the learners we work with – asking them to also critically think about the learning for themselves and question the purpose of their education.  And yes the contributions made to such a consultation may well have had little effect – however if we don’t stand up and speak then will anything ever change??
Jon Cree – Chair of FSA  (this is an article reflecting the opinions of Jon not necessarily the FSA.  The submission was ratified by the board of the FSA)

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