Introduction

I am a 25 year old Education Studies student at Swansea Metropolitan University, I have made this blog as part of my assignment for the module '21st Century Learning: Theories and Contexts'.
Prior to starting university last September I worked in Primary and Special Needs Schools across Mid and South Wales for five years, gaining valuable experience working with children from all walks of life, all with different needs. I still work for an agency as a supply learning support assistant on available days off I have from university. I feel that these experiences give me the oppurtinity to apply my relevant knowledge into my university work.
In this blog I will briefly introduce four different learning contexts which are:

● The Foundation Phase

● Forest School

● Learning Outside The Classroom ( LOTC )

● Home Education.

All four of the above are succesful contexts that take place across The UK on various levels. Some education settings emphasise more in The Foundation Phase than others, and some schools have more natural settings to provide a forest school environment. No two education settings are completely the same and each have individual tailored needs to the pupils and staff.

 

Home Education

 

It is your legal right as a parent/carer if you wish to educate your child at home in The UK, however if your child has previously been in a school you must notify your local council of your intentions.  Some schools and councils allow a child to attend school on a part-time basis providing the child is learning part-time at home or in another setting.

 

Many parents choose to home-educate their children for various reasons, some are listed below:

● Religion

● Philosophical reasons

● SEN requirements

● Disagreement with the school education system

● Commuting distance

● Some parents may feel that they want their children to develop in their own person and not be moulded by an education system

● Gypsy’s / travellers

 

Children who are home-educated do not have to follow a curriculum and they do not have to sit any exams at any stage. The parents/carers are however obliged to ensure that from the age of five, each child receives a full-time education, but you do not need to follow the daily hours and routines a school would, nor do you need to have a timetable in place.

Although local authorities do not issue any funding to support home-educating they can sometimes offer guidance for parents/carers including national curriculum material.

“While there are no official figures on how many children are home educated in the UK my research suggests that there are around 60,000 (approximately 0.6%) UK children of compulsory educational age who are currently (2012) being home educated. This web site seeks to support those families and inform them of their legal rights and responsibilities.”
http://www.home-education.org.uk/

 Here in Wales there is currently on-going plans for a system to be out in place so that all home-educated children are put on an official register.

“Under the plans, parents would have to apply to join the register and would be assessed to see if the environment and education being provided was suitable.

 They would also be assessed every year to see if child's needs are being met.

Education Minister Leighton Andrews has now removed the idea from forthcoming legislation and civil servants are analysing the responses to a consultation on a draft bill which would have changed the law” 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-20898475

 

I personally think that children should attend school, as this is a way of life, children meet life-long friends in the school environment and they build relationships and confidence in one another unlike they would at home. School is seen as a stepping stone in life and should be gratefully received. As a country we are very lucky to have a free education system as many countries have no such privileges.

References:

http://www.home-education.org.uk/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-20898475

Learning Outside The Classroom (LOTC)

Learning Outside The Classroom

“Launched in 2006, the LOTC Manifesto is a shared vision to raise achievement through an organised and powerful approach to learning in which direct experience is of prime importance.”

 http://www.lotc.org.uk/about/manifesto/

LOTC is now part of the Welsh curriculum for all children between the ages of three and nineteen. There is a wide range of activities that can be completed with pupils both within the school grounds and also off school grounds. The idea is for the children to experience the world beyond the classroom.

 

 

“The survey also found examples of the positive effects of learning outside the classroom on young people who had not been stimulated or motivated sufficiently by mainstream education.”
Ofsted, Learning Outside the Classroom Report, Oct 2008

Activities that can take place within the school can include exploration of the world around you, forest school, incorporating maths, English and science to the outside world in various ways and also collecting materials to make collages or models back in the classroom. These activities can give the child an opportunity to learn about the environment around them and gain a sense of place in their school and local community. These activities allow the children to use available resources including digital cameras and data loggers.

 

"If materials are brought into the classroom, while the children may learn about some of their features through direct experience, they do not also learn where they occur in the world. Experiences outside the classroom may therefore seem more 'authentic' and grounded in 'reality' and certainly some of the children in our own research (Waite 2011) have talked of knowing that something is 'real' in the sense of believable through first-hand experience rather than just being told. Perhaps then reference to 'reality' and 'authenticity' is understood in the relation to life beyond the Educational setting." (Waite, 2011)

Excursions that could take pupils out of the school grounds include trips to museums, historical venues, factories, cities and much more.

 

The Council for LOTC demonstrate learning outside the classroom options very clearly in the diagram on the following link:

 http://www.lotc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/GTarget-diagram_v4.pdf

 

LOTC really can benefit each child, you will often find that a child will come out of their shell more when in the outdoor environment. These outdoor lessons can also improve the relationship between pupils and teachers with better understanding of each other which often makes an impact when returning to the classroom.

 There is a scheme in place called the quality badge this is awarded to educational establishments that meet the learning and safety requirements for schools visits.

Local schools are known to make regular visits to many quality badge holders venues in South Wales, but one in particular is Techniquest.

 

 

Techniquest is located in Cardiff Bay and provides educational programmes for pupils from the foundation phase right through to post 16. Their aim is to educate children about science, technology, engineering and mathematics through discovery during their tour. Specifically for The Foundation Phase and Key Stage 2 there is a planetarium which encourages children to investigate the night sky. 

 All of the programmes available at Techniquest are linked to The National Curriculum so the trip can be used for further tasks back in the classroom.

For more information please visit:
http://www.techniquest.org/2012030113/education/education-programmes.html

 

 

I can definitely agree that LOTC is a great benefit to pupils and students of all ages. I remember being taken outside of the school by teachers and this always felt rewarding and made our learning interesting. LOTC can also benefit children with behavioural problems, there is a certain sense of freedom when working outside the classroom, this can give the pupil time to explore and ask questions.

 

References:

 http://www.lotc.org.uk/about/manifesto/

Ofsted, Learning Outside the Classroom Report, Oct 2008

Waite.S, (2011) Children learning outside the classroom from birth to eleven, Sage

http://www.lotc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/GTarget-diagram_v4.pdf

 

 

The Foundation Phase

The Foundation phase only takes place in Wales and it includes children from the ages of three to seven years old. The idea behind The Foundation Phase is for children to learn actively through play and through a ‘learning by doing’ strategy. The Foundation Phase enables children to solve real life problems in both indoor and outdoor environments through play, it also allows children to take part in practical activities that are relevant to their developmental stage.

 

 

“Through their play, children practise and consolidate their learning, play with ideas, experiment, take risks, solve problems, and make decisions individually, in small and in large groups.”

 http://wales.gov.uk/dcells/publications/policy_strategy_and_planning/early-wales/whatisfoundation/foundationphase/2274085/frameworkforchildrene.pdf;jsessionid=2484C469987366E87362399275222D07?lang=en

 

The Foundation Phase has seven main areas of learning which are:

 

 

 

  -Personal and social wellbeing and cultural diversity

This encourages children to build relationships with other people as well as build self confidence in themselves. This also allows children to identify others needs and different cultures that surround them.

 

 -Physical development

Children’s physical development is actively encouraged to ensure that they can develop skills such as spatial awareness, motor skills, control and coordination and balance.

 

-Creative development

Children should constantly be developing their creative and imagination skills, these are crucial to a child’s personal development. This part of The Foundation Phase allows children to use their imaginations and creativity through the means of art, dance, craft etc.

 

-Language, literacy and communication skills

Children are encouraged to share their experiences with both other pupils and staff as a means of communication, this enables them to use their own ideas, thoughts and interpretations in their detail. Children are also encouraged to ask questions and voice their own opinions as well as making their own choices. 

 

-Mathematical development

Children use numbers on a daily basis in the classroom for various tasks, they also progress on to mental maths when ready to do so as well as the recording of mathematical sums and information. As the child develops the introduction of shape, area, patterns and many other areas will be introduced.

 

-Knowledge and understanding of the world.

Children are given the opportunities to learn in both an indoor and outdoor environment for various lessons, this encourages them to investigate and learn about the world around them. This area also encourages children to demonstrate care, emotion, opinions and feelings about the world and their lives.

 

-Welsh language development

Welsh language skills are developed in various ways, but the language is used on a daily basis. Generally a lot of welsh schools answer the registers in welsh, talk about the weather in welsh as a class and as they get older more daily welsh spoken tasks are expected.

 

 

 

The Foundation Phase was first implemented on different dates according to the ages of pupils at the time between 2008 and 2010.

 "Not everybody agrees that The Foundation Phase is the right solution for developing young children in Wales. The link below is a BBC article from 2011 stating how ESTYN (The office of Her Majesty's Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales) did not find all schools findings on reading and writing acceptable."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-14898083

Personally from working in The Foundation Phase for a number of years and in various schools I can am still a little wary of The Foundation Phase, I agree that it is an encouraging way to start a child’s Education, it allows the child to get to know themselves and to develop in their own person without being moulded. The school obviously leads the children in the right direction but at the same time allows the children enough space and time to develop themselves as individuals. However I rarely see children reading out of choice like we did in school. Reading in The Foundation Phase is not emphasised which I do feel is a down-fall personally. If I could change one thing about this programme it would be to include some form of reading on a daily basis.

 

 

 

References:

http://wales.gov.uk/dcells/publications/policy_strategy_and_planning/early-wales/whatisfoundation/foundationphase/2274085/frameworkforchildrene.pdf;jsessionid=2484C469987366E87362399275222D07?lang=en

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-14898083

 

Forest School

 Forest School

 

 

 

 

The original concept of Forest Schools came from Sweden, they were first implemented there in the 1950’s, but are now used worldwide.  The philosophy behind it believes that children's contact with nature and the natural world is a very important factor in their development.

 

 

 “A study done in Sweden over a 13 month period found that children located in urban environments were much less happy than those attending forest school kindergarten in a countryside environment. It appeared the main reason was due to the larger range of choices present for play in nature, children played for longer amounts of time, with less annoyance of each other compared to the children of the city kindergarten.”
http://www.forestschools.com/a-history/

 

"Before the urbanisation of the nineteenth century it was not necessary to create formal links between education and the outdoor environment. Children spent large amounts of time outdoors as part of normal life, and the skills and knowledge acquired there were life skills often related to the food economy, or for the privileged minority, leisure skills (Heywood  2001:23,158)" (Knight,2009, p2)

 

 The development of forest schools in the UK began around 1993 when teachers and students from Bridgewater, Somerset visited a Denmark on an exchange visit. They were inspired by the emphasis on outdoor activities and they brought their inspired visit back to the UK and shared their experiences. They actually went on to set up their own forest school within their college for children of students.

 Outdoor learning is now being seen very much as a great natural development of children, it addresses the holistic development of a child. It also allows children to take risks and develop self-awareness, self-confidence, empathy and social skills. Whilst in the forest children are allowed to develop their own ideas, make decisions and solve problems. In the forest children are developing at their own speed and are gaining awareness of the outdoors and the environment.

 "Being outdoors brings with it a new set of rules and guide lines for children to adhere to, although it should be stressed that too many rules will hinder the freedom and opportunities to explore that the children so benefit from.” (Constable.K, 2012, P14)
 

Forest schools are a useful, innovative and inspiring approach to learning to children of all ages and abilities. They allow children to develop and improve communication skills, self-awareness skills, empathy and independence. It also promotes a positive mental attitude, confidence and self-esteem. Forest schools allow time for social interaction and improving emotional intelligence, it also enables learning about the environment. Forest schools are beneficial to children of all ages, particularly early years, disabled children and children who may not be succeeding in school.

 ‘The Forest School ethos fundamentally acknowledges individual learning processes by supporting participants at their own pace and following their lead as they explore a safe and stimulating environment full of sensory diversity and variability.’
http://www.forestschoolwales.org.uk/ysgol-goedwigforest-school/benefits-of-forest-school/

 Forest schools actually meet all of the requirements set out by The Welsh Assembly Governments ‘Foundation Phase’, they can also actually allow children to earn an OCN Level 1 in Basic Practical Forest School Skills. This may be the only qualification some children get whilst at school.

 "In addition, Forest School meets a variety of Government Objectives for “Healthy Living”, “Every Child Matters”, and “Inclusion”. Specifically, Forest School Programmes meet the following WAG strategies and policies:

Out of Classroom Learning

WAG–Extending Entitlement

Lifelong-Learning

WAG:The Learning Country

Woodlands for Wales

Local Agenda 21”

 http://www.forestschoolwales.org.uk/ysgol-goedwigforest-school/benefits-of-forest-school/

 

Activities that can take place during Forest school can include:

Nest-building

Flower and tree challenges

Adventure books

Leaf identification tasks

Mini-beasts challenges

Language development–poems, stories etc.

Mud-tasks

Whittling

Den-making.


This video gives you an insight into how forest schools can be implemented within Early Years:

 

 

Forest schools in my eyes are a great asset for every school to include, children benefit in so many ways and still it stays within the guidelines of The Foundation Phase and National Curriculum. I feel that forest schools are very important within a child’s education and part of self-development and awareness.

 

 
References:

http://www.forestschools.com/a-history/

Knight.S, (2009) Forest schools and outdoor learning in the early years, Sage

Constable.K, (2012) The Outdoor Classroom,Ages 3 to 7, Using ideas from forest school to enrich learning,  Routledge

http://www.forestschoolwales.org.uk/ysgol-goedwigforest-school/benefits-of-forest-school/

http://www.forestschoolwales.org.uk/ysgol-goedwigforest-school/benefits-of-forest-school/