Can Forest School inspire the next generation to be happy & healthy?

Posted by Katie Beresford, undergraduate student, Durham University

Katie completed a 6-week NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR) internship with Fuse based at Durham University in summer 2021. She was supervised by Fuse / NIHR SPHR PhD student, Sophie Phillips.

Richard Louv, in his book Last Child in the Woods, theorises that lack of connection to nature is causing a plethora of health problems in children. Can reconnecting children to the natural world provide a holistic solution to health and developmental issues?

Growing up in the Lake District, I spent my childhood climbing trees, swimming in rivers, and making mud pies. Embracing nature and enjoying letting my imagination reshape the world around me was part of my everyday life. In contrast, I found school restrictive and struggled academically in my early years – often being described as a ‘late developer’.

While completing my NIHR SPHR summer internship within Fuse, I reviewed literature discussing the effectiveness of Forest School as a public health intervention. One article titled: The hare and the tortoise go to Forest School: Taking the scenic route to academic attainment via emotional wellbeing outdoors struck me as similar to my own story, describing how children considered ‘behind’ their peers could catch up, like the tortoise in Aesop's fable. Now nearly two decades later and about to go into my final undergraduate year at University, I truly believe in the power of the outdoors to inspire children to be curious and healthy individuals.

Forest School is a child-led educational practice, whereby children spend time in a Forest or woodland under the guidance of a trained Forest School practitioner. The ethos and philosophy of Forest School is based on a rich heritage of outdoor learning. This ranges from whole movements such as the romantic movement, which exalted the sublimeness of nature as a push-back against the industrial revolution, to the work of individuals such as the great educationalists like Steiner and Montessori. However, the concept of ‘Forest School’ emerged originally from Scandinavia, where in many cases children spend their entire early years education playing outdoors.

The practice developed in the UK in the early 1990s and is ubiquitous across the country today. Although much of the practice in the UK places emphasis on freedom and play, often activities are incorporated into the sessions designed to connect the children to the natural world. Forest School aims to be beneficial for the holistic development of children, offering a wide range of social, emotional, cognitive, and physical benefits.

My summer internship consisted of writing up a literature review which drew on both the current research on Forest School and the thoughts of practitioners and stakeholders in the field. I considered both the effectiveness of Forest School on the health and development of children and the accessibility of the programme.

Due to its rapid growth, there is still much work to be done on improving the evidence base for Forest School, but in general there is huge enthusiasm from researchers and practitioners alike on the effectiveness of the practice. Forest school appears to equip children with social skills such as teamwork and collaboration; emotional skills such as resilience and self-esteem and cognitive skills like problem solving. There is evidence that it also increases children’s levels of physical activity and improves their appreciation of nature.

But, perhaps the most striking finding was that Forest School not only had an impact during the session itself, but long after the children stopped attending the Forest School. Through the pure enjoyment of being outside and not bound up by the norms of classroom behaviour, the children were inspired to be curious about the world around them. They started asking questions and thinking creatively and collaboratively.

Taking the scenic route to academic attainment

Some studies found that through attending Forest School, children who were academically behind their classmates caught up to a similar level of academic attainment since their interest in learning had increased. Forest School impacted children’s overall wellbeing, as it encouraged them that physical activity and spending time in the outdoors could be fun and rewarding. The children were therefore more likely to want to exercise and complete similar activities to Forest School in their own time – asking parents to take them to local natural spaces after school and at the weekend. Conversations with practitioners showed that this was pivotal to challenging the cultural lifestyle of families, especially in more deprived areas, improving perceptions of what it means to be healthy.

In a changing world, where children spend far less time outside as a result of factors like the increase of technology and availability of entertainment, Forest School offers an innovative and holistic approach to reconnecting children with nature. Through this, we can hope to inspire the next generation to be the curious, positive, and healthy individuals of tomorrow.

This project was funded and supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Public Health Research (SPHR), Grant Reference Number PD-SPH-2015. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

Part of our Fuse blog Student Series

The Fuse blog Student Series showcases posts by students who have been challenged to write a blog as part of their studies at one of the universities in the Fuse collaboration, the NIHR School for Public Health Research, or perhaps further afield. The authors may be new to blogging and we hope to provide a 'safe space' for the students to explore their subject and find their voice in the world of public health research.

Images:

1. Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
2. The Tortoise and the Hare. From Childhood's Favorites and Fairy Stories, by Various. Project Gutenberg etext 19993 http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/19993. From Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Tortoise_and_the_Hare_-_Project_Gutenberg_etext_19993.jpg

"Whatever their answer, double it and you should be close..."

Posted by Hannah Mehmood, Medical Student, Newcastle University

Hannah undertook a 6-week NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR) internship with Fuse based at Newcastle University in summer 2020. She was supervised by Fuse / NIHR SPHR Doctoral Student, Cassey Muir.

A question asked in every GP consultation is how much alcohol a patient drinks. It provides a useful insight into a person’s physical, social, and psychological health. According to my GP tutor, most people underestimate the amount they drink, as well as the impact this has on them.

Substance misuse is a complex issue, and as a medical student I have learned to focus on the impact of problematic drug and alcohol use on individual patient wellbeing. Last summer, as an NIHR SPHR intern, I studied substance misuse from a different perspective. The basis of my internship was a research project focusing on young people whose parents misuse drugs and alcohol. I aimed to explore how young people viewed school and education to understand if this environment could be used to deliver supportive interventions.

I analysed ten UK based qualitative studies which examined the experiences of young people affected by parental substance misuse. Qualitative studies examine non-statistical data to develop themes and deep understanding of the research question. The young people from the studies I explored were under the age of 25 and from various social, economic and demographic groups.

Young people viewed school as a space away
 from issues they may face at home

I was particularly interested in the ways in which young people viewed school as a separate space away from issues they may face at home, to the extent that many young people did not even discuss their home life with close friends. But despite the mental separation of home and school, the reality of their home life often prevented a complete detachment of the two. One young person described how caring for her parent resulted in frequently missing school, while another recognised that his aggressive behaviour in school was a way to offload stress at home.

Many young people also expressed a lack of trust towards their place of education, as well as a desire to blend-in with their peers. This contributes to barriers in identifying young people who may benefit from intervention, as many are fearful of being singled out while in the detached school environment.

In conducting my research, I came to appreciate the difficulty in generating themes from such varied experiences. I often felt that my insights did not do justice to the nuances of each individual story. I discussed this in a virtual meeting with a programme coordinator at ADFAM, a national charity that works with families affected by drugs and alcohol. Her experience, delivering interventions at an operational level, allowed me to see how my research fit into the real world. I came to understand that while research is conducted with the aim of applying findings to whole populations, these findings are only actionable when combined with existing knowledge and expertise. This discussion was a lesson in the value of cross-collaboration, an important tool in bridging the gap between research and intervention.

Over six weeks I have broadened my understanding of public health, conducted my own research project, developed my professional skills, and furthered my personal career goals. Although this internship took place remotely, my mentors enabled me to virtually meet various public health professionals. Hearing about their research roles, motivation and future plans has shown me the variety of career paths available within public health and helped to develop my own ambitions. The NIHR SPHR internship with Fuse has been a valuable personal and professional experience and I would recommend it to other students interested in pursuing a career in public health.

Part of our Fuse blog Student Series

The Fuse blog Student Series showcases posts by students who have been challenged to write a blog as part of their studies at one of the universities in the Fuse collaboration, the NIHR School for Public Health Research, or perhaps further afield. The authors may be new to blogging and we hope to provide a 'safe space' for the students to explore their subject and find their voice in the world of public health research.

Images:

1. 'Doctor with prescription stop drinking alcohol' by Marco Verch Professional Photographer via Flickr.com, copyright © 2019 (Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)): https://m.flickr.com/photos/30478819@N08/48719845996

3. Logo courtesy of ADFAM https://twitter.com/AdfamUK/photo