We Work With:

We Work at:

Woodlands & School Grounds around Swindon, Highworth and Faringdon.

Cuckoo Pen Plantation, Coleshill Faringdon

Stanton Park, Stanton Fitzwarren, near Swindon.

Woodland Learning

School Grounds Projects

Woodland Learning Tree Planting 5Learning in a natural environment should be a part of the every school day experience. The more accessible it is the more likely it is to be used. School grounds are the ideal place to take children to give them real hands-on experiences that cater for all learning styles across the curriculum. A place to relax, play, learn, excercise and get fresh air and discover wildlife.

I first began developing school grounds for learning 20 years ago. I have a wealth of experience of what can work and what doesn’t. I would advise schools to keep projects simple. Start with the basics and work on developing them. The success of any ideas depends upon the people taking responsibility for making them happen. Maintenance is crucial, but well used areas are always maintained best. Ponds in the furthest corner of the school field often become overgrown. The easiest, most cost effective, low maintenance if set up right at the beginning, natural area to create is woodland. If space is short this could be a wide hedgerow or some fruit trees or a weeping willow. With more space a small woodland or orchard or both can be planted.

Associated habitats such as wildflower meadows, marshes and ponds, willow structures and log piles can also be created to suit the requirements and budget. They can also be a venue for sensory and art trails, maths trails and trim trails. The possibilities are endless.

School grounds developments are a great way of involving all the pupils, neighbours and families. Everyone seems to enjoy planting trees, etc. Projects can be linked with family learning, primary to secondary transition programs, youth clubs and extended schools. 60 families once turned up for a school grounds development day at Goddard Park Primary!

The School Grounds Development Service Offered by Woodland Learning

I can collect all the information about desired uses for the school grounds and look at the physical constraints and come out with a simple lay out plan.
Once the final lay-out is agreed I can draw up a timetable for creation and maintenance and work out costs. At this stage I can also help the school to apply for any grants.
My strength is in making the plans a reality. I have the practical skills and ability to teach them and involve people to develop the school grounds.

I charge £220.00 a day for this service. An initial consultation visit to chat through possibilities is free. To ask any questions or to book an initial visit please contact Ruth Parsons

Examples:

The Chalet School, Swindon

Chalet School Zoned Garden

The Chalet School is a small special needs school in Swindon.  They have a memorial garden in their school grounds.  This is a secure place close at hand where the children can freely explore and discover the natural environment in safety.  This is essential as many of the children are autistic. 

In 2008 the school and I successfully applied for funding from Awards for All to reinstate the garden, buy equipment and use the garden more effectively through staff training and Forest School Sessions.

The staff were introduced to Forest School with a teacher training day at Stanton Park where they built a bridge, a path and a seating area and cooked their lunch on an open fire.  A follow up staff meeting led us to think how the garden would be used and design it accordingly.  We decided to create 4 zones within the garden; a woodland discovery zone, a growing zone, a make believe/fun zone and a relaxing zone.  These were drawn on a simple plan and a list of jobs to be done and equipment needed drawn up and costed.

The first job to be done was to pollard a large willow in the centre of the garden.  This gave us many of the materials we needed to do our other projects.  The pile of logs has been a fantastic source of inspiration for the children.  They have climbed and balanced, moved them and made seats, drums and a see saw from them!  We also used the wood chip to mulch the living willow dome we made.

With the exception of felling the large tree and cutting the grass and regenerating buck-thorn with a flail mower all the work has been carried out by Woodland Learning, parents, staff, the children at their Forest School sessions and by wonderful volunteers from INTEL.

Works so far include,

We have also had great fun playing hiding and finding games, story-telling, following trails, making kazoos, making charcoal, drinking hot chocolate, making dens, climbing trees, making music, playing with the logs and freely wandering around and not doing much.  We have made some lovely displays in school and added some great photos of the children reaching milestones to their portfolios.

As well as the work in the school grounds the children have visited other woods and habitats including Stanton Park, Coleshill for Woodland Week and Slimbridge.

5 members of staff and a volunteer have achieved their OCN Level 1 Introduction to Forest School Certificate.  The course for this was run by Woodland Learning at the school and was attended by the school staff and 10 others.

At this school Forest School and the development and use of the memorial garden is truly a part of everything the school does with the children.  We have lots more ideas and projects and hope we can raise the funding to keep the partnership going.

Woodland Learning Chiseldon School Plans

Goddard Park Community School, Swindon

Goddard Park School is situated on an older housing estate in Swindon in one of the areas of social deprivation.  The area surrounding the school is not really aesthetically pleasing so the school woodland not only provides a safe natural place where the children can play and learn but also makes the area look a lot better.  The school staff, children and local people value their wood and are always keen to help look after it.

I helped to plant the wood about 18 years ago and some of the other staff who were there then, including the Head Teacher and the Dinner Lady are still very much involved in using and caring for the wood and the rest of the grounds. 

Despite being only 18 years old the wood really does look like a proper wood and has plenty of space for den building and hide and seek.  The canopy has closed and there is very little light reaching the floor so the grass has stopped growing.  All the children call the wood The Forest.  It has great places to hide and some good climbing trees and large logs.

Over the years parents have helped to;

Pupils in Year 5 have Forest School Sessions in the wood every Thursday afternoon.  There is also an after school club for year 3 and 4 pupils.  As part of this they have:

The project is ongoing with lots of plans for more vegetable beds, more living willow, a new roof for the shelter, a low ropes walk, plants for bees and butterflies and more compost bins.

School Projects