Forest Schools And Covid-19

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Forest Schools And Covid-19

Schools have started to return and there certainly have been differences to the start of the year. Students are facing new limitations and experiences within schools. And there have been concerns about how children can get the same high quality of teaching as they have done before. And where does the current restrictions leave forest schools?

Transmission Within Outside Settings Lower

The advantage of forest schools is that they’re outside. Either within a forest area or under the cover of a school canopy. Therefore, it is well known that viruses like covid-19 are spread less easily in these environments. Therefore, the Forest School Association has deemed the risk low.

In fact, many have stated that more time outside will reduce the spread of the virus and protect staff and students more. And there are lots of great lessons that can be taught outside. For instance, maths, science and art can all be taken outside and taught in forest schools.

Forest Schools Help Students To Learn

By taking lessons outside, students can grow in confidence that they can apply across their education as they learn academically and work towards personal growth. Having fun helps students to retain information much better. Finally, students can be more active outside which is better for mental and physical health.

There are so many benefits to forest schools, that by being able to keep them in the learning mix during these tough times is a real bonus.

How To Stay Safe During Forest School Lessons

While forest schools pose limited risk for the spread of covid-19, it isn’t zero. And there are still things that you can do to minimise the risk even further. For instance, forest school areas should be limited to bubbles. Where only a set of students in a bubble can interact, use equipment and learn at the same time.

All equipment should be used for one bubble and not shared between bubbles. In addition, surfaces should be cleaned as much as possible.

Conclusion

Forest schools are an important part of learning and luckily pose limited risk that they can still be used during restrictions. However, you should still take precautions to take advantage of all the benefits that forest schools have.

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Able Canopies Ltd. design, manufacture and install canopies and shade structures at schools, nurseries and educational settings to enable year-round Free Flow Outdoor Play and Outdoor Learning.

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Forest Schools And Covid-19

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