Thousands of young children will soon be climbing trees, building dens and taking their learning outdoors across Wales, thanks to a new training programme which is giving teachers the confidence to let them learn new life skills in safety.

The ground-breaking sessions run by Forestry Commission Wales and Bridgend Foundation Phase team to deliver the outdoor learning module have provided almost 120 teachers in the last month with the ability to deliver life-changing education programmes.

“Children are increasingly more ‘bubble-wrapped’ in modern day society,” said Karen Clarke of Forestry Commission Wales, which is behind the programme. “But our new training course gives teachers the tools to safely change that.

“With the skills the teachers are taught, they can give the children a chance to discover new ways of learning in an exciting but controlled way.

“I feel really passionate about this programme, which allows children to meet new challenges, learn resilience and other life skills in a safe learning environment.”

Karen has been working with the Bridgend Foundation Phase Advisory Team on the series of training days at the Rockwool Woodlands for Learning Centre, Bridgend – which was part-financed by the FC Wales community development programme, Cydcoed.

The sessions give teachers the confidence and skill to deliver unique and enriching stimuli that boosts children’s development and provides new opportunities to learn.

“For many children, these outdoor learning sessions will be a real opportunity to get into the great outdoors and find out – sometimes for the very first time – how exciting our wild places can be,” said Karen.

With the Foundation Phase now in nursery and reception, classes are being encouraged to take learning outside the classroom and encourage children to become active learners.

The training course gives teachers the chance to take the role of the children, helping them understand at first hand the activities which can be staged outdoors.

“The Foundation Phase gives children a rich, stimulating environment indoors and outdoors and this innovative training programme gives teachers the confidence and ability to deliver just that,” said Jackie Phillips of the Bridgend Foundation Team.

An essential part of the programme gives teachers a steer on auditing their school woodland spaces, planning for outdoor learning and the role of the adult.

This ‘safety first’ planning allows children to learn about consequences of their actions, resilience, making choices and meeting challenges.

The FC Wales Woodlands for Learning team delivers woodland based learning experience throughout Wales and supports the development and delivery of Forest School. It also facilitates the Forest Education Initiative on behalf of its partners.

Rockwool Woodlands for Learning Centre is a new woodland teaching centre in Bridgend which was officially opened last year. The centre is used to help young people understand the environmental, social, and economic potential of trees.

A new ‘schoolroom’, surrounded by walks and trails, was completed on the site at Rhiwceiliog, Pencoed, Bridgend, with help from Cydcoed, a Forestry Commission Wales grant programme funded by the EU (Objective One) and the Welsh Assembly Government.

The centre is the result of several years' fundraising by a dedicated group of volunteers and local people on land gifted by the Rockwool company - the UK's leading manufacturer of mineral wool insulation for thermal, fire and acoustic protection.

The centre was constructed with the assistance of adults with learning disabilities and support staff from Bridgend County Borough Council, providing meaningful work opportunities. They have created the valuable educational resource and brought a large area of woodland into management.

Forestry Commission Wales is the government department responsible for forestry policy and looks after the 320,000 acres (130,000 ha) of public forests owned by the Welsh Assembly Government.
More information on the woodlands of Wales is available on www.forestry.gov.uk/wales