History of Forest Schools UK: Origins & Growth – Jaques of L
A group of children stands at the edge of a Danish wood in the mid-1950s. The kindergarten is full, so their morning lessons will happen among the trees instead. Nobody could have known that this small, practical solution would seed an educational movement felt in every county of Britain.
The story that follows runs from a parent in Søllerød to the classrooms of Somerset, and out into thousands of woodland clearings today. It is a story about trusting children with real tools, real weather, and real play.
Much of that play still happens with simple wooden objects, and we take the making of them seriously. The games in our outdoor games collection are built from responsibly sourced FSC timber and tested to UKCA and CE standards, so they can stand up to muddy hands and open ground.
Where Did Forest School Come From? The Scandinavian Roots of Outdoor Learning
The roots of Forest School lie in Scandinavia, where time spent outdoors has long been treated as ordinary rather than exceptional. Children were expected to learn in the open air whatever the weather, and the woodland was a classroom rather than a treat.
The clearest origin point is Denmark. The term 'Skovbørnehave', or forest kindergarten, is credited to Ella Flatau, a Danish parent who in 1954 began taking children into the woods near Søllerød when the local kindergarten was full. What started as a stopgap became a model.
The idea was quietly radical. Rather than bringing nature indoors in pots and picture books, it brought children out to meet it directly. They climbed, dug, built, and played across long stretches of time, returning to the same patch of woodland week after week.
That repetition mattered. Children came to know a particular set of trees, a particular slope, a particular puddle, and their confidence grew alongside that familiarity. Learning was slow, physical, and led by the child's own curiosity.
Play sat at the centre of it. Much of what those early forest kindergartens encouraged looks familiar to anyone who has watched children invent rules for a skittles run or a game of catch. Simple, robust equipment supports that instinct well, which is why so many of the games in our traditional games range translate so naturally to a woodland setting.
By the time British educators came looking, the Scandinavian approach was well established and thoroughly tested by decades of practice. It was a mature idea waiting to be observed, understood, and carefully carried home.
How Forest School Arrived in Britain: The Bridgwater College Experiment of the 1990s
Forest School arrived in the United Kingdom in 1993, when staff from Bridgwater College in Somerset visited Denmark and observed the Scandinavian model in practice. They did not read about it from a distance. They stood in the woods and watched it work.
What they saw persuaded them to try it at home. In 1995, Bridgwater College established the first Forest School programme in England, initially as part of their early years education and childcare courses.
That placement within teacher training proved important. Rather than existing as a novelty for one school, the approach was folded into the education of people who would go on to run nurseries and classrooms of their own. The idea travelled with them.
The early sessions were modest by design. A patch of woodland, a small group of children, a leader trained to step back rather than direct, and the freedom to spend time simply being outdoors. There was no elaborate kit and no rush.
British weather, so often treated as an obstacle, was reframed as part of the experience. Rain and cold became conditions to dress for, not reasons to stay inside. That shift in attitude was itself part of what Bridgwater imported from Denmark.
Games and challenges gave shape to the freedom. A leader might set out a ring toss or a set of skittles to draw a nervous child into the group, then let the play take its own direction. Our guide to forest school wooden games for UK educators looks at how simple equipment supports that kind of gentle, child-led start.
From Fringe Idea to National Movement: How Forest School Spread Across the UK
For a few years the approach remained a Somerset speciality, known chiefly to those trained at Bridgwater. Its spread depended on those individuals returning to their own settings and trying it for themselves.
Word travelled through the early years sector rather than through policy. A practitioner would see the effect on children's confidence, tell a colleague, and another woodland session would begin. Growth was organic and local.
Training providers multiplied to meet the demand, and Forest School leader qualifications became a recognisable route for teachers and nursery staff. As numbers grew, so did the need for shared standards and a common voice.
That need was answered in 2012, when the Forest School Association was established in the UK as the national membership organisation to support and develop the Forest School community. For the first time there was a body to hold the definition together.
The movement also broadened beyond the very young. Primary schools, secondary schools, and settings for children with additional needs all found value in regular time outdoors, and families began seeking it out too.
Parents wanting to understand what they were signing up to found plenty to consider, from clothing to the rhythm of the sessions. Our parent's guide to what forest school is sets out the basics, while families marking the start of school often look to the best gifts for a child starting school for something that carries the same outdoor spirit into the garden.
What Makes a Forest School a Forest School? How the Ethos and Principles Were Formalised
A Forest School is defined less by its location than by its approach. The Forest School Association defines it as a long-term, learner-centred process that takes place in a woodland or natural environment, and it is that process which sets it apart from a one-off nature walk.
The word 'long-term' is doing real work. A single trip to the woods is a lovely outing, but it is not Forest School. The ethos depends on returning to the same site repeatedly, so that trust, familiarity, and independence can build over months.
To protect that meaning, the FSA has published six core principles that underpin Forest School practice. They cover the long-term commitment, the natural setting, the focus on the whole learner, the managed taking of risk, the qualified leadership, and the child-led nature of the sessions.
Risk is treated thoughtfully rather than avoided. Children are trusted with tools, fire, and challenging terrain under careful supervision, on the understanding that judging risk is itself a skill worth learning.
Games sit comfortably within this framework because they reward patience, cooperation, and fair play. A slow game teaches turn-taking and quiet concentration, which is why some leaders bring a portable set from our board games range to a sheltered corner of the clearing.
Strategy games earn their place too. A weatherproof set from our chess sets gives older children something to return to session after session, and our piece on five chess moves that made history shows how much thinking a single quiet board can hold.
Forest School in Britain Today: How Many Schools, What Age Groups, and Where It Is Heading
Forest School is now a familiar phrase in British education, present in some form across every county. It reaches from woodland nursery groups to secondary provision and holiday clubs, and continues to grow year on year.
The strongest presence remains in the early years, where the approach first took hold. Toddlers and young children benefit most obviously from the freedom to move, explore, and take small risks under watchful eyes.
Yet the age range keeps widening. Primary schools run regular sessions, secondary schools use woodland time to support wellbeing, and settings for children with additional needs have found the outdoors a patient and forgiving teacher.
Where it heads next is likely to be about depth rather than novelty. As the FSA's principles become better understood, more settings are moving beyond occasional outdoor days towards the sustained, learner-led practice the term properly describes.
The equipment tends to stay refreshingly simple. Robust, well-made wooden games serve the outdoors far better than plastic that cracks in the cold, which is one reason traditional lawn games have found a second life in school grounds.
Those games carry their own long history, much of it played on grass in all weathers. Our account of croquet at weddings and how to set it up is a reminder that outdoor play has always drawn people together, and the sets in our outdoor games collection are built to keep doing exactly that, one muddy session at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions About Forest School
Who invented forest school?
Forest School as a concept is widely credited to Danish parent Ella Flatau, who in 1954 began taking children into the woods near Søllerød, Denmark, after the local kindergarten became full. She called this a 'Skovbørnehave', meaning forest kindergarten. Staff from Bridgwater College in Somerset later observed the Scandinavian model during a visit to Denmark in 1993, subsequently introducing and formalising Forest School practice in the United Kingdom, with the first English programme established at Bridgwater College in 1995.
Where did forest school originate?
Forest School originated in Scandinavia, specifically Denmark. In 1954, Danish parent Ella Flatau began taking children into woodland near Søllerød when the local kindergarten was full, establishing what became known as 'Skovbørnehave' — forest kindergarten. This Scandinavian approach to outdoor, child-led learning in natural environments spread across the Nordic countries before being observed by British educators from Bridgwater College, Somerset, during a visit to Denmark in 1993, leading to its introduction into the United Kingdom.
When did forest school start in the UK?
Forest School was introduced to the United Kingdom in 1993, when staff from Bridgwater College in Somerset visited Denmark and observed the Scandinavian model in practice. Bridgwater College then established the first Forest School programme in England in 1995, initially embedding it within their early years education and childcare courses. The Forest School Association, the national membership organisation supporting Forest School across Britain, was formally established in 2012.
Is forest school a British idea?
Forest School is not a British idea. It originated in Denmark in 1954, when parent Ella Flatau began taking children into woodland near Søllerød, creating what she called a 'Skovbørnehave', or forest kindergarten. British educators from Bridgwater College in Somerset visited Denmark in 1993 to observe this Scandinavian model, then adapted and introduced it to England, establishing the first UK Forest School programme in 1995. Britain has since developed its own Forest School community, with the Forest School Association founded in 2012.
Why is it called forest school?
The name derives from the Danish term 'Skovbørnehave', meaning forest kindergarten, coined by Ella Flatau in 1954 when she began taking children into woodland near Søllerød, Denmark. When British educators from Bridgwater College visited Denmark in 1993 and brought the concept to England, the approach became known as 'Forest School', reflecting its defining characteristic: learning that takes place in a woodland or natural environment. The Forest School Association defines it as a long-term, learner-centred process rooted in outdoor, nature-based experience.
What country did forest school come from?
Forest School came from Denmark. In 1954, Danish parent Ella Flatau began taking children into the woods near Søllerød when the local kindergarten was full, establishing what became known as 'Skovbørnehave', or forest kindergarten. This Scandinavian model of outdoor, child-led learning was observed by staff from Bridgwater College in Somerset during a visit to Denmark in 1993. They subsequently introduced Forest School to England, with the first formal programme launched at Bridgwater College in 1995.
How long has forest school been around in the UK?
Forest School has been established in the United Kingdom since 1993, when staff from Bridgwater College in Somerset visited Denmark and observed the Scandinavian model. The first formal Forest School programme in England was set up at Bridgwater College in 1995 as part of their early years education and childcare courses. That means Forest School has been part of British education for over thirty years. The Forest School Association, the national membership body, was established in 2012 to support and develop the growing Forest School community across the UK.
Who brought forest school to England?
Forest School was brought to England by staff from Bridgwater College in Somerset. In 1993 they visited Denmark to observe the Scandinavian 'Skovbørnehave' model of outdoor, nature-based learning in practice. Inspired by what they saw, Bridgwater College established the first Forest School programme in England in 1995, initially as part of their early years education and childcare courses. Their work laid the foundation for Forest School to spread across England and eventually throughout the United Kingdom.
What is the difference between forest school and outdoor learning?
Outdoor learning is a broad term covering any educational activity that takes place outside, including school trips, playground activities, and nature walks. Forest School is a distinct, specific approach defined by the Forest School Association as a long-term, learner-centred process that takes place in a woodland or natural environment, underpinned by six core principles. Key distinctions include its sustained, repeated sessions in the same natural space, child-led enquiry, and trained Forest School practitioners. All Forest School is outdoor learning, but not all outdoor learning is Forest School.
Is forest school part of the national curriculum in the UK?
Forest School is not a statutory part of the national curriculum in the UK. It is a voluntary, principles-based approach defined by the Forest School Association as a long-term, learner-centred process in a woodland or natural environment, supported by six core principles. Schools, nurseries, and other settings across Britain choose to adopt Forest School independently. The Forest School Association, founded in 2012 as the national membership organisation, supports practitioners and settings in delivering quality Forest School, but participation remains at the discretion of individual institutions rather than government requirement.