Opening Hours – 7.45am – 5.30pm
Telephone – 01772 860834
Email – enquiries@broughtonpreschool.co.uk
‘From tiny acorns, mighty oak trees grow’
‘Outstanding in all areas’ Ofsted 2020
Outdoor Play
Forest School is a new initiative in Lancashire although it has been in operation in other parts of the country for some time. The idea originated in the Scandinavian countries in the 1950s and promotes holistic learning in the outdoor environment. Their philosophy of the Forest School was based upon a desire to provide young children with an education that encouraged appreciation of the wide, natural world and which would encourage responsibility for nature conservation in later life.
As part of Abi Hargraves PGCE, Abi undertook forest school training and has taught outdoor classroom sessions during her teaching experience. As a result of her training we actively promote experiential learning for children through the use of the outdoor environment and in doing this believe that children will additionally develop a respect and appreciation for the countryside and ultimately the wider world. During outdoor play children encounter natural resources which give much more meaning to their learning experiences. The skills that the children learn in the outdoor environment can then be transferred into the classroom environment.
All the children who attend the pre-school are encouraged to explore the outdoor environment beyond the enclosed outdoor area, with your permission, to experience the wider environment. Children venture out with practitioners according to the ratio applicable to their age (Ofsted, 2017) into the playing fields and the field beyond to take part in picnics, den building, find out about the seasons, number, space and space activities etc. The learning experiences are endless and we are very lucky at pre-School to be situated in such an exciting environment. Pre-School is equipped with a set of waterproof suits and many pairs of wellingtons to keep children dry during wet weather. If you wish to have more information on how outdoor play can enhance learning please speak to one of the pre-school practitioners.
Whilst using the outdoor environment children show increased confidence, independence and self-esteem. In addition they develop an ability to assess risks for themselves.
Broughton Pre School were one of the first four settings in Lancashire to achieve the Lancashire Quality Award. This demonstrates our exceptionally high standard of provision, care and education.
We were pleased to be awarded the Learning Excellence Good Practice Award in January 2014 for our study ‘How the role of the practitioner can raise the level of achievement for boys’ in the early years’. The Learning Excellence Award is about sharing good practice between educational establishments.
Ofsted
We were Ofsted inspected in February 2020 and at the inspection we received an OUTSTANDING in all areas.
Click here for further details of our Ofsted report log