Nursery in Warrington Introduces Forest School Sessions as Part of International Programme

The colleagues and children at Bright Horizons Calland Day Nursery and Preschool in Warrington, have been taking part in various activities to help the environment as part of the Eco-Schools Programme, a wider project led by the team at Eco-Schools.

They have now introduced weekly stay and play Forest School sessions every Monday. This aims to provide hands-on learning experiences for its children, encouraging them to explore the natural environment and learn while outdoors, connecting with nature.

It also empowers young children to make positive changes to protect the environment and understand the impact of climate change. 

The Eco-Schools Programme is designed with seven steps that nurseries and schools follow to help empower young people to make changes to protect the environment and understand the impact of climate change. Bright Horizons currently has 59 nurseries across England and Scotland that have joined the programme.

As part of the Programme, Callands Day Nursery have set up an eco-committee which involves the children, who meet to discuss actions to take to promote recycling, biodiversity, and reduction of waste and litter.

Their Forest School incorporates natural items as part of their play, this includes creating leaf men, puddle paintings and having conker races. In addition, it nurtures children to find different different ways to support our environment in cutting carbon emissions, for example, encouraging the families to bike, walk or scoot to nursery for a week. They have also been collecting monthly food donations for Warrington food bank.

Charlotte, Deputy Manager and level 3 qualified Forest School lead practitioner at Bright Horizons Calland Day Nursery and Preschool said:

 “Our programme is tailored to meet the needs of learners as they grow in confidence and understanding through our Bright Beginnings Curriculum. This incorporates the ethos of Forest School which allows learners the time and space to develop skills, interests and learn rules and boundaries, both physical and social. It’s truly a wonderful thing to see children so enthusiastic in finding different ways to help protect our planet and being able to do most of their learning out in nature.

“We feel very lucky to have a great green space for the children to have an enriching learning experience taught by our Nursery Practitioners who are passionate about saving our planet and inspiring the next generation. Our nursery is equipping young learners with the knowledge and skills needed to become environmentally conscious in society.”

Providing children with the best start in life is at the core of everything the team at Bright Horizons do. For more details on our passion for sustainability within our nurseries please visit here.