Great Wood Farm Early Years Centre opened in 2002 and shall be celebrating the 10 year anniversary in April 2012. The centre is run on the family farm location next to Boothby woods where the Forset School is based, (there is no open access to the woods so the children have it to themselves on a daily basis) there is also a direct link to Lincolnshire woods, with deer and other wildlife. The setting provides child focused and free flow play activities thoughout the day. The children have continuous access to the outdoors whether in rain or snow. they also have access to the woods, the farm and the play area at various points throughout the day; they all have a love for the outdoors and finding something new.
The Forest School sessions (Preschool group aged 3-4 years) are run twice a week and the days alternate each week so all the children within the setting can participate in the topic (There are currently 54 children within the setting). This is an excellent opportunity for children to experience the great outdoors and to be exposed to risk. The setting enhances exploration, confidence and self awareness, the children are encouraged to take sensible risks which enables them to have some resilence at such a young age.
Taken from their Mission Statement:
'We encourage the children to think creatively and imaginatively, and, we do this by having dynamic and flexible systems that supports personalised learning. We provide a balance of adult led and child initiated learning that allows children to take calculated risks. This ensures children are confident, competent, creative, independent learners with excellent self esteem.' (Greatwood Farm online 2012)
The children here are all happy and carefree, they have a great amount of freedom and seem to enjoy taking responsibility for making their own decisions with risk and play choices. The children are always asked for their ideas and input in new ventures which is very refreshing. They are encouraged in looking after the animals and they currently have sheep, pigs, 2 ponies, and chickens on the farm which the children love to feed.
The staff here are all lovely and welcome students in from all over the country.
I stayed at The Royal Oak Inn in Swayfield which is a 7 minute drive from the centre. The Royal Oak Inn is a pub but the accommodation building is on the grounds but not attached to the pub, rooms are large and ideal and you can find them on google. Booked on Laterooms are £39.99 a night which is not to expensive. Its a lovely and cosy family run pub with great food, which is also priced well.
It is advisable to take a packed lunch with you due to the location (there are no local shops nearby), however, you can order a hot dinner from the kitchen in the morning for a contribution of £1.00 per day. The meals were usually a big hot dinner at 12 followed by a more snack like tea at 4. There are also hot and cold drinks facilities so be prepared for tea making duties!
You must be a driver if attending Greatwood farm, as the setting is so rural you don't get buses, shops etc, just small clusters of villages and fantastic pubs. So driving is a must, and recommend a sat nav if unsure of the area. I did a trial run the day I toured the setting. If you do use a sat nav then make sure it has up to date software, as many of the roundabouts coming towards Grantham are new and did not show up on my sat nav, leading me to get lost a few times!
Pub was very social, games night, pool tables etc
Things to do, things not to do
Trial run Definitely, Bring wellies, Shoes you don't mind getting muddy, lots of long sleeved tops and jumpers. The Royal Oak Inn has Wifi inside and they close at 11, I personally had no signal on my phone (02) anywhere, very rural. Jeans are also advisable and if you have waterproofs do take these along, however they do have spares so don't go panic buying.
Kate Spence, Forest School Leader 01476 585584.
Essential items are wellies and waterproofs.
Try to do some background reading about forest schools, a good basic book I have found is "Forest schools and Outdoor Learning in the Early Years" by Sara knight. This gives you the basic knowledge of the history and origins of the forest school ethos and how they have been adapted for British society.
Also read anything by Clare warden, who has been a huge influence within kate's practices within the setting.
Source of interest: Kate undertook her Forest School training with Archimedes. They run courses throughout the UK and have courses for all abilities, and stages of experience. I have applied to do my training in April with them also thanks to the wonderful experience i have had at the setting.
http://www.forestschools.com/
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