Ashbridge on Ribble Day Nursery, a group of four nurseries and an independent school, launched its new river school facility in June.
Set on the banks of the River Ribble, children spend their days experiencing river life, searching for fish and learning about the flora and fauna that surrounds the river banks. When they are not splashing about on the sandy banks, they are back on the deck of the boat, pretending to be pirates steering the ship out of danger.
Natalie Pratt, head of nursery, said, ‘It’s such a wonderful place to be. The children are in their element. Not only are they learning about key aspects of their immediate environment – they know the dangers surrounding the water and that they can only go down in low tide – but they also see it as a space that they want to protect and nurture. They understand that the large stones protect the river bed so it doesn’t erode away.
‘Back at the boat, we have replicated elements of the river so that children can extend their learning. We have boulders and sand and the children use them to climb on and build sandcastles. The deck of the boat also has large water trays where children use their nets to catch plastic fish. There’s also a slide that runs from the top deck into the bottom deck, which is so much fun for the children. ’
The sessions run at the river bank, which is a short two-minute walk from the boat, are led by a dedicated Level 3 Forest School practitioner, who incorporates elements of forest school and outdoor learning with the unique environment of the river. Like beach school, river school is another offshoot of forest school that can be adapted based on its location.
Miss Pratt said, ‘The children get dressed up in their wellies and waterproofs and head off down to the river for dedicated sessions. Some days they collect pebbles and look for fish. Other days they climb trees and make firepits to cook sausages and toast marshmallows and sing around the camp fire.
'There are lots of forest activities – they talk about the plants they see growing along the river bed. They also like to watch the changing state of the river from the bridge: if it’s flowing fast or if it’s still.’
Outdoor learning plays a key role in the nursery group’s ethos, with two of the other nurseries being surrounded by woodland areas.
Miss Pratt said, ‘We wanted to create something totally unique for the children, using the rich resource that was within the grounds of our existing nursery. We acquired the extra land and spent two years developing the area. We have a beach hut classroom (pictured below), which contains an atelier, and a library space and a large adventure playground.’
The River Ribble forms a large part of the community in Preston. Although there are no longer any boats on it, it runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire. Inside the nursery building, which is also located on the site and was built in 2014, pictures of the river run all the way along the corridor.