The university is also bidding to receive external accreditation for the module, which will be confirmed in August.
Students who take the course will be able to learn about woodland, risk assessments, tools and how to safely build fires with nursery children. If the module and external accreditation is successful, they hope to be able to offer the module to external early years practitioners.
Annie Woods, senior lecturer at the university’s School of Education and three colleagues, have completed the training.
Ms Woods said, ‘Learning outdoors is creative, challenging and healthy. It gives opportunity for problem solving, environmental learning, team work and individual exploration. The children have benefited enormously.’
‘Accreditation would mean Nottingham Trent University could offer training to students and practitioners from the start of the 2013-2014 academic year.’
The university piloted the scheme with three- and four-year-olds from Lowdham Pre-School, near Nottingham, at Millennium Wood at the university’s Brackenhurst campus.
Activities for Lowdham children, in groups of eight to ten, were held once a week for six weeks at a time allowing for language and co-operation skills to develop, and giving many the chance to experience the forest for the first time.
Lowdham Pre-School leaders Louise Wright and Julie Whaley worked on the pilot.
Ms Wright said, ‘The children who have experienced the forest school sessions have really benefited from them.’
‘We have seen children with delayed language finding their voices outside, children who are not normally keen outdoors types discovering a love for the open air, children experiencing tree climbing for the first time, learning about managing risk, working co-operatively and displaying really high levels of engagement in activities.’
‘In short there have been loads of benefits from their time in the forest. All of the parents have been very supportive and report how much their children loved their time at Brackenhurst.’
Lecturers Vic Brown and Moira Moran are now running a group for primary and childhood studies students at Nottingham Trent University’s Clifton campus and Vicky McEwan has started a parent and toddler forest school in Northamptonshire.
The forest schools programme was developed after a group of lecturers from the School of Education toured forest schools in Denmark.