Outdoor kindergarten could become the toast of education
AN OUTDOOR nursery, Wales’ first Nature Kindergarten, will open next year in woods in Rhondda Cynon Taf.
Former PE teacher and LEA community advisor Darren Lewis and former primary schools adviser Marc Withers, who launched an outdoor parent and toddler group in Dare Valley Country Park, are expanding it into a five day a week, 8am to 6pm, kindergarten next spring.
The kindergarten, for children aged two to five, will be the UK’s first Skogsmulle-inspired kindergarten – a Swedish early years philosophy based on the benefits of learning outside.
It will have spaces for 30 children, who will learn and play outside 90% of the time and spend 10% of the time in a woodland yurt.
“We secured a woodland within a councilmaintained country park, recruited volunteers and got funding to develop the site, as well as establishing a toddler group to test whether parents and children were ready to get involved in an outdoor kindergarten,” said Marc.
“We have parents and children coming from RCT, Cardiff, Rhondda, Merthyr and Monmouth.”
The private nursery will cost between £40 to £50 a day and will have a team of eight, including qualified teachers.
“We didn’t know if people in Aberdare, in Wales, were ready for this. You have to take a risk. It is quite niche but parents whose children attend the toddler sessions asked for a school,” added Marc, 35, who has two step-children aged seven and 11.
“We would expand to a primary school if possible. We would love to do that and in time I think we will.”
Darren, 36, a former PE teacher at Abersychan School and Penygarn Community Primary in Pontypool, first learned about nature kindergartens on a training visit to Stockholm in 2011 and decided to bring the idea back to Wales.
He said learning outside helps address issues such as childhood obesity and poor behaviour, as well as teaching children to manage risk and understand the environment.
“People are surprised when they see children aged two, three and four toasting toast at the fire. We teach them fire is OK as long as you know how to approach it. We go to the river to play and supervise at a distance.
“Children can download iPhone apps but some don’t know how to ride a bike or about water safety. We will use nature to teach children lifelong values and skills. I think we are too scared as parents to let children take risks. You should start with explaining the benefit of climbing a tree rather than the risk.
“Children are less safe if they never take risks and don’t have the knowledge to make safe decisions.”
High school technology teacher Ryan Lewis and wife Abigail, a designer, from Aberdare, take sons Felix, three, and Samson, one, to the Ladybird toddler group already running, and daughter Paisley, seven, to holiday sessions. When the kindergarten opens, they hope to send their sons.
“I would prefer them to come here than a regular school,” said Ryan.
“Studies show learning outside develops language and confidence.
“I am a school teacher so I have the confidence that what is being delivered here is of far greater quality than in a classroom.
“You see how settled and focused they are in the toddler sessions.
“It’s about discovering for themselves. I don’t want them to be inside looking at screens.”
Robyn, from Rhondda, also plans to send her daughters, aged two and one, to the kindergarten.
She said: “Learning inside you create the environment but outside you have nature and freedom. It teaches that life is not smooth and teaches children to manage risk.”
Rachel Jones, the current playgroup leader and a qualified primary teacher, will be among the eight staff.
A primary school teacher for 15 years and the mother of a six-year-old son, she left her job in a mainstream school to join the project.
“For a lot of children sitting down inside does not suit their style,” she said.
“You can count using sticks and stones and have story time outside.
“You can learn well outside.”