School transforms overgrown outdoor area into new forest school
Pupils at Ninestiles Academy are benefiting from a new outdoor learning space designed to bring lessons closer to nature and encourage greater environmental awareness
An overgrown area at a Birmingham school has been transformed into a forest school, giving pupils more opportunities to learn outdoors and explore the natural environment.
Ninestiles, an Academy, which is part of Summit Learning Trust, has developed the space as part of the trust's wider sustainability work.
The project began with support from external funding secured through a successful Developing Local Provision bid.
A pupil with a particular interest in art helped shape the plans by creating a design concept for the area, before professionals cleared and developed the site while retaining its natural character.
The finished space includes mature trees, natural planting, outdoor learning areas, a reading circle and a fire pit.
Staff are now incorporating the forest school into the curriculum, with pupils able to take part in an outdoor lesson every week. It is already being used for class reading and morning tutor sessions.
A teacher, Shazia, has also completed specialist forest school training covering outdoor education, environmental teaching and safety.
The area is also being used to strengthen links with the local community. Residents have been invited to share their knowledge of the surrounding environment, including the bats and birds living nearby.
The forest school has featured in Year 7 transition activities, with pupils designing and decorating pebbles for a sharing garden where children can leave or take a stone.
The school is also exploring ways to use the space for science lessons. Yarnfield Primary School and Oaklands Primary School have their own dedicated areas within the provision.
Pupils are contributing to the project in other ways, too, using the school's laser-etching machines to produce signs, with photography and artwork planned for further displays.
The area has been developed using reclaimed Welsh timber supplied by Free Range Designs.
Alex Hughes, principal at Ninestiles, said: "By bringing together outdoor learning, curriculum development, sustainability and community engagement, the forest school is providing learners with practical opportunities to understand nature and their local environment while developing skills that extend well beyond the classroom.
"What makes this space particularly special is that it has been shaped with our learners at its heart. What was once an overgrown area has been transformed into a space where learners can read, learn, collaborate, explore and simply spend time outdoors.
"It has been fantastic to see how positively both learners and staff have responded to it."
He added that the school was proud of the links being developed with local residents, who were helping pupils learn more about the wildlife on their doorstep.