May 10th 2022
Paths to Resilience: Well-Being in the Early Years through Nature
On Tuesday, Moulsford played host to a number of Nursery and Pre-School heads who joined us for this year's Nursery Heads’ Conference. Also benefiting from this wonderful experience were existing Moulsford staff and those joining us in September. The theme we focused on was ‘Paths to Resilience: Well-Being in the Early Years through Nature’ and we welcomed Sarah Lawfull, who is a Forest School trainer, experienced Early Years teacher and self-confessed tree lover, to lead our course.
Following on from the experiences children have had throughout Covid and immediately following the lifting of restrictions we felt that this topic was particularly relevant. Some of the youngest children attending Early Years settings have had limited opportunities to engage with nature during their most formative years. They have also been faced with challenges both socially and emotionally that it is our responsibility to support children and families to address. The medium of nature lends itself beautifully to this. We explored topics such as barefoot learning, risk benefit assessments and sensory feedback opportunities to name but a few. We discussed in depth the need for children to have small 'learning accidents' in order to understand how to better assess their own risk and develop resilience. Another important conversation was around allowing children the chance to explore and learn without adult interruption. Sometimes children need to find their own answers rather than being led to them.
It was a truly inspiring morning and one I am delighted to have shared with so many settings. We will look forward to hosting next year's conference in our new Pre-Prep building.
Sabrina McMann
