SEASON BREAK BONUS EPISODE!

In this episode, we were pleased to be joined by three guests. We were joined by Nick Burnett, the Director of Learning & Innovation at PRICE Training, our Executive Inclusion Lead Doug Stein and one of our Woodland Learning Support Assistants Georgia Pennicott-Gibson.

They jumped online to talk to me about PRICE Training, which runs courses looking at 'positive approaches to challenging behaviour', in schools and other settings.

Commonly called 'restraint training', we talked about why this is actually a misnomer and delved into the actual focus of these courses which are about de-escalation and supporting learners with emotional regulation.

We discussed the ethos of PRICE Training as well as the real world application of their courses in our work at The Outdoors School and how our staff have been responding to taking part in these training courses.

It was a really useful and interesting conversation and one we were glad to have and be able to share with our staff, other folk working in education and parents of children who may sometimes struggle with regulation. In fact, we thought it was so important to share that we've released it as a one-off episode whilst we're in our season break!

In this, our final episode of Season 7 of the podcast, we were delighted to be sat around the campfire, once more, with Tom Lowday, Co-CEO of The Outdoors Group and Neil Martin, our Lead Trainer.

They joined me to talk about the evolution of our Forest School Leader Training provision. Having run it for over a decade now, we discussed how it all started, their experience of delivering this training over the years and where it's going now.

We discussed why we never run out of people who want to do this training, discussed how important outdoor education and Forest School is in this day and age and talked about the challenges that the current generation of young people face and how Forest School can help them in a variety of ways - from giving them an appreciation and desire to protect the natural world to providing some screen-free time and helping encourage creative pursuits to increasing their emotional resilience and wellbeing.

As always, it was an absolute pleasure to put the world to rights with these two and we hope that you find it just as interesting and inspiring as we did.

In this episode we were delighted to talk to Bracken Van Ryssen. Bracken is based in Birmingham and is the person behind Bracken Outdoors; he is a fantastic outdoor educator who runs sessions and training in his area and also has a fantastic bushcraft YouTube channel and podcast.

We discussed his route to outdoor education and what he loves about it, the sessions and training he delivers and Forest School Leader Training in general.

We also took a deep dive into the challenging topic of money - looking at the sustainability of working in outdoor education, how possible it is to do it as a career and the challenges that those working in the industry face.

It was a really interesting and we think, much needed, conversation and a pleasure to have. As always, if you'd like to join in the conversation, please do leave us a comment or get in touch.

You can find out more about Bracken and his work at www.brackenoutdoors.com.

In this episode, we were delighted to sit down in Nick's cabin at Exmouth Forest School with Richard Brice-Nye, a recent Forest School Leader trainee of ours.

Richard joined us to talk about his career-changing decision to become a Forest School leader, his experience of training with us, his plans for the future and most importantly, to share his thoughts on the Forest School philosophy.

Coming from a scouting background and a career in graphic design, Richard talked to us about the importance of allowing children and young people to take charge of their own experience through Forest School. We discussed how he's seen this in practice at his six sessions and how he's found his recent time volunteering with us at Exmouth.

We discussed the benefits of Forest School for adults, talked about how being outside in nature and away from technology can be a crucial part of recovery for those suffering from burnout or PTSD. We also chatted about his plans to try and create a Forest School setting that is accessible to wheelchair users and disabled adults.

It was a hopeful and gentle conversation, and we think it was the perfect episode to start the new year with as we were reminded to prioritise the things that improve our wellbeing in 2026.

In this episode, we headed back to South Brent to meet one of our Lead Tutors, Chris Leeds. Chris joined us to talk about his experience of Forest School Leader Training with us and how he uses it in his role at The Outdoors School.

We discussed constructivism, biophilia and talked about how transformative outdoor education with an emphasis on being learner-led and autonomous can be for young people. We talked about the struggles that educators are facing at the moment and how we're trying something new and different in the hopes of effecting change.

Chris also shared how his training transformed his diet and approach to food through campfire cooking - an interesting revelation that we weren't expecting!

It was a fantastic conversation and one well worth a listen, whether you're an educator, parent or just interested in what we do.

We've taken a bit of a mid-season break from our theme of training that has been woven throughout this series because we had an amazing opportunity to connect with someone that we didn't want to turn down!

In this episode, it was an absolute pleasure to talk to Maria José Obando from Little Paws Outdoor Classroom in Vancouver about the provision that she runs in the city. We discussed what her sessions look like, how it is running sessions in a very urban space and her plans for Little Paws.

We chatted about the outdoor education scene in Canada and her experience of the benefits of Forest School sessions for the children she works with.

It was such an uplifting and positive conversation to have and we're so grateful to Maria for her time. You can find out more about her work at www.littlepawsoutdoors.com.

In this episode, we were absolutely delighted to be joined by Tamara Norris, an outdoor educator based on the island of Lamma in Hong Kong.

Tamara joined us to talk about her experience of doing her Forest School Leader Training with us and how she uses it now on the other side of the world.

We talked about how a Canadian childhood has embedded her love of outdoor learning, the challenges of risk assessing in a setting where poisonous snakes are present and how the changing climate is affecting her sessions. We also discussed how it is delivering Forest School sessions in a culture that is risk-averse and her approach to this.

It was a joyful and vibrant conversation, and it was such a pleasure to hear about the incredible work she's doing in Hong Kong and China.

In this episode, we were delighted to venture out of county to visit The Donkey Den, which is just outside of Taunton. We were there to talk to Claire and Mark, who both completed their Forest School Leader Training with us about their experience of training and the incredible work they do.

We spoke about what Equine Facilitated Learning looks like for them, the bereavement support work they do and how their work has gone from strength to strength since opening.

We also discussed why we need Forest School more than ever and their colleague Caroline joined us to tell us about her experience of doing Forest School Leader Training at Bridgwater College - the OG (original!) Forest School trainer in the UK!

It was a really fun and informative episode and we loved every minute of our time on their beautiful site! To find out more about what they do, visit https://www.thedonkeyden.org/.

In this latest episode, we were delighted to head to the beautiful Dartington estate to sit by the river and chat with Emilia Bishop. Emilia is an experienced First Aid trainer who delivers our Paediatric & Forest School First Aid courses.

We met up to talk about her very unique approach to first aid training - one that is run entirely outdoors, is trauma-informed and completely power point free! We spoke about why she runs courses the way she does, the importance of delivering training in the areas where you might end up giving first aid and her passion for first aid training for all.

It was a really interesting and thought-provoking conversation and we hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we did having it! For information about the First Aid training we deliver, please head over to www.outdoorsgroup.co.uk/first-aid.

In this episode, we were delighted to sit down and talk with Sue Searle, Managing Director and Principal Ecologist at Ecology Training UK. Sue joined us to talk about her journey to ecology, and the work she does training a whole new generation of ecologists.

We talked about her decision to become a Forest School Leader, her experience of training with us, what she wants to do with it and why she thinks it's so important for those working in outdoor education to have a strong ecological understanding of the spaces they work in.

You can find out more about the training her company offers over at www.ecologytraining.co.uk.