3.2- Assignment (Unit 4): The Process of Managing Risk

In a world of helicopter parents and children wrapped up in cotton wool we need to start opening children up to the world of risk, this is where Forest School can help and inhibit new exploration’s and experiences. 

With the ethos of Forest school being child-led we want the children to be able to try new activities while self assessing the risk and managing that risk. Forest school has a belief that we offer appropriate risks for children’s development. By offering these experiences with potential ‘risks’ we are helping the child develop confidence, resilience and essential life skills.  

Throughout life we are faced with challenges and these experiences can help how they cope and deal with them which can contribute to many factors in their life, including their mental wellbeing. 

As a high percentage of children are being raised in ‘cotton wool’, forest school can offer these ‘risky factors’ such as whittling, climbing trees, working with tools and free exploration, allowing the child to be excited by learning and feeling a sense of independence, which will help them grow and navigate the world with a greater depth of understanding.  

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What we do as Forest school leaders to manage risk.

As a forest school leader, we manage risks by completing risk assessments, which cover the area we are using, how we travel and what we may have to travel through to get to our space (in our case a field), also having a completed risk assessment on all the activities we may carry out and how we can avoid any injuries. As well as injuries we need to make sure we are covering all the basic needs for the children and our staff/volunteers. 

These basic needs which help create a safe and nurturing environment include snacks, hydration during sessions, adequate shelter and an area where they are able to go to the toilet. 

We must ensure all children are wearing appropriate clothing before attending sessions, waterproofs, coat, hat, welly boots/old trainers, making sure they know that it is okay if these clothes get dirty or ripped as that is what exploring out in nature is all about. 

Risk management could also be deemed as part of safeguarding, to make sure the children are properly clothed, fed and hydrated. Making sure children are given regular breaks and allowed to go to the toilet when needed and especially for the girls, enabled them to feel safe and secure in their space. 

Risk assessments and risk management isn’t all about avoiding injuries but also ensuring emotional and possibly spiritual needs are met. By the leaders carrying out risk management before the children, we are able to support them and reassure the individuals we may deem might need some extra encouragement.

Before each session one of the leaders will carry out a dynamic risk assessment. This will note anything that may have changed from our previous visit, whether it be lower hanging branches which have broken, animal faeces, litter or evaluating the weather and deeming it appropriate for the session. After this assessment we may need to amend our plan or clear things before the session begins. 

Forest School leaders are tasked with creating opportunities for appropriate risk taking by designing activities that challenge individuals, but without overwhelming them. The idea is that we present them with activities that can be assessed and then the child can choose what 'level' to carry that task out to. As leaders we are aware of the potential harm for all activities we plan, including social, intellectual and creative harm, we identify these through observation and assessment of each child throughout our sessions.

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Why children need to recognise the value in risk taking.

Risk-taking plays a vital role in learning at Forest School, fostering independence, resilience, problem-solving abilities, and self-confidence in our learners. Practitioners encourage children to push their boundaries within a safe environment, enabling them to explore their limits and capabilities. Forest School leaders closely monitor children in the woodland setting to evaluate the actual risks they face and how effectively they manage their own risk-taking and behaviour.

At Forest School, we focus on managed risk, recognising that completely eliminating risk is not only unrealistic but also counterproductive and potentially dull. Learning to identify risks, understand personal boundaries, and manage them independently is essential for growing up. Research indicates that children who are overly protected and not allowed to engage in risky activities may take unnecessary risks as teenagers, when they have the chance to test limits without adult supervision. By allowing appropriate risks in a controlled environment, we equip children with the skills needed to face challenges safely and confidently.

Some children won’t understand the chance of risk, they may run away, become aggressive or anxious as they haven’t been allowed to take risks, yet there may be some children that are completely happy to play with risk.

We need to try and teach children the difference between perceived risk and real risk. I have created an example of a child's possible perception of perceived and real risk assessment below , for the example I used the activity of tree climbing.

A child may be over cautious and anxious in working out the difference between perceived risk and real risk. Perceived risk they may elevate it to the concern that they may break bones or worse, feeling like they could climb to the top of the tree but never come back down again. Real risks are the actual hazards that could occur, which of course, they could fall out of the tree and harm themself, but then in the middle is managed risk, where they are able to look at both sides and accurately assess how they can adapt the activity to make themself comfortable with the experience. This may include them asking the adult to keep an eye and watch them, although we don’t want to ‘helicopter’ these children, we do not want to push their boundaries when they are opening up to new ideas and experiences, therefore if for the first experience they need that support, we give it to them, hoping for the next time they are confident to assess again and continue on their growth and become independent. 

As forest school leaders, especially for this example, we always keep an eye on the children when climbing trees or doing anything we have ourselves assessed there is potential real risk, but we do leave a safe space for the children to have independence and have the feeling they are doing it all alone. 

Recognising the emotional and spiritual state of each child, and understanding their unique differences, enables us to tailor our sessions to cater to individual learners. In the event of an incident or injury, it is crucial for us, as leaders, to provide reassurance and prompt responses, encouraging them not to give up but rather to persevere and overcome challenges. Teaching children that it is normal to experience setbacks and accidents in life, and that learning from mistakes is valuable, helps them develop self-care skills for the future. Children must be empowered to build their own knowledge, wisdom, and experiences in the secure environments we provide.

"This is how they can become the unique individual they deserve to be."

References- Wildly Educated Resource Bank