Going bush is good for teachers too

Blaxland Preschool children enjoy discovering the local bushland

Blaxland Preschool has a fierce commitment to social justice, even if that means taking 23 children with disabilities into untamed bushland, Sue Osborne writes.

Director Dee Wilde says the Blue Mountains preschool has always had a commitment to nature play and unrestricted time outdoors for children.

Seven years ago, Wilde and her fellow teachers and educators started to research the benefits of nature play, looking into the Scandinavian Forest Kindergartens model, and decided they needed to go a step further than their small playground.

“Our ‘why’ was we wanted to give children more opportunities to connect with Country and to have that freedom of unstructured playtime,” Wilde says.

“We are a service that is renowned for the way we support children with disabilities or high learning support needs. And we are known in our community for our commitment to inclusion and social justice.

“More than 20 per cent of our enrolments are children who receive high learning support funding.”

Going bush

Since 2016, bush preschool has been offered to children one day a fortnight. The children are dropped off at the local girl guides hall rather than at preschool. They spend the whole day in the bush.

The bush preschool happens in Terms 2 and 3, with fire danger being too high in Term 4. In Term 1, children are given the opportunity to get comfortable with features of the bush in a controlled setting, like campfires and knowing what to do if they see a snake. The children are also given the opportunity to contribute to the risk assessment plan.

Some children with disabilities come for short periods or with their parent.

“There are rocky outcrops and spaces where sometimes parents aren’t feeling 100 per cent comfortable. They may be worried they’re going to run away,” Wilde says.

“But part of our commitment to social justice is that we budget for additional educators to be able to support all children to come to bush preschool.”

Wilde says the bush is a learning environment that is multisensory and provides opportunities for children to problem solve, take risks, collaborate, appreciate nature and make decisions.

“Children get a chance to get dirty,” she says. Whatever is encountered in the bush, even if it is dead animals, is an opportunity for learning about the realities of nature.

Many curriculum areas can be explored in the bush such as maths, literacy, music, drama, creative arts, science and environmental education.

Director Dee Wilde

Time for teachers

The children also learn about First Nations culture and language as part of bush preschool. Aboriginal Elders and a national parks Indigenous ranger visit the children regularly to teach them about how plants and bark canbe used.

Children use the local Dharug language to name animals and plants. Two educators have completed a Dharug language course and share their knowledge with children.

Wilde says bush preschool benefits the five teachers and educators as much as the children.

“It has smaller group sizes because we only have one class out there at a time. We find it gave us more time to connect on a deeper level with the children.

“It makes us focus on slow pedagogy and how we can just be alongside children, watching that ant and wondering where it’s going and looking at it through a magnifying glass and having rich, deep conversations with the children.

“We’re not a service that is watching the clock. But bush preschool is an opportunity to be away from the phone and the other constant demands.

“Just the physical wellbeing of being outside all day in nature, going on bushwalks with the children is important, as well as our emotional wellbeing, being able to switch off from a busy preschool day and just be in a quieter space.”

Ministerial visit

Wilde is a keen supporter of the IEU and would have attended the IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Preschool Forum (p12), but NSW Education Minister Prue Car visited her preschool on the same day.

Wilde, like many other preschool directors, is worried about the future of high-quality community-based preschools like hers, with new graduates opting for jobs in the school system because it offers better pay.

The NSW Government’s plan to build a number of new preschools attached to public schools, and pay those teachers at the same rate as school teachers, is a great initiative, but could also attract teachers away from community-based preschools.

Wilde discussed her worries with Minister Car and said the Minister was receptive.

“I felt heard,” Wilde says.

“Minister Car mentioned she has been talking to the IEU. She understood that something needs to happen. I said I hope it happens in my lifetime. She sees staff shortages are a real challenge.

“I’ve met with quite a few ministers in my time, and she was more positive and receptive than the others. In the past there’s been an attitude, ‘oh well, what can we do’?”