A SOUTH Lakeland nursery manager is to set up the first Forest School in the county thanks to a training grant from Cumbria Sure Start, reports Caroline Beamish.

Ruth Moore, of Bobbins Day Nursery in Staveley, near Kendal, is branching out to provide outdoor education for pre-school age children in a classroom without walls' originally developed in Scandinavia.

Mrs Moore has already secured a 30-acre piece of woodland and fellside as a base for the school that children at her nursery will attend at least once a week.

A qualified primary school teacher, Mrs Moore will begin formal training for a Forest School's Practitioner's Award later this month, along with colleague Julie Sykes, after securing a grant from Cumbria Sure Start.

The Forest School will then be set up as an additional resource to the children's learning programme.

Mrs Moore, 40, said: "I was surprised to find out there aren't any Forest Schools in Cumbria, it's the perfect county for them.

"The methods are shown to promote confidence and excellent social skills in children while they learn in the outdoor environment. As a result, they are much better prepared when they arrive at school."

The idea arrived in the UK ten-years-ago from Denmark and Norway and has grown in popularity ever since.

The philosophy behind it is to encourage and inspire children to develop their own understanding of the world within a familiar woodland setting.

The 20-minute walk from the nursery to the forest site itself will be included in the daily sessions - which take place all year round.

"In Scandinavia, they say there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing so, unless it is very windy or bitterly cold, the sessions will still take place outside under shelter," added Mrs Moore, of Burton-in-Kendal.

Angela Murphy, workforce development manager for Cumbria Sure Start, said: "We would like to support the first network of Forest Schools in Cumbria."