Health Sciences
Forest school INterventions for Children’s Health (FINCH)
A growing number of children and young people are experiencing poor mental health. It is important to find ways to support them. A school-based intervention which is inclusive and has the potential for widespread delivery is 'Forest School'. Forest School provides children with immersive experiences in nature which are non-classroom based and have a core focus on child-led activity and exploration. Despite widespread implementation, evidence about optimal delivery methods of Forest School and the impact on mental health and emotional wellbeing is scarce. This study aims to assess the feasibility of conducting a randomised controlled study of Forest Schools in primary schools across England focusing on children within Key Stage 2.
This study will generate new knowledge about the feasibility of running a definitive Forest School trial with Key Stage 2 (KS2) children aged between 7-11, inclusive of children with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND). The study seeks to better understand whether Forest School is acceptable to both children and school professionals.
We will recruit eight schools four of which will be randomised to deliver Forest School and four which will act as our control group. The Forest Schools will run across the spring and summer terms (4 schools in each, 2 control and 2 with the intervention) and we will collect data from these schools at the same time points as our control schools. The study will assess whether the necessary data can be collected and whether enough participants can be recruited within the available timeframe. Interviews will be conducted to gather feedback on what worked well and what did not. This information will inform future planning for Forest Schools and determine whether a larger study can be conducted to evaluate the impact of Forest Schools on children’s mental health.
Hannah Armitt (Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust) and Peter Coventry (University of York) are the Chief Investigators on the project. Rachel Bottomley-Wise (University of York), Catherine Hewitt (University of York), Jodi Pervin (University of York), Sarah Blower (University of York), John Pratt (Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust), Bernadka Dubicka (University of York), Susan Griffin (University of York), Piran White (University of York), Catherine Cowie (University of York), Mike Foers (Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Team), Cindy Stephenson (Humber Forest School), Marnie Palmer (Kings mill special school), Sara-Booth Card (The Wildlife Trusts), Angela Kingston (PPI representative) work on this study in collaboration with the academic leads.
If you would like to collaborate, or would like to know more about FINCH, please contact the FINCH study team on 01482 301726 or HNF-TR.ResearchTeam@nhs.net or finch-trial@york.
