BROUGHAM Street Nursery School youngsters have been out and about in their forest school wearing new fleece-lined waterproofs, thanks to Skipton Rotary which awarded them a grant of £500.

The forest school, which takes place in Skipton’s own ‘Wilderness’ has been running since September, and is led by class teacher Dr Alison Stewart, currently in the midst of her Forest School Leader (Level 3) qualification.

She said: “The Wilderness is a perfect spot for children to access the outdoors, just a mere hop, skip and a jump from our nursery school and it feels that you are in another world entirely.

“Somewhere that has no boundaries, no worries about knocking something off or damaging furniture. Without these physical restrictions, children’s worries diminish; they have a sense of freedom which sparks their imagination, which in turn leads to increased communication, improved physical development, increased self-esteem and self-confidence; just from accessing learning in an outdoor environment.

“This is what we want to give the children of Brougham Street Nursery School, opportunities which will help to bridge attainment gaps, are inclusive and are of value to everyone, staff and families included.

“Skipton Rotary has made our year round forest school dream a reality, and we would like to thank them very much.”