NHS WOW Camps
Lee Valley Regional Park
Forest Schools inspired programme for children with special educational needs
The children are so interactive with each other. You can really see them flourish throughout the week.
Lee Valley Regional Park Authority’s forest school inspired programme, in which children learn new skills in a woodland environment, was successfully rolled out across Hertfordshire this summer as part of the county’s NHS WOW Camps.
Our Learning and Engagement team partnered with Hertfordshire NHS’s Mental Health Support Team (MHST) to deliver three weeks of woodland sessions for children with special educational needs at schools in Broxbourne, Hertford and Hatfield.
The Authority’s outdoor woodland programme includes a wide range of nature-led activities including den building, crafting, tool making and fire lighting.
“The activities are great for teamwork, interaction with others and building friendships,” says Allison McNaught, Hertfordshire NHS MHST Clinical Team Leader. “The sessions work well as they are not structured and children are free to choose the activities they want to do, which builds confidence and self-esteem. They all tend to have a go at everything, but marshmallow toasting is always the favourite activity with den-building a close second.”
NHS MHST’s work with schools and colleges to promote positive emotional wellbeing and mental health. Their school holiday WOW Camps are held in school settings and attended by neurodiverse children and those who have learning difficulties. They are often living with worries, fears, anxiety and often have low self-esteem and mood.
“Sometimes children can arrive a little sad in the morning but with the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority programme they are outside, usually in a woodland environment. They are immediately distracted and their mood lifts.” Added Allison
Initially launched in Broxbourne in 2022 after the pandemic for a trial of just two afternoons, the partnership programme, believed to be unique to Hertfordshire, has expanded each year and this summer was delivered to more children than ever before.
Its introduction into the Wow Camps was the idea of Amy Dunne, NHS MHST Clinical Manager for Hertfordshire and is funded by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority’s community grant scheme. “I came up with the idea during covid when I was looking for ways to get children outside and socialising again.
“The children are so interactive with each other. You can really see them flourish throughout the week. We have so many amazing stories from children who have attended and benefitted.
“The children love it and it’s always their favourite part of the day. We’ve seen some incredible results. One child went everywhere with a support worker, who was sent home by day two of the camp they attended. The child was engaged, made friends and was even happy to eat in front of others, which is often a real challenge for SEND children. Another, who was selectively mute, became very vocal and had a great time during their afternoons.
“We are only able to offer the activities as part of our WOW Camps because the funding has been available from Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. And without the expertise of the Learning and Engagement team we wouldn’t be able to deliver the woodland programme. We hope it’s something we can continue to build on to benefit more children each year.”
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