In this lively and wide-ranging episode of The Forest School Podcast, Lewis and Wem are joined by Dr Alistair Bryce-Clegg for a passionate conversation about early years education, authentic child development, and how political targets can squeeze the joy out of childhood. From the UK government’s 75% ‘good level of development’ goal to the cultural biases baked into classroom expectations, Alistair shares decades of experience as a teacher, head, author, and consultant. The discussion challenges compliance-focused models, explores the link between environment and behaviour, and highlights the importance of safe failure and intrinsically motivated play. With powerful anecdotes from around the world – from Cumbria classrooms to Icelandic snow schools and Australian bush kindy – this episode is a call to create spaces where all children can flourish, indoors and out.
⏱ Chapter Timings:
00:00 – Introducing Dr Alistair Bryce-Clegg and his unexpected journey into early years
03:14 – The politics of ‘school readiness’ and targets not based on child development
07:36 – Cultural differences, compliance vs engagement, and the risk of starting too soon
12:20 – Why typical behaviour is often punished – and the gender bias in compliance
17:01 – International examples of environments that foster genuine listening
22:40 – Narrowing age bands, Ofsted pressure, and creating authentic spaces for all children
27:54 – Forest School, play-based learning, and the value of safe failure
35:40 – Training, bias, and the risk of disillusionment with learning
44:02 – Forest School as a ‘pressure valve’ vs an integrated approach to wellbeing
53:58 – Advocating for autodidactic learning in a system built for compliance
🌲 Keywords: early years education, school readiness, good level of development, authentic child development, compliance vs engagement, play-based learning, safe failure, gender bias in education, Ofsted pressure, forest school ethos, outdoor learning, international education, neurodiversity, classroom environment, intrinsic motivation
🔖 Hashtags:
#ForestSchool #EarlyYears #OutdoorLearning #ChildDevelopment #AuthenticPlay #SafeFailure #IntrinsicMotivation #Neurodiversity #ComplianceVsEngagement #ForestSchoolPodcast #PlayBasedLearning #EducationPolicy #TeacherTraining #WellbeingInEducation #AutodidacticLearning
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