"Little Forest is amazing. There is lots of fun learning and play time. Jen is kind and very good at teaching. Koan is lots of fun to play with too. There is a nice allotment. I started off playing there then my Mummy started leaving me there and I did some fun learning, writing and telling stories like about planets and other cool things. There is loads of cool things there."
- Child -
Who we are
Jen Nuin Smith, Founder and Democratic Educator
Post Graduate Diploma in Education, Qualified Teacher Status, Masters in Transformational Leadership (Distinction)
As a home educating mum and professionally qualified Primary Teacher, I set up Little Forest in order to create a space where children can experience the freedom and joy in learning together, as well as to develop their awareness of the world around them and consciousness over the choices that they make.
The purpose of Little Forest is learning for well-being. However, on their own, learning communities like ours are not enough. What we need is a complete re-purposing of the entire education system, economy and society towards well-being for all. Other countries have done this successfully. Bhutan is famous for replacing gross domestic product (GDP) with gross domestic happiness and, more recently, Wales has created a statutory duty for well-being under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. Alternatives are possible.
There are two strands to my work with Little Forest, 1) Learning and 2) Education. Little Forest Learning is my work with children as part of our learning community. Little Forest Education is an umbrella for my work with like minded organisations, seeking to transform the education system and wider society towards well-being for all. To find out more, visit my Little Forest Education page.
I am a Trustee and Coordinator at Human Scale Education, a charity which advocates for putting relationships at the heart of the organisation and design of our education system. Happy, healthy relationships with ourselves, with our community and with the environment are the best foundations for learning and growth. To find out more, visit the Human Scale Education website.
If you are interested in the work of Little Forest and would like to find out more, please do get in touch. I would love to talk to you about welcoming your child into our Little Forest learning community or about working together to transform the education system towards well-being for all.
Jen Nuin Smith, Founder and Educator at Little Forest
jen@littleforest.education
07951 177078
Koan Oak, Head of Keeping It Real
Koan Oak is my son and the first member of Little Forest learning community. As well as being my inspiration, Koan has also helped to test and develop our approach to learning at Little Forest. He is very good at letting me know what works and what doesn't. Koan helps me to find balance and to keep my feet on the ground.
