Fire lighting and tool use

Giving children access to a wide range of new and different experiences for children is an important part of what we do at preschool. Additionally, it is important that we provide children with opportunities to engage in risky play/activities to encourage them to learn to judge their own abilities and to assess risk for themselves.

At the same time, we aim to make Adventure Friday a safe environment, and to keep children free from harm. Therefore, fire lighting and use of tools will take place only when managers are confident that both children and staff are ready, and that the rules and boundaries are clearly understood.

Forest School Level 3 – Chris Martin (Manager)

Outdoor Learning Level 2 – Carol Richardson (leader)

 Lighting a fire

• The site should be far enough away from tarps, tents, trees or structures

• When you are happy with the area you need to check for holes or lumps in the ground that may present a trip hazard, it may be possible to fill small holes

• Brush any leaf litter and other debris away so the area is down to bare soil

• Mark a boundary, of suitable size, around the fire pit area with logs or sticks, (inner circle) and around the outside use larger logs as seats (outer circle)

• Mark a clearly defined entrance and exit to the area

• Make sure you have your fire safety equipment near the fire circle, you will need: heat resistant gauntlet gloves, water, burns kit, fire blanket

• We currently have a fire circle already set up in Tracy’s woods , which we risk assess each visit

Fire-lighting Procedure

• Fires will be lit only in the metal fire-pit to avoid marking the ground

• Staff will create an outer circle marking the area the children can sit on logs and an inner circle to show where the children need to wait to be invited into

• A large container of water, a fire blanket, heat resistant gauntlets and a burns first aid kit will be placed at the edge of the circle

• We use cotton wool, Vaseline, matches or a steel and striker to light the fire

• We bring our own wood as to not use up all the woodland wood

• The fire will be lit by a competent outdoor leader and they will stay with the fire at all times

• If it is necessary for the leader to leave the fire at any point, they will designate another member of staff to stay with the fire until they return 

• While the fire is lit, children will be allowed to sit on the logs at the outer edge of the circle and at the invitation of the leader enter the inner circle

• To extinguish the fire and leave the area safe we will let the fire cool down and, wearing the heat resistant gloves, turn over the fire pit tipping the embers and burnt wood onto the floor

• We then use water to extinguish any residual heat before we pick up the remnants, using gloves, and put them safely in a metal tin

Use of tools

All children progress and develop in different ways. The outdoor leader will use their discretion to determine when individual children are given use of different tools. As our children are very young, we use only a small selection of tools and the procedure for using each of these is set out below. For some tools the children should have on a protective work glove on the hand not using the tool that may be open to injury. The leader will do the tool talk every time they uses the tools with the children.

The tool talk includes -

• The name of the tool

• What the tool is used for

• The different parts of the tool

• If a glove needs to be worn on the supporting hand

• Explanation of the distance from other people needed when we use tools

• Where we will be using the tool

• Indication of the safety bubble area

Potato Peelers

These are an easy and safe way to introduce young children to using tools. Children will be shown how to cut away from themselves and told to keep their fingers away from the sharp edges. Children will need to sit down, either on the ground or on logs/flat stones.

Bow saw

A leader will sometimes undertake wood-cutting activities with the children. The bow saw can be used by one adult and one child together, with the child holding the handle, adult and child sitting on either side of the wood being cut. The child will need to hold the saw with their dominant hand, and to kneel with their body well over to the side of the saw blade. The child should be asked to keep their free hand behind their back while sawing. The adult should ensure that other children stay back from the saw, however they can be involved in the activity by kneeling and holding the wood steady well away from the saw, while they wait for their turn.

Hand drill or cordless

To use the hand drill, children should be shown how to use one hand to hold the drill steady and the other to turn the handle. The adult should make sure that the child is working on a suitably flat surface, and that other children do not sit/stand too close.

Mallet

The mallet is used to hit the billhook which is held by another person. The person holding the mallet listens to instruction from the person holding the billhook as to when they need to hit.

Billhook

This tool is used to split wood and is usually used in conjunction with someone else hitting it with a mallet. The person holding the billhook doesn’t need work gloves as they need both hands to hold it in position. The person holding the billhook gives instruction to the mallet bearer to hit the top of the billhook to split the wood.

Knives

The children will have the opportunity to use knives for whittling with the support of a leader trained to use knives with small children. A safety briefing will be given each time knives are used. Knives will be used under strict supervision on a one to one basis and the leader will position themselves behind the child and use a hand over hand technique. They will be taught how to hold the knife correctly, safe positions for knife work and techniques for whittling the wood. The knife has a rounded safety tip and a finger guard, and the children will also be required to wear a cut resistant glove on the non-knife hand only. Knives are stored in a lockable box when not in use.

March 24