Forest School.....omg the noise!

[SenseCheckMe]

We live next to primary school, never been a issue. But in recent years they have set up a Forest School which encourages nature learning and outdoor activities, all great stuff.

However, the Forest School is located (on the school field, in a small group of trees) directly behind our garden's rear fence.

The noise!!!! Classes seem to be held several times a day, and there's much shreiking and screaming going on.

Roughly 30 or so kids at a time, several groups a day, every school day, for 5-6 hours with few quiet breaks.

It's now impossible to enjoy garden when there's equivalent of a large children's party going on.

It's not just me that is effected, ironically it's the wildlife too. The birds are frequently scared off, and quite upsettingly, is the hedgehogs which (yearly visitors, hibinating close to trees) are rapidly dwindling each spring.

I did call the school twice, to advise of the hibernating hedgehogs and also concerns of noise. But, nothing has changed.

So....what should i do? I'm strongly considering selling.

I agree ReadingSoManyThreads

Write rather than call, and send a copy to the Chair of Governors.

I would suggest making quite a big deal of the hedgehog issue, giving the serious concerns there are about population decline amongst hedgehogs, and ask if there isn't a way to move the Forest School away from them and/or persuade the children to be quiet - maybe partly by getting the kids to do projects about protecting hedgehog habitats. Also get in touch with your local Wildlife Trust.and organisations like the Hedgehog Preservation Society and Tiggywinkles.

@SenseCheckMe I'd suggest contacting the Environmental Health department at the council, in writing, explaining fully the situation and asking them to come out and take recordings.

I'd also contact some wildlife charities and explain the situation and perhaps team up to do a press release about the destruction of wildlife.

I'm a former teacher myself, and grew up in the countryside so understand the importance of educating children about wildlife, however, this should never be to the detriment of the wildlife itself.

Having lived next to schools for 20 yrs or so, although the last school were no problem, the current school is a nightmare, and no matter how much residents raise issues, even dangerous ones, they really do not care. I do not regret leaving working in education, it's soul-destroying at times.

See, I don't think you're unreasonable. Forest schools have really taken off in the last few years and if they weren't as popular when you bought the house then I don't see how you could have expected so much noise right next to your boundary. Playtimes are one thing, regular outdoor lessons are another.

Children are expected to keep the noise to a reasonable level within the classroom, they should be expected to do the same outside where they could/do disturb others.

In doings so you're certainly not depriving the precious little darlings of their formative experience and in fact teaching them to be mindful of how their behaviour affects others (which, given how many people hate youths using their phones without earbuds in public ought to be encouraged).

Forest schools also teach children the importance of wildlife and if its actively harming local wildlife then its not being run properly and defeats the purpose.

Learning outdoors isn't an excuse to allow children to behave without consideration for others or their environment.

I sympathise. I bought a house 3 years ago 2 miles from a little airstrip called Heathrow, now some bastards are flying planes over me head every minute of the day

It is potentially perhaps change of use?

I am not sure this is lawful and is probably not very kind but may work https://www.independent.co.uk/news/sonic-youth-the-highpitched-sound-alarm-for-under-25s-8665652.html

I may consider contacting the school, but worried about declaring if decided to sell (been there before with bad neighbours).

Been there before with bad neighbours you say, I bet you have. 😂

I find it hard to believe the hedgehogs are leaving. Our local primary, which my children attended, have hedgehogs, birds nesting and lots of other wildlife in their forest school.

You sound intolerant.

I’m surprised you aren’t complaining about leaves in your garden too.

I find it very easy to believe hedgehog numbers are dropping if a large number of children is trampling all over where they nest and hibernate.

I don't quite see how anyone would assume hedgehogs would just sit there waiting to be stepped on or sat on, or suspend their natural fear of noise/other animals, purely because its children making the noise/doing the trampling.

Surely the school - if they actually care of course - could vary which areas they use according to season, animal breeding seasons/hibernation periods and set aside some areas for 'stand on the boundary and look' bits rather than 'trample through it and trash it' bits.

If they have a whole field, they could plant some fast growing willow tunnels and circles to sit in and leave the natural wild bits alone much of the year.

I’d get it on the market with an aim to sell in the summer holidays when it’s not going on. Normally they say May, June, July is good for house selling. I think you probably want to aim for quieter August or the winter where youll get less viewings but there won’t be any noise

We have a forest school area that backs onto gardens. It’s used most days, all day. What we don't have is screaming children running wild - they're being taught skills that could be dangerous if they were out of control! For this reason, there is only ever half a class in there with 2 highly skilled adults.
Sounds to me like the staff aren't very well trained in forest school teaching.

However, now I can't sit in my garden during the week at all, I wouldn't now book leave and stay at home.

I assumed from your original post that you didn't work (or didn't work during the weekdays anyway). Are you saying this is a only a problem on days you have booked off as leave but aren't away? How many days can this be affecting?

9-3? I'd put up with it.

I'd complain again to school and also to noise at council.

Thankyou to all suggestions offered, I've got so many great options now, that I would never have thought of!

I'm also thankful to those posters stating tactfully that AIBU (isn't it great we all have different outlooks on life and opinions).

But there were a few who I felt were quite unkind, well to those i can only respond with....I hope you have weekend as pleseant as you are!

Typical "you bought next to a school, what did you expect" stuff. Well yes, of course there will be noise near a school - at playtimes and lunchtimes and possible parking issues. But this is going on all day and is not something you would expect, because normally children are inside the classrooms for lessons.
I think Forest School is a great concept but I don't think children should be shrieking and screaming during the lessons. It will be affecting the wildlife too - whatever posters are saying "haha the hedgehogs won't move out of the area because of a few kids at forest school". They aren't going to hang around where there's noise like that going on.
I think you could approach the school again and the council. It probably won't get you anywhere to be honest, but you aren't being unreasonable about this being excessive noise.

Reminds me of the thread where a poster had moved near a methodist church (I think), there were no problems until the methodists moved out and let the church to a different Christian group who were then constantly making noise, shouting and screaming outside a few evenings a week and also for several hours on Sundays. Posters ripped her a new one saying "You moved next to a church" etc. Well yes, but there's an expected level of noise and then levels of noise which are a nuisance.

Loud music should discourage them.

I work at a school in Scotland. Here anyway, it's only children with significant additional needs who can access Forest Schools. So they're really deserving of their place. If you're talking about a regular school with a wooded area attached, then I still think you're being unreasonable. Sorry! It is annoying, but the price you pay for living near a school I guess.

I don't think the OP could reasonably expect that the primary school would one day become a Forest School whereby the kids would be outdoors all day, every day. I can understand how that would be annoying OP. However I doubt there's much to be done but move and try and ensure people come to view the house outside of school hours!

YABVVVU for using the word 'brought' instead of bought

What I'd do is play music loudly whenever the kids are there. It will take persistence and you'd need to do it every single day for a couple of weeks or maybe more, but eventually the teachers will end up moving the classes to elsewhere on the grounds.

Also there must be some kind of protective/legislative organisation for British wildlife?? If there is, contact them

Yes but I doubt you allow them to scream & shriek like banshees and turn a blind eye to them frightening off wildlife?

😂

Bahaha please try reading the OP again 🤦🏼‍♀️🙄 This noise wasn't here before. Not for years. It's recently begun.

You sound disproportionately offended by this thread? Calm down love!!

Not offended in the slightest.

Think it’s pretty funny :)

We lived opposite a primary school. Parking was a nightmare and there was lots of noise. It was annoying so we moved. I don't know what else you would expect from a primary school