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 that this isn't how forest school sessions are run - which is why I think the much more likely scenario by far is that the OP's perception of constant screaming and shouting isn't how most people would describe what's going on. A lot of people say children are 'screaming' when they mean they're being a bit loud, and 30 children can indeed be quite loud but I just think it's so unlikely that the school is allowing (encouraging?) them to shriek throughout forest school and that that's what every class, from reception to 11 year olds, is doing.

People who don't want to listen to children playing (and yes that does include shouting and shrieking) shouldn't buy s house adjacent to school grounds.

And as for "children are at school to learn" forest schools are about learning. Not everything worth knowing is learnt in a classroom.

What I cannot understand is why "children playing" means "screaming and shrieking". Honestly, why is it necessary? I believe teachers are pretty tired of this noise as well, but do not try to encourage children to play reasonably quietly. Some children are permanently exhausted because of their boisterous classmates. Why do we accept that some children make unbearable noise all the time?

Ahh “forest school”
aka let’s take the kids out on the field and pretend to learn shit, yeah that old chestnut.

I would move.

Er, cos that's what they do @NotQuiteHere . It's annoying as hell but it's normal and natural. Kids need some time to be kids, without being constantly told to hush or keep still.

@NotQuiteHere

The noise is hideous. I left work at 3:20 and my ears are still buzzing. (And yes I won’t be working within schools for much longer).

@DisquietintheRanks

Hmm, kids DO play and make noise of course, but forest school isn’t a free for all on the field. It’s probably an exhausted teacher who can’t control them and it will be shriek upon shriek masked as “forest school” on the field. Total bollocks it is.

I agree that this isn't how forest school sessions are run - which is why I think the much more likely scenario by far is that the OP's perception of constant screaming and shouting isn't how most people would describe what's going on. A lot of people say children are 'screaming' when they mean they're being a bit loud, and 30 children can indeed be quite loud but I just think it's so unlikely that the school is allowing (encouraging?) them to shriek throughout forest school and that that's what every class, from reception to 11 year olds, is doing.

This!

I remember my grandad asking me to go over to his house to speak to the neighbours about the noise their kids were making. They had 4 children and my grandad had been calling me everyday saying they’re ‘screaming and shrieking’ and he couldn’t put up with it. When I got there, it was just normal play, occasionally calling their siblings or parents, chatting, running around. For 4 kids, it wasn’t bad at all but he was convinced they were noisy. I spoke to his other neighbours and they said they hardly noticed the kids. My grandad just wanted total silence. 🙄

You've been there before with bad neighbours. I see a running theme here 🤔

Get a load of friends round daily to drink, swear loudly and make crude sexual jokes at top volume like our old neighbours They'll soon move. 😂

School near me has started outdoor drumming. I’ve invested in headphones and told Alexa to speak up.

You bought a house next to a school.

Yes, it's annoying. I get a bit peeved at the parking around our house at drop off/pick up but I don't really have a leg to stand on because we bought a house close to a school!

I recommend ear defenders or teeth rattlingly loud drum & bass.

And gin.

Are they really screaming and shouting though?

This. ^ As pps have said @SenseCheckMe you will get nowhere with this. Schools are only open a limited amount of time anyway, (kids are gone by 3pm ish AND the school is shut about 30% of the year for holidays! Plus all the weekends...) Also, you MUST have known there was a risk of 'childrens noise' when you moved next to a SCHOOL. And why should these children cease what they're doing because YOU don't like it?

I don't believe 'the wildlife are upset' and 'scared off' to be quite frank. They are just children FFS. 😆 It's a school, the kids would have been playing out at break time, lunch time, sports days, and out playing sports every week for many years anyway. AND kids probably play on the school field of of school time. I know they do in my village.

YABU. Sell if it bothers you so much.

As @Sugargliderwombat said, the school are free to use their own grounds how they wish.

*AND kids probably play on the school field OUT of school...

This. ^ Strikes me the OP is the problem.

My DH works permanent nights and is asleep between 9-3 every weekday. Is he breaking some sort of law by not being in work at those times?

OP play gangsta rap at full volume for a few hours. (Not really, but I'd be tempted to see what the school would do).

Of course he's not. I would say that choosing to live next to a school would be a seriously bad choice for him, though.

Lol, yes it would.

There’s no way a friendly chat with the school would be considered a notifiable “neighbour dispute”. Just ask to chat to the qualified FS leader and be reasonable.
I have seen from the other side a local authority receive noise complaints about the sounds of children playing in a park in normal daytime hours (3pm). And quite rightly the council are not interested at all. The benefits to the children are considered far more important than the neighbours wish for silence in the daytime.

Sell, and don’t buy next to a school.

It's in school hours, not all the time. Wear ear plugs.

If you could see the sheer joy some of the inner city children I teach get from an hour of forest school a week I sincerely hope you wouldn’t call it ‘shit’ We do actually work really hard at it and have a dedicated teacher that plans all the forest lessons. My little boy has forest school at his pre school and has the best time too. It’s just fantastic when done right.

@Hardbackwriter a grateful thankyou! You've really given me a whole new perspective on this issue that I wasn't anticipating from posting on here.

You could well be quite right, that they aren't shrieking all the time, and an objective bystander would have a differing view.

So I'm going to try to approach this a bit differently.

The authority will not do anything about it. You have to either move or put up with it. Any reasonable person would tell you to move especially in the local authority they will not tone down children because of a grumpy neighbour who decides to live near a school. Sorry but that's what normal people will think why would you live near a school if you didn't want noise????