An in-depth understanding on the benefits and purposes of woodwork in early childhood, and where and how to utilise it in your classroom

Confidence that you are doing everything safely without compromising learning

Confidence in your own use of tools and how to safely introduce these to your children

Tips and tricks to ensure working with wood and tools is a successful and fulfilling experience for your children

The ability to set up and run the woodwork area in your setting

Inspiration and excitement for woodwork!

This course is comprised of recorded videos and a comprehensive collection of handouts and course notes.

You’ll have the freedom to work through at your own pace, when and where suits you best.

• Unit 1 – An introduction to the course. The historical and current context.

• Unit 2 – Theory: Associated learning and development

• Unit 3 – Introduction to tools, wood, resources and workbenches

• Unit 4 – How to set up a woodwork area and manage the provision

• Unit 5 – Health and safety and risk assessment. Reassuring parents

• Unit 6 – Longer term and collaborative projects, primary progression, makerspaces

• Unit 7 – 20 top tips and concluding comments

• Unit 8 – Practical: Guidance for practitioner hands-on experience

This accredited masterclass course draws on over 20 years experience of providing woodwork to young children. It is based upon Pete Moorhouse’s extensive international research in many countries including Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and USA and Pete Moorhouse’s research on the Big Bang research project at Bristol University – evaluating the impact of woodwork on children’s learning and development.

Your tutor, Pete Moorhouse, is the leading authority on Woodwork in Early Years Education and is the Chair of the Early Childhood Woodwork Association. Pete has presented research at several international conferences such as OMEP, BECERA, IAEC, is the author of ‘Learning Through Woodwork’ (Routledge 2018) and has many articles and papers published in educational journals.

Currently around the world we are seeing a surge of renewed interest in woodwork and we are seeing an ever increasing number of settings embed woodwork within their practice.

There is something so special about working with wood; the smell and feel of wood, using real tools, which all go to captivate young children and we see extraordinary levels of sustained engagement and focus. Hands, minds, and hearts working together.

Woodwork incorporates all areas of learning, particularly developing children’s core dispositions to learning as well as their creative and critical thinking skills. Physical development, mathematical thinking, mark-making, literacy, scientific thinking, STEM, communication, collaboration and design thinking all are incorporated in the magic of woodwork.

The emphasis of the course is on ‘creative’ woodwork, with children learning how to use tools safely and then going on to make what they want to make.

I see wood as just another material with which children can express their imagination.

Wood is not the easiest material to work with and it certainly throws up lots of challenges, but when children are making what they want to make they have the intrinsic motivation to persevere, to problem solve, and resolve their ideas.

In this way woodwork is truly exceptional for developing children’s creative and critical thinking skills, as well as core dispositions such as taking risks and persistence, and thus builds children’s self-esteem, confidence and a sense of agency.

Woodwork, time and time again, has proved to be exceptional for engaging certain children who typically find it hard to focus and concentrate. Their curiosity is captured and woodwork becomes the key that unlocks their learning as they thrive and flourish at the woodwork bench.

The course explains the most suitable tools and woods and how to introduce them safely. We look at progression and how to safely manage your provision. There is an in-depth explanation of the value of woodwork - exploring the pedagogical context focusing on all areas of children’s learning and development. We look closely at the health and safety and measures we need to put in place to ensure woodwork is safe, understand risk assessment and how to best respond to possible parental concerns. Examples of longer-term projects are provided and there is detailed guidance for a practical session before you start to introduce woodwork to children.

The course is comprehensive, the video format enabling me to provide even more content than when delivered face to face.