Exploring the wellbeing of parents attending an alternative education family forest school programme

This case study explores the psychological benefits experienced by adults participating in the Wild Play Programme sessions with their children. These sessions offer nature-rich experiences primarily to children who struggle in mainstream education and to their parents who accompany them to all sessions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four female participants (mean age: 35 years 3 months) who attended the sessions for at least 3 months. The interviews focused on the elements of wellbeing as expressed in Seligman’s PERMA model (2011). The findings are that parental wellbeing was enhanced through broadening and building on experience of positive emotions, having a safe and supportive space to focus on self, the creation of a micro-community, and the parents’ perception of the child’s experience. The implications are that such outdoor family‑centred programmes offer important wellbeing‑enhancing experiences to accompanying adults.