Helen Davenport Manchester Metropolitan University

Helen Davenport has worked in the Early Years sector for twenty years, as a Foundation Stage Leader, Deputy Head and currently as a Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University in Childhood Studies. She has previously been engaged in research that explores the nature of students' reflective writing and young children's talk and 'chatter'. Helen is passionate about the benefits of outdoor learning and Forest School and enjoys taking her Early Years students to Forest School sessions and enabling them to experience this approach first hand. Her current academic interests include the pedagogies and practices that stem from Forest Schools, with a particular curiosity about practitioner experiences of leading sessions and how these outdoor spaces might support children’s talk.