Following years of studies highlighting the gradual decline of the connection between children and nature, Forest School was brought to the UK in the 1990's via Denmark and a group of early years practitioners from a college in Somerset. The department visited preschool settings in Denmark and observed children engaged in active play in the woodlands, being allowed to set their own agendas and carry out a wide range of woodland tasks.

Settings like this have been established in Denmark since the 1950s, and builds on a closeness with nature traditional to Scandinavian countries. Inspired, the staff returned to set up sessions with their own nursery children, and later developed courses to share what they had learned and the practice they had adopted with a wider audience.

By 2002, various local authorities were also taking up Forest Schools and helping deliver their own training. The first national conference took place this year, bringing together a definition of Forest School and identifying its key features. Later, in 2011, these were reviewed and improved and the Forest School Association was established. This community agreed upon six principles and criteria for good practice in Forest Schools. These principles ensure that there is a shared ethos amongst UK Forest Schools, and ensures that there is differentiation from other forms of outdoor learning.