Outdoor learning / sport

A national education charity is calling on schools around the country to swap their desks for the outdoors on Thursday 1 November. Outdoor Classroom Day is returning this November – and this time promises to be bigger and better than ever before. Following a record 2,612 schools and nearly 350,000 …

Children from primary schools in Merseyside have been experiencing a unique safari-themed outdoor learning adventure as part of a special project to get more children excited about reading whilst encouraging them to learn and connect to the natural world around them. The initiative was organised as part of a collaborative …

Staff and pupils from a Bromley school have returned from a gruelling week away undertaking the Three Peaks Challenge. Bickley Park School took 26 boys – aged 12 and 13 years old – to test their own abilities in terms of motivation, team, and leadership skills. As part of the …

Trees for Learning is a major project to encourage schools to plant trees within school grounds and local green spaces. It forms part of DEFRA’s pledge to support schools to plant 1 million trees by 2020. Working with the Woodland Trust, who are leading on delivery targeted at some of …

Forestry Commission Scotland’s (FCS) Forest Kindergarten training has received full SQA accreditation, meaning it could be rolled out to educational institutions across Scotland as early as August. The Forest Kindergarten programme was developed by FCS in 2009 and is designed to equip early years teachers with the knowledge, understanding and …

The speed at which technology is developing is having a profound impact on our children and it is interesting to compare their childhood experiences with those of the previous generation. “10% of children play in the natural environment compared to 40% of adults when they were young” England Marketing (2009) …

Character education – important for building strong, resilient learners – is once again top of the agenda thanks to Inspiring Learning, winner of Best Residential Experience in this year’s School Travel Awards, who have announced plans to expand its network of award-winning Kingswood outdoor learning centres, designed to help develop …

A Kent environmental education centre has set up its own YouTube channel so parents can see for themselves how outdoor learning helps children gain a sense of their own individual interests, strengths and abilities. Rippledown, in Ringwould near Deal, works with schools from across the UK and Europe to show …

In our latest feature on outdoor learning, Education Today hears from The Country Trust, a leading national education charity, on its ambitious plans to provide even more support to schools in disadvantaged areas and enable children to learn directly about food and farming. “What’s this Miss?” asked one of the children. …