I’m often asked what “good” outdoor learning actually looks like. Gardening, forest school, school camps, class trips, playgrounds… they are all types of outdoor learning, but high-quality outdoor learning is so much more than the sum of its parts. There is no one-size-fits-all tick box for outdoor learning as it takes into account the school’s location, community links, skills and knowledge within the staff team and what the school actually wants to achieve. It is varied, deep and relevant to your learners. In the hundreds of schools we’ve worked with, we measure high-quality outdoor learning across more than 70 descriptors, each with three levels of progression. This blog explores the thinking behind that framework, explaining the many ways we measure great outdoor learning in the hundreds of real schools across the country.
Leadership and Vision
In so many schools, there is one person banging the drum on outdoor learning and trying to encourage everyone to get outdoors. They will often take their own class outside regularly or might even be tasked with taking all classes out. But school life happens, they get sucked away into covering classes, change roles, move schools, break a couple of toes, and outdoor learning comes tumbling down. High-quality outdoor learning cannot rely on enthusiasm alone. It requires structure, shared ownership and strategic intent. The team approach can work in a school with one class or a three-stream school. There are always opportunities to team up with schools in your catchment – or even at the other end of the country. We love connecting schools to other schools that are working on similar aspects of outdoor learning.
If we are creating a clear vision as to what outdoor learning looks like in our school, we need to understand the policies and frameworks we are given by the council and the government. We need to know what they are looking for, so if we are asked our why, we can link it to the wider picture.
And these things need to be shared throughout the school – whether during CPD or staff meetings. Folks, from teachers to support staff and management, need to buy into the vision and support it.
Supporting the Delivery
Once we have some of the building blocks in place, we can start heading outdoors, and we need to find a way of measuring what’s happening, how often it happens and what it actually is. This can be as simple as post-it notes on a board in the staff room (that way we can piggyback on each other’s ideas), a document where staff upload what they have covered, or it can be as simple as highlighting our forward plan green to show what outcomes outdoor learning has supported.
We want to see classes outside, regularly, all year round. Yes, we are in the UK, yes, we get weather, but as far as I am aware, you are not the Wicked Witch of the West, and you will not melt if rain touches you. I appreciate that kids do not always come in dressed for outdoor learning, but a coat rail at the front of the school where parents can take a coat if they need one for their child and children can borrow if they have forgotten theirs. How many jackets end up in your lost property and stay there forever? Plus, we can always run donation drives to get some kit there. Unless we are going to wet and muddy areas, we don’t need wellies. The number of schools I see kids putting on wellies to head into the playground for twenty minutes of learning on concrete is scary – kids don’t wear waterproofs and wellies for breaks, so why do they for a fleeting time in the playground?
Every school will face their own barriers to outdoor learning; it may be space, time, staffing, children with additional support needs, or something else entirely. But this is something I love working with my schools on. Having worked with hundreds of schools, it is rare for me to find a novel problem, which means I have my own experience and all these schools to call on to help support you.
Sometimes one of the big problems is that families do not appreciate that outdoor learning is learning. They try to opt out because wee Jimmy doesn’t like the rain. Sharing the learning, not the activity, having open afternoons where we get families involved with outdoor learning activities that are explicitly learning based, setting homework with an optional outdoor task (we have a homework grid in the membership so whole families can do just 1 task together), helps families understand the importance of outdoor learning and slowly begin to value it. Education is key.
The Learning
Then there is the actual learning. I am so often asked what assessment looks like outdoors. What strategies are appropriate? How it changes. The answer is it doesn’t really change; it might just become more visible. We can also utilise play-based learning for all ages, three to eighteen, outdoors. It can be structured play or free play; we have a blog that explores this more that we created for Twinkl. Play is appropriate for all children and young people; it is a right after all, and not one that expires midway through primary school.
The curriculum, I am often told certain subjects lend themselves better to outdoor learning. But, back in 2010, when Scotland created the Curriculum for Excellence, they also created a version where every statement has either a building or a tree beside it. That wasn’t decorative. It was deliberate. It quickly showed that everything, except for microscopes, electricity, chemical reactions and ethical businesses had trees. That’s everything. In every curricular area.
Now, it is important to note that this was created in 2010, because technology and knowledge have come far since then. Wee microscopes you can pop on the lens of a phone or tablet are just a few pounds now; back then, they were prohibitively expensive. We have a far deeper understanding of electricity and renewable energy. We can head outdoors and explore wind strength, measure the strength of the sun and more. Chemical reactions are an easy one, would you do the elephant toothpaste of Coke and Mentos rocket indoors? And, ethical businesses, I admit it took me a while to see how it could be delivered outdoors. Then it struck me. A number of our member schools had set up gardening projects and had community support. At the front of the school, they have a table with a QR code. The fruit and veg they produce go here. Anyone who needs but cannot afford it is able to take it for free. Those who can afford it can give a donation, using that QR code. A system based on trust and kindness. Whose proceeds feed right back into the gardening project. If that is not an ethical business, what is?
When we have a whole school vision, all classes should be outdoors, at various times throughout the week, year-round. We know, and Gemma Goldenberg studied, that for the kids who do well indoors, they continue to do well outdoors. But, for the kids that struggle indoors, well, they often shine outdoors in a way they simply cannot indoors. I was working with a school yesterday, the second session taking all classes outdoors, and the teachers started noticing this themselves, without a nudge.
It also needs to include all children. If you have a kid in a wheelchair, how can you take the learning to them? Can they direct activities? Can we pop a tray on their lap so they don’t need to get to ground level, or are they comfortable in putting on waterproof trousers and being ground-based? Children with anxiety might need reassurance and a clear plan. Those with autism might need visuals. You know your children, but we can also ask them or their parents how best to support them outdoors. Inclusive outdoor learning is designed, not assumed.
Staff Training
The reality is that for the vast majority of teachers, outdoor learning is not something they have been trained in. They are not quite sure what it might look like and aren’t sure who to ask. That’s when high-quality outdoor training is key. It can remove blinkers, change mindsets and build trust and awareness of what outdoor learning is, and then you can make real strides forward. This is not opinion; we have countless case studies that show this.
But a one of inset or twilight is not enough on its own. It needs to be supported throughout the year. We need time allocated in both collegiate working time and staff meetings to discuss and share, to explore and develop. That’s when the real magic and progress happen.
And staff have to understand that no matter where they are based within the four nations, there is an expectation that they all do outdoor learning. Them, individually, not someone else. In Scotland, it actually forms part of the GTC standards (within learning for sustainability).
Focus on Wellbeing
One of the best things about outdoor learning is that it benefits both the children and the staff – and there are not many things that benefit us staff! It is good for our mental health and wellbeing. Now, I am the first to admit that when you start taking a class outdoors, it might not feel stress-free. It is new and uncomfortable, and we all need to go through that phase. But your body and mind are getting the physiological benefits, whether you like it or not.
Outdoor learning easily lends itself to supporting meta-skills – that’s why we are slowly updating all our lessons, to show where the wider skills come in and explain how. Outdoor learning also naturally lends itself to creativity. As a teacher, I admit I was a control freak. I would break down tasks into minute detail, then wonder why everything was always the same. Being outdoors allowed me to loosen that reign and real magic happened. Not every lesson needs a clear success criterion at the start; we can talk about it at the end, once we have given space for creativity.
Developing Partnerships
There is no denying that strong partnerships can truly support outdoor learning. Whether that is folks coming into support the growing project (meaning staff don’t need to go into schools during the holidays), or a local hotel providing an outdoor space for kids to learn (we have one in Edinburgh doing just that), or a garage or plumber donating things for loose parts play, or a building side creating a mud kitchen with scrap material, or the local over 50’s group yarn bombing an area of the playground to turn it into a fairy magical garden, there are so many ways partnerships can support. These are all things we have seen happen in real schools across the country.
Our schools that have been undertaking outdoor learning for some time can invite the wider community, not just parents, to support. We have one school that has an eminent scientist who is now retired coming in regularly to support outdoor learning and the curriculum. They had never volunteered before, as they didn’t have children or grandchildren at the school. But when they saw an opportunity, they jumped at it.
A number of our schools have a system where volunteers complete a Google or Teams form by Thursday to let the school know who is available for the following week, then teachers email whoever is available when they need a hand. And yes, PVG/ Disclosures are needed, but we have helped our schools see how this could be obtained for free, should the council not pay.
Though we need to remember that if we are inviting the wider community in, we need to allow staff time outdoors first, to build their comfort and confidence with the children. The last thing we need when we are learning something new is to have someone external watching our every move. Even though they are there to support us, it can still feel a lot.
Sustainability and Risk
As we continue to develop our outdoor learning, we often want to develop our playground to better meet our needs. This takes time and a long-term plan – five years or more – can really help with this. We may also begin to realise that we cannot have what we need within school grounds alone, so knowing the local community is key. In so many schools, staff stay out with the local community and therefore won’t know what’s there. We can ask, or we can set up a walking club. Once a week, after school, the staff go for a 30-minute walk and talk. It allows them to support one another but also explore the local spaces. It is also great for morale and health.
As we do this, sustainability, biodiversity, conservation, and more may start to come to the fore. These things are always evolving, but there are so many citizen science projects we can get involved in, plus we have lessons on our website to help you create habitats that encourage biodiversity.
We might want more resources – though you would be amazed at how little you need for high-quality outdoor learning. Though I do always suggest every class as a grab-and-go bag, as it makes staff more likely to head out when what they need is to hand. Our kit bag can be read about in this blog.
And, as we do more, we may want to start exploring risk. Risk for some kids can be going out in the wind or rain if they are not used to that. It does not need to mean tools, fires and climbing trees. It can be how to move around different sites, how to use sticks, and how to stay warm. Outdoor learning should feel thoughtful, not fearful,
Many Facets
As I said at the start of this rather long blog, there are so many facets of outdoor learning and what outdoor learning looks like in each school differs. We have barely scratched the surface in these 2500+ words. But when a school works with us, we go deep. We have over 70 statements, each with three levels, to allow schools to fully measure where they are at in outdoor learning and where they want to get to. We audit, we evaluate, and we help them create a five-year plan. For many of our schools and nurseries, which means going back each year to audit, evaluate and highlight the real progress they make, and support them through their hurdles. That is one of the many things I love about my job.
Outdoor learning is not a tick-box. It is not a weekly slot. It is not one enthusiastic teacher dragging everyone else along.
It is culture.
It is systems.
It is leadership.
It is pedagogy.
It is wellbeing.
It is inclusion.
It is risk and responsibility and trust.
And when those elements align, outdoor learning stops being something a school “does” and becomes something a school is.
That is when the real magic happens.
And that is the journey we walk alongside schools every single day.
