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Research has shown that the benefits for children of participation in outdoor learning programmes are significant and wide-ranging, including improvements in attainment, physical health and wellbeing, behaviour, self-esteem, resilience, independence, risk management, emotional intelligence, communication skills and connection with the natural world. |
In the Early Years, Outdoor Explorers sessions take much of their inspiration from the ethos and best practice of Forest School. Each two-hour weekly session begins in the outdoor classroom with a welcome and a reminder about the safety rules and boundaries. A guided craft activity is modelled and completed in small groups, or the children may wish to explore and play more independently, building dens, climbing trees, gardening, playing in the mud kitchen or hunting for wildlife. Towards the end of the session, the group re-gathers to share a snack, sometimes hot chocolate, a toasted marshmallow, popcorn or some other treat cooked on the campfire. Children are encouraged to follow their own interests and build on any emerging skills, meaning that although lesson plans are in place, sessions may evolve in different ways.
As our pupils move from Reception into years 1 and 2, more team building, geography, history and science is gradually brought into the curriculum, and they work towards achieving a National Outdoor Learning Award (NOLA). This aims to capture and celebrate six value areas: Safe, Learn, Respect, Self, Others and Environment through eighteen skills linked to numerous learning theories and the national curriculum.
In Key Stage 2, pupils take part in termly Outdoor Explorers Afternoons, where an area of their curriculum is explored practically and in depth in the outdoors. Previous sessions have included Stone Age fire making, cooking and den building, a Battle of Bosworth re-enactment, a Roman archaeological dig and centurion training, an Aboriginal traditions workshop, and an art and geography study of Winchester high street. These afternoons are powerful tools for delivering creative and memorable learning experiences.
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