Full findings have been published here
This study aimed to explore headteachers’, teachers’ and pupils’ views and experiences of an outdoor learning programme within the key stage two curriculum (ages 9–11).
Study findings:
Benefits of being outdoors:
- Freedom, expressing themselves, escape from the “cramped classroom”
- Schools felt children had a right to be outdoors and they could fulfil this right
- Increased children’s affinity to nature encouraging children’s environmental awareness and pro-environmental behaviours
“I think that they [teachers] like us being outdoors because maybe they don’t like us feeling stressed because we could be stressed in the classroom and instead of being stressed we’re outdoors and we’re happy”.
Benefits to learning:
- Increased engagement with learning and school
- Learning through play, multisensory experience
- Improved behaviour and concentration
- Engages all types of learners
“When we go out to the woods we don’t really know we’re doing…but we’re actually doing maths and we’re doing…so it’s just making it educational and fun at the same time“
Wider benefits:
- Key skill development e.g. team work, cooperation
- Pupils enjoyed the additional opportunity to be physically active
- Improved wellbeing and reduced feelings of stress
- Increased teacher job satisfaction
“The opportunity to work as a group, you know, they love the activities, and they get challenge activities, so they’ve got to use their problem solving skills, they’ve got discussion skills”
Barriers:
- Curriculum pressure and accountability
- Evidencing work
- Distractions
- Safety initially a concern – once embedded there were clear rules and boundaries
“Like the main concern for us, obviously, upper key stage 2 is obviously evidence of work, because there’s such a pressure now to have evidence, recorded evidence for every session”