Outdoor Learning

Outdoor education provides a nurturing space that supports our children’s wellbeing through positive, child-centred experiences in a natural setting. All our children regularly access outdoor education, either through our Forest Schools partners or through termly outdoor learning days. This element of our curriculum is particularly important in our urban area, where many children lack access to outdoor activities.

Forest Schools enable children to learn about the natural world through exploration, learning and play in a woodland setting. Children of all ages gain great benefit from the opportunity to experience the natural environment, learn how to handle risks and develop problem solving and cooperation skills.

Children can explore, play and regulate themselves in an outdoor area, growing in confidence, self-esteem and motivation. Their skills develop as they progress through the school, including the practical skills of responsible use of woodworking tools, knots, design and construction, and the ever-popular fire building and outdoor cooking.

Our Outdoor Education programme is a key part of our commitment to sustainability, helping children learn respect for the natural world. It also supports positive mental health as part of the Five Ways to Wellbeing, as children learn to be active and appreciate the calming and restorative impact of time outdoors.

We hope that Outdoor Education at Big Life Schools will lay the foundations for an active and healthy future.