Outdoor Learning and Forest School

Rationale:

At The Round House, we believe that the outdoor environment is a rich, dynamic and natural space for learning and development in children. We also believe that being outside is vital for our pupils’ physical health, emotional well-being and cognitive development.

When outdoors, children have the freedom to explore and develop their physical boundaries, to take risks and to discover the real world with all their senses. This can have huge positive effects on a child’s self-esteem and confidence. Children have room to be active, noisy, messy and work on a large scale. Fresh air, rain, wind, sunshine and other elements bring the children into close contact with nature and enable them to experience the wonder of the outdoor world first hand. 

The value of Outdoor Learning:

• Being outdoors has a positive impact on children’s sense of well-being, engagement and helps all aspects of children’s development, including physical, emotional and social
• Playing, learning and exploring outdoors all offer opportunities for children (and adults) to engage, solve problems and do things in different ways
• Outdoors environments offer a chance to experience learning on a different scale in comparison to being indoors
• Being outdoors gives children first-hand, formative contact with the weather, seasons and the natural world.
• The outdoor environment is liberating and can offer children the freedom to explore, use their senses and be physically active and exuberant.
• The outdoor environment usually offers more freedom and space to move, and inspires different movement from that indoors. This is vital for young children to develop their coordination, build muscle mass and experiment with moving their bodies.

• Every child has a right to daily outdoor learning and as much value should be placed on the outdoor environment as inside. The same amount of resources, planning, time, and money should go into providing the outdoor space as the indoor one. It is not an optional extra.

Outdoor Learning is an important part of our curriculum and children in Reception, Key Stage One and Lower Key Stage Two get to participate in sessions in our outdoor learning environment. Children in Upper Key Stage Two get to participate in cross-curricular lessons outside such as art and science.

We at The Round House have lots of amazing outdoor learning spaces for our pupils including a playground, field, pond area, biodome, green house, flowerbeds, woodlands, chicken pen and a fire circle. Children in our Forest School Class, called Woodpeckers, go to Aunties Wood on Loves Farm to participate in many exciting activities.

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