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Offer a range of extracurricular outdoor learning opportunities

Measuring Impact and Success

You need to show how your outdoor learning extracurricular outdoor learning opportunities has had a positive impact on pupils’ and on any other relevant stakeholders’ experience (including teaching staff). For example, you can demonstrate how the introduction of an outdoor learning extracurricular opportunity has had a positive effect on attendance, as pupils report they prefer learning outdoors and therefore come to school more often than previously. 

Some examples of measuring impact include: 

  • an analysis of pupil evaluations to identify what pupils found enjoyable, engaging and meaningful, how they would benefit from further learning and what that learning would involve
  • case studies of individual or groups of pupils showing the impact of the outdoor learning extracurricular opportunities on their overall learning and engagement – and/or statements from staff about how the opportunities have helped to develop their practice within and outside the classroom
  • pupil feedback on their outdoor learning extracurricular experiences – perhaps ‘before’ and ‘after’ stories/narratives, in the form of videos, blogs or artwork (pupils might want to focus on skills and attributes like confidence, self-esteem and self-belief)
  • senior leadership feedback about the quality of the outdoor learning extracurricular experiences and the impact it is having on some aspects of the school’s aims and objectives
  • a review from an outdoor learning expert visitor.  

Remember in each case to describe the impact of your actions (that is, what difference they made) and not just what you did.

Overview

Setting up extracurricular outdoor learning opportunities doesn’t need to be an onerous task. Indeed, it is advisable to start small and work your way up, depending on what you would like to achieve and what needs you will be meeting for your pupils.

This benchmark supports you to steadily increase the number and range of opportunities that you offer. With this approach, you can not only build pupils’ skills but also their competence in learning outdoors.

Focus on tasks that you can manage easily. Remember that pupils might not be ready for some of the more adventurous aspects of extracurricular outdoor learning. Equally, staff and parents may need some support and encouragement to normalise children taking appropriate risks and becoming more confident and competent when outdoors.

Intentions

Intentions are actions you intend to take in order to improve your provision in this benchmark. Choose three intentions to focus on.

Outdoor learning can be an opportunity for pupils to learn in and about the outdoors, and breaktimes and lunchtimes can be an ideal time to do this. 

The first step is to involve pupils in the decision-making about outdoor learning activities at breaktimes and lunchtimes. What would they like to do? Why would they like to do it? This initial process of asking for ideas is a good way of increasing the level of pupil voice in your school. 

Once you have decided on ‘what’ and ‘why’, you can implement the activities. These might be new equipment – anything from bug-hunting equipment to a trim trail, to nature-based games. You might like to train members of staff or pupils to facilitate the outdoor learning activities so that pupils feel inspired to participate and then make up their own activities and share those with others. 

There are a couple of ways you could operate this intention. You could offer outdoor learning activities simply as something different for pupils to do when they are not inside. Alternatively, you could set up the activities as a small project: gauge pupil interest and engagement in being outside before you offer additional outdoor learning-based activities, then implement the activities and ask for pupil feedback after a period of six weeks (or less/more, to suit). This could show the impact of the activities on pupils – and indeed on other people and parts of school life.
 
Top tips

  • Consider the space and time you have available and offer activities that suit any constraints or restrictions. 
  • Be prepared to change ideas if they are not working well and if pupils are not enjoying them. You do not have to be tied to an activity if it is not reaping the benefits you hoped it would.
  • Consider all pupil needs: outdoor activities can be quiet and thoughtful as well as noisier and exuberant. Aim for a mix of different types so that everyone feels catered for and included. 

Further resources

Setting up outdoor clubs for different groups within your school is a creative and practical step to encourage outdoor learning in a variety of ways. The first stage is to ask everyone in your school what special interest groups they would like to have and why. Consider all responses and choose one(s) that meet needs and that can be implemented efficiently. 

The important thing is to pick quality over quantity. If these sorts of clubs are a new venture for your school, or you have limited time and resources, choose one club and do it well rather than lots and do them poorly. 

You might like to consider a gardening club if you have the space, time and resources. A bushcraft club may be more suitable for your school if, for example, you don’t have sufficient room for an allotment or garden. If space is limited or unsuitable on site, you could venture out beyond the grounds with a litter-picking club or nature-watch club. 

Top tips

  • Use pre-existing expertise in school: is there a member of staff, parent or governor who has skills that you could utilise easily and cost-effectively? 
  • Share the club’s progress within your school to encourage more people to support it and join in. Use your website, social media (if you use it), noticeboards and newsletters. 
  • Track the progress and development of your club so you can see what might need to change in the future. 
  • Consider aligning your club to some of you school’s principles or ideals: what difference will the club make to your school? 

Further resources

One of the many benefits of outdoor learning is witnessing how pupils respond differently when they are outside. Often, learning does not feel like learning when it happens outside, so there is an opportunity to experience difference and in so doing, understand more about ourselves.

Team-building activities are naturally aligned to developing PSHE skills and vice versa. When considering which activities you are going to arrange, ensure you think about which PSHE skills you would like to enhance in your pupils. You can use the template provided here or devise your own. This ensures that the activities you arrange have an explicit link to the PSHE curriculum. 

Your choice of outdoor team-building activities will be guided by what your pupils would like to do and what staff can manage. You might like to consider: 

  • camps (on or off-site)
  • expeditions (in a rural or more urban environment)
  • problem-solving tasks like raft-building or bridge-construction
  • practical activities like den-building or fire-making
  • foraging, cooking and eating together. 

Responsible outdoor activities include clearing sites after use to ensure there is as little impact on the environment as possible. 

Top tips

  • Choose activities that are accessible for all pupils and ensure there is ample opportunity for everyone to participate. 
  • Select experiences that fulfil a need in pupils – one that staff have noticed or that pupils have reported and expressed. 

Template

Download this useful template for enhancing PSHE skills.

First, it is vital to decide what is understood by ‘adventurous’ within your school before you plan and implement activities. For some children, their adventurous experiences will be vast and daring, and for others, they will have a reduced comfort zone for adventure. Therefore, it is essential that you ask pupils what they would like to do. 

Second, you will need to be able to explain why you are providing adventurous activities for pupils and what they will gain as a result of participating, rather than just because staff members like the sound of it. 

Once you have determined these considerations, you can then plan your activities. Think about:

  • what you want to do
  • why
  • when you can do it
  • who needs to be involved 
  • where you can go for the activities. 

Numerous organisations can support your school with the planning and implementation of these activities, which might range from water sports, climbing and rope activities to hikes and overnight stays outdoors. 

Top tips

  • Ensure you plan and book activities well in advance, so everyone involved knows what is coming and when. 
  • Provide a list and full instructions of what pupils and staff will need to participate successfully, and consider how you can support those for whom the activities might prove challenging (financially, emotionally, physically and so on). 
  • Ensure your health and safety procedures are fit for purpose. 

Further resources

For many children and young people, time away from home and school is a valuable, memorable and enriching experience. As with all residential activities, there are two elements to consider: 

  1. whether the activity meets pupil needs
  2. whether the activities are fully accessible for everyone. 

Once you have consulted all relevant stakeholders and ensured their needs are acknowledged, you will need to think about your school’s capacity for provision: 

  • What will you offer?
  • Who will be involved?
  • When will it take place?
  • Where will you go?
  • Why are you doing it? 

You need to provide purpose and clarity throughout. 

There are numerous organisations that can help you organise your residential outdoor learning opportunities, so you do not need to coordinate everything in-house (see further resources). 

Remember, residential learning opportunities do not necessarily need to last a long time or be very far away from your school. 

Top tips

  • Be clear about the purpose of the residential outdoor learning opportunity: how it links to learning, how it meets needs and how it is accessible for all. 
  • Consider what provision you have in place for pupils who do not or cannot attend residential outdoor learning opportunities. 
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of your offer regularly so that you know what works and what does not work well. 

Further resources

Your school might wish to consider engaging with events, projects and programmes that are provided by external organisations or partners or indeed by other educational schools. These might include projects or programmes run by: 

  • the Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award
  • the Wildlife Trust
  • the National Trust
  • English Heritage. 

By participating in other ventures, you can extend the scope and breadth of your outdoor learning provision to all stakeholders, thereby continuing to meet needs as far as possible. 

Consider carefully which events, projects or programmes would meet your stakeholder needs: only once you are sure about the benefits should you invest the time and resources. 

Make sure you can demonstrate how these additional events, projects and programmes would contribute to what you are already doing as well as how it would extend your provision in a meaningful way. You will need to show the impact of participating in such ventures. 

Top tips

  • Consider what will change as a result of engaging with external events, projects or programmes. If the predicted changes are not positive, reflect on whether another venture or engaging at another time would work better for your school. 
  • Ensure you are meeting stakeholder needs and ask for feedback at appropriate points to make sure you are still on track with the original intentions. 
  • Make sure that any financial costs are given ample consideration by your school’s senior leaders. 

Further resources

Reflection

Think about:

  • Meeting needs: how do your outdoor learning extracurricular opportunities meets staff and pupil needs? Are they applicable to all relevant stakeholders? How do you know what needs are? How will you know if needs are being met? Make sure you ask. 
  • Families: how are your outdoor learning extracurricular opportunities portrayed to all pupils and their families? Do pupils and staff feel comfortable with the opportunities available to them? If not, how do you know? Can they be supported differently? Are senior leaders available and competent enough to support staff members and pupils with outdoor learning extracurricular opportunities? 
  • The updating process: how regularly are your outdoor learning extracurricular opportunities updated? How is this an ongoing process that is built into your school development/improvement plan? Do you provide several and varied chances throughout the year to review the outdoor learning extracurricular opportunities and their associated effectiveness? Can staff gain support from the outdoor learning curriculum lead for outdoor learning extracurricular opportunities, when requested? 
  • Senior leadership support: how are the outdoor learning extracurricular opportunities advocated by the senior leadership team? Are they implicitly and explicitly supportive? How do they demonstrate this? 
  • Evaluation: how do you evaluate your outdoor learning extracurricular opportunities and use feedback to shape future developments or changes? What evaluation methods will you use? How will the evaluation data be used?
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