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Outdoor learning made easier: how teachers can build confidence and keep classes engaged

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Outdoor learning can transform educational experiences by taking lessons beyond the four walls of a classroom. It’s a planned and purposeful approach to teaching that uses outdoor activities and resources to support engagement, wellbeing and environmental awareness.

However, despite the many benefits, the idea of taking students out of the classroom can feel daunting for teachers. Teaching outside takes confidence and preparation to create hands-on experiences, spark curiosity and nurture a love for nature, all whilst maintaining student safety.

So, how can teachers feel confident managing lessons outside the classroom and can outdoor learning keep children focused? In this article, Nicole Sherwood from specialist education recruitment agency, Spencer Clarke Group, explores the key benefits of outdoor learning and strategies to keep students engaged. You’ll also learn how Grow to School helps teachers effectively plan and deliver outdoor lessons.

What are the benefits to outdoor learning?

The key benefits of outdoor learning for children, include:

  • Boosting mental health and wellbeing.
  • Developing a love of nature.
  • Promoting inclusivity.
  • Enhancing learning.
  • Supporting overall child development.

How can teachers build confidence and keep classes engaged outdoors?

5 ways teachers can build confidence and keep classes engaged outdoors, include:

  • Planning outdoor activities and challenges.
  • Using familiar outdoor spaces.
  • Assigning learners specific outdoor roles.
  • Breaking the class into smaller groups.
  • Reflecting after each outdoor lesson.

Planning outdoor activities and challenges

There are plenty of opportunities for outdoor learning and curriculum-linked activities that will engage students. Starting with small, manageable activities such as planting, observing or

describing textures gives students the chance to experience the natural world in real life. These hands-on experiences help students connect with nature and learn without books or screens.

Planning small activities around clear learning goals or curriculum topics can also help teachers feel more prepared and ensure outdoor lessons remain purposeful. Small activities and challenges can build teachers’ confidence over time and help students stay engaged.

As their confidence grows, teachers can organise more hands-on activities such as harvesting and building garden structures. This can help prepare them for movement-based tasks such as scavenger hunts and nature trails to help students learn in a creative way.

Using familiar outdoor spaces

Unfamiliar spaces can leave students and teachers feeling uneasy. When students feel uncomfortable, they’re less likely to relax, participate and learn. Teaching in familiar areas outside the classroom, like the playground, can provide comfort and confidence to students and teachers.

Whether it’s playing football, identifying plants, or drawing the nature that surrounds them, students can engage in outdoor learning in spaces they know well within the school grounds. This makes teaching more manageable and learning more engaging for students.

Starting with familiar spaces allows teachers to practise outdoor routines, set boundaries and test activities in a low-pressure environment. As confidence grows, lessons can gradually expand to local parks and nature reserves, building on the experience gained within the school grounds.

Assigning learners specific outdoor roles

To get more students active and involved in outdoor learning, teachers can assign roles that build responsibility and keep students focused. Roles like gardener, observer, equipment manager and wildlife spotter gives each student a purpose and makes time outside more engaging. These responsibilities can strengthen students’ connection to nature and their respect for the environment.

When students have clear responsibilities, they are more likely to stay focused and engaged, making classes easier to manage and less chaotic. By assigning roles, teachers create structure, share tasks with students and build a supportive, engaging environment where everyone helps each other.

Breaking the class into smaller groups

Working outdoors in small groups gives children more opportunities to explore, communicate and learn through hands-on activities. Teaching assistants can help by dividing the class into smaller, easier-to-manage groups or providing vital one-to-one support to ease the teacher’s workload and ensure every child gets support. Smaller groups are easier to supervise in larger outdoor areas, helping teachers stay confident and in control of the lesson.

Small-group activities allow different groups to work on separate tasks at the same time. For example, one group might observe plant growth while another investigates soil composition. The groups can then rotate so every child can engage closely with hands-on scientific activities, rather than waiting in a large group for their turn or getting distracted.

Working together in small groups or teams can make interactions more meaningful, as well as boost creativity, teamwork and sensory awareness. This targeted support gives students a more personal experience and opportunities to explore, ask questions and experiment independently.

Reflecting after each outdoor lesson

Outdoor learning is about more than simply being outside, building dens or observing wildlife. Spending time outdoors can reduce stress as well as improve mood and attention spans, making lessons outside a refreshing change from indoor routines.

Having lessons in nature creates a calm, engaging environment where children can slow down, focus and learn with purpose. Outdoor lessons are valuable not only for hands-on learning but also for guided conversations, quiet contemplation and reflection.

Activities like nature journaling, sharing circles and group discussions can help children talk about what they enjoyed during outdoor lessons, what they learned and what they want to explore next. When teachers reflect on what worked, what didn’t and how children responded, they can adjust their approach, refocus and recharge.

Listening to children’s ideas and feedback helps teachers feel confident planning more engaging outdoor lessons in the future. Teachers can provide more hands-on activities, explore new areas of the school grounds, or spend more time observing wildlife with students.

How does Grow to School make outdoor learning easier for Teachers?

Growbag Toolkits – food growing in schools
A structured, year‑round programme that makes growing food in school achievable for everyone. The Growbag Toolkit links food growing to learning, wellbeing and nature connection, even in schools with limited space or experience.

Outdoor curriculum lessons
Hands‑on outdoor sessions that bring the curriculum to life. We work directly with classes, modelling engaging lessons across subjects such as science, history, geography and literacy, while building teacher confidence to teach outdoors.

Teach it Outside – lesson plans for teachers
A library of ready‑to‑use, curriculum‑linked outdoor lesson plans. Resource‑light, easy to follow and simple to evidence, these lessons remove the planning barrier and make outdoor learning feel manageable.

Teacher training and CPD
Practical training designed to help staff feel confident teaching outside. Sessions focus on using school grounds effectively, managing groups outdoors and embedding outdoor learning into everyday teaching.

SEND‑inclusive outdoor learning resources
Accessible, sensory‑rich resources that support children with special educational needs and disabilities. Activities are adaptable, inclusive and designed to ensure every child can thrive outdoors.

Free resources and activity packs
Guidance, lesson plans, videos, worksheets and activity packs that help teachers get started and keep momentum, even with minimal time or resources.

Spencer Clarke Group is a specialist education recruitment agency based in the North West. Operating nationwide, they help schools to find experienced teaching and support staff on a daily, temporary, temp-perm or permanent basis.

Growing Together: A year of partnership with Bradford schools 

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Over the past year, we’ve had the pleasure of working with ten incredible schools across the Bradford district, made possible through generous funding from the Edina Trust. This project has been a fantastic example of what can happen when schools, charities, local government, and communities come together around a shared mission of growing a greener, healthier future for our children. 

Each school received our Supported Growbag Toolkit, complete with growing packs and tailored lesson plans. Throughout the year they were supported by our expert outdoor practitioners, who worked with teachers and pupils to transform their school gardens into thriving, productive green spaces. 

This year also saw the strengthening of some key partnerships. We collaborated closely with the Living Well Schools, the Bradford and Districts Market team, and the Bradford Public Health Team, as well national charity School Food Matters whose mission to deliver funded food education programmes and advocacy for a better school food system aligns with our own goals. 

One of the highlights of the year was the opportunity for our schools to take part in School Food Matters Young Marketeers programme. This fantastic initiative invites children to grow their own vegetables, learn about food marketing, and then sell their produce at a local market. 

Pupils from several participating Growbag schools were delighted to set up shop at the newly opened Darley Street Market in Bradford. They sold their home-grown produce to locals, visitors, and even the Lord Mayor, Mohammed Shafiq. It was a wonderful day that left a lasting impression on everyone involved. 

“Our children gained so much from the experience in every possible way and have made memories that will last a lifetime. The staff were wonderful, so kind and helpful. It was organised perfectly and I feel it went without a hitch. The effort of everyone is to be commended.” 
Alison Pierce, Poplars Farm Primary School 

“It was such a positive, empowering and joyful experience. The kids were so engaging and showed a real passion and awareness of nutrition and why the food growing process is so important” 
Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust 

The following week, we were invited back to Darley Street for the launch of the Government’s Good Food Cycle, a new national strategy aimed at building healthier eating, stronger food security, and greener supply chains. 

A group of confident, knowledgeable pupils from Co-op Academy Penny Oaks had the opportunity to meet Minister for Food Security, Daniel Zeichner. They proudly shared their food-growing journey and even persuaded him to taste their freshly harvested gooseberries! 

This is why we do what we do: to bring children, organisations and communities together to grow a greener, more sustainable future for all. We believe passionately in this way of working and want to continue this across other regions. If you’re interested in partnering with us to bring projects like this to life in your area, we’d love to hear from you. 

Thank you to our brilliant Bradford schools, it has been a pleasure working with you: Co-op Academy Penny Oaks; Knowleswood Primary School; Feversham Primary Academy; Poplars Farm Primary School; Newby Primary School; Peel Park Primary School; Ryecroft Primary Academy; Horton Grange Primary School; Blakehill Primary School; Reevy Hill Primary; Beckfoot Heaton Primary; Victoria Primary School; and Denholme Primary School.

The Transformative Benefits of Outdoor Learning for Children

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In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world, finding ways to connect children with nature is more important than ever. Outdoor learning offers a powerful approach to education that enhances academic performance and supports overall well-being. At Grow to School, we’ve seen first hand the remarkable impact of outdoor learning, and recent studies, including those highlighted in The Guardian, further underscore its benefits.

Boosting Cognitive and Behavioural Development

Research has shown that exposure to green spaces can significantly improve children’s cognitive functions and behavioural outcomes. According to The Guardian, children who spend more time in natural environments exhibit better working memory, reduced inattentiveness, and improved academic achievement. A study from Barcelona’s Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology monitored 2,500 children and found that those with access to more greenery had better mental abilities to manipulate and update information continuously.

At Grow to School, our lessons are designed to leverage these cognitive benefits. By engaging students in hands-on activities such as planting and caring for vegetable gardens, we help them develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills while fostering a deep connection with nature.

  • Children's hands holding green plants

Enhancing Physical Health and Well-being

The physical benefits of outdoor learning are equally compelling. Green spaces have been linked to lower blood pressure, improved mental health, and reduced stress levels. The Guardian article notes that children raised in greener areas tend to have stronger bones and better immune systems. This aligns with the findings of the Marmot Review, which highlighted the significant role of a healthy physical environment in reducing health inequalities.

Our outdoor learning lessons integrate outdoor activities into the science curriculum, encouraging physical activity and promoting a healthier lifestyle. Students learn through exploration and play, boosting their physical health and enhancing their enthusiasm for learning.

Fostering Social and Emotional Development

Outdoor learning environments provide a unique setting for social and emotional growth. According to Unicef, green spaces can improve children’s balance, motor coordination, and ability to cope with stress. These environments foster teamwork and communication skills as children collaborate on projects and solve problems.

Grow to School’s Outdoor learning lessons, support teachers in creating impactful outdoor learning experiences. By providing resources and training, we help educators integrate nature-based activities that support students’ social and emotional development. Teachers have observed that these lessons are educational and contribute significantly to the school’s eco-friendly initiatives.

Empowering Through DIY Growbags

One innovative way we at Grow to School promote sustainability and hands-on learning is through our Growbag DIY initiative. The Growbag DIY provides an affordable, time-scaled, easy-to-follow resource for food growing, nature connection and curriculum based outdoor learning – all in one toolkit.
Using The Growbag, children can easily cultivate herbs, vegetables, and flowers, experiencing the joy of growing their own food. This activity reinforces lessons about sustainability and healthy eating and empowers children to take ownership of their learning and development.

Encouraging a Lifelong Love for Nature

One of the most profound benefits of outdoor learning is its ability to instil a lifelong appreciation for nature. As children engage with the natural world, they develop a sense of responsibility and stewardship for the environment. This early exposure to nature can influence their attitudes and behaviours towards sustainability.

At Grow to School, we are committed to nurturing this love for nature through our diverse lessons. By teaching students about plant life cycles, the importance of sustainable gardening, and the science behind natural ecosystems, we aim to inspire the next generation of environmental advocates.

Embrace the Outdoors for a Brighter Future

The evidence is clear: outdoor learning offers numerous benefits for children’s cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development. As educators and parents, we are responsible for providing opportunities for children to connect with nature and experience the joys of learning outside the traditional classroom.

At Grow to School, we are passionate about creating enriching outdoor educational experiences that empower children to reach their full potential.

To find out more about The Growbag DIY, enhanced, supported, and the CPD we offer, take a look at:

The Growbag food growing ‘Toolkit’

If you have any questions, contact: grow@growtoschool.co.uk

Food growing in schools: How to make it happen

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Food growing in schools isn’t without its challenges! This blog offers suggestions on how to keep the garden growing using our Early Years or Primary Growbag Do-It-Yourself package.

First things first, find a staff member to lead:

The role of the garden lead is to get to know what’s in the Growbag DIY package and make the digital and hard copy resources accessible to all staff members. All teaching staff involved are signed up to our monthly email Growbag reminders too. With a lead in place and everyone knowing what’s what, you’re ready to grow!

Don’t let lack of skills and confidence be a stumbling block:

The garden lead does not have to be a gardener! And neither do any of the teaching staff. Don’t let lack of knowledge or low confidence be a barrier to using the garden. The resources we provide are designed for teaching staff with little gardening know how. If you pull up a carrot by mistake – well, hey – at least you’ve grown it, however small or wonky it is and it can lead to all sorts of questions e.g., which part of the plant are you eating when you munch on a carrot?

How to fit the gardening into a school day. Here are some suggestions that we know work in schools:

One garden visit per month

Timetable an outdoor 2 hour session for one class per month: The class gets done all the jobs in the diary for that month. Give the class a window of a week to get outside and run the session. They can choose a fine weather day that week and fit it around other priorities that come up. Remind the children to bring wellies and coats in the day before.

What and how many year groups to work with: It’s important each class gets more than one visit over a year so a sense of responsibility for the garden can develop. You might choose to work with only a few year groups over the course of one academic year, or even just one. The embedding of skills and knowledge will be far deeper.

How to run a whole class lesson with gardening attached: With the support of a TA or supporting adult, take a whole class out and get gardening jobs done at the same time. Set up a lesson that uses the outdoors and/ or the garden as a starting point. Why not use a lesson from our Science Schemes/Early Years plans, or take a lesson outside that you’ve planned already.

It’s best to divide the class into 4-6 teams and while the lesson is going on, one team at a time is taken off to work with the TA, teacher or supporting adult in the garden to get the jobs in the Growbag diary done. That team then returns to the lesson activity. If the lesson doesn’t make it outside for whatever reason, the supporting adult can take the teams out to the garden throughout the day or at any point that week.

One bed, one class

Each class can be allotted one bed or group of beds that they look after over the year: With prompts from the garden lead and our monthly reminder emails, let each class take control of how and when they go out to look after their bed. They could take the whole class out or send groups out with support. This approach engenders a feeling of responsibility and enables a class to chart the seasonal journey in greater detail.

Small group/nurture

If you don’t have support staff available, which is becoming more of the norm unfortunately, you can include the garden in existing small group nurture work or set up a garden club. Small groups working the garden is often the easiest way for the jobs to get done. The results can still be shared with the whole school.

Make the garden part of school life

Whatever approach you take, a school garden has the potential to be an invaluable resource. It doesn’t need to be a show garden like you see on the telly (who’s got time for that)! But you can make it a unique garden for your school and a talking point. Here are a few suggestions for making the school garden part of school life:

  • Set up a committee of head gardeners (one child from each year) who can support the garden lead or use your existing eco team. To be a head gardener is a responsible job: they can share in decision making, what to do with produce, collection of compostable school materials, and liaising with classes.
  • After a visit to the garden encourage classes to present an assembly or use the garden as a springboard for creative and D&T projects. Take pictures and tell the story.
  • Set up an after school and or lunchtime gardening club if staffing allows.
  • Include the journey of the garden in school newsletters, messages home and on social media. This might help identify a willing gardening grandparent who is happy to support when classes come out. You never know!

All this is easy to say isn’t it but what if you really don’t have any spare, interested or confident staff member to make the above happen?  

It might be that you buy in our targeted Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for training up a handful of staff members. This CPD is full of practical, timesaving and hands on advice for making the most of your school garden.

We hope you find the above ideas useful.  We’d love to know what you think. If you have any questions, contact: grow@growtoschool.co.uk

To find out more about The Growbag DIY, enhanced, supported, and the CPD we offer, take a look at:

The Growbag food growing ‘Toolkit’

  • Schoolchildren using the Growbag Toolkit to grow their own food in schools

Growbag Planting Packs

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The Growbag is written specifically for schools and education settings. Our spring, summer & autumn planting timetable helps you avoid everything being ready over the summer holidays and ensures the children get to try the vegetables, fruit and herbs that they’ve grown. Take a look at the table below to see what we grow in each Growbag kit:

Spring & Summer Packs

Growbag Early YearsGrowbag MiniGrowbag Max
Plug plants (small plants ready to go in the ground to grow on)
courgette x 3
pumpkins x 3		beetroot x 5cabbage x 4
purple sprouting broccoli x 4
leeks x 15, pumpkin x 3
courgette x 3
cucumber x 3
beetroot (multi sown) x 6
Sets
maincrop potatoes x 10
onion sets x 15		onion sets x 20
early potatoes x 10
maincrop potatoes x 10
Seeds (one packet of each)
radish
lettuce
runner beans		radish
lettuce
runner beans
carrot
coriander		radish
lettuce
peas
runner beans
French beans
carrots
coriander
salad spinach
calendula (pot marigolds – edible)
nasturtium (edible)
cosmos(non-edible)
calendula (pot marigolds – edible)calendula (pot marigolds – edible)
nasturtium (edible)
cosmos(non-edible)
Herbs – permanent planting
rosemary x 1
sweet marjoram x 1
chives x 1
bronze fennel x1		rosemary x 1
sweet marjoram x 1
chives x 1
bronze fennel x1

Autumn & Winter Packs

Growbag Early YearsGrowbag MiniGrowbag Max
Plug plants
kale x 4
winter lettuce x 15		Lettuce x 5kale x 4
winter lettuce x 15
mizuna (salad leaf) x 4
multi-sown spring onions x 10
chard x 4
Seeds and bulbs
broad bean seeds x 30
garlic bulb x 1		garlic bulb x 1
broad beans
phacelia seed (green manure)		garlic bulbs x 2
broad bean seeds x 30
phacelia seed (green manure)
Fruit – permanent planting
blackcurrant bush x 1blackcurrant bush x 1
These sweet black berries are ready to harvest in late June/July so perfect for schools. Eat them raw or cooked. Delicious as a compote.

Take a look at what else is in The Growbag Toolkit. Get in touch at growbag@growtoschool.co.uk to see how our food growing programme could work in your school or ring Ama on 07710 084388 for more information.

Planning and integrating outdoor lessons and learning

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Outdoor learning can present many challenges for curriculum and lesson-planning, but it can be worth the effort. Headteacher Matthew Leach talks to Headteacher Update about his school’s focus on taking teaching outdoors and how it has helped improve outcomes

Hyrstmount is a three-form entry junior school in Batley, Yorkshire. We have been working to build confidence among teaching staff to deliver lessons outdoors. This has been a really valuable and important journey for us, and we can now shout about the results.

In 2016, we began working to plan and integrate outdoor lessons. We wanted to ensure that the lessons dovetailed with the curriculum and that the lessons complemented and consolidated children’s learning each term, helping them to progress.

Getting pupils learning outside

We worked with Grow to School, a not-for-profit outdoor learning provider, to develop this over the course of a year.

If the children needed extra support with a subject or skill, such as comprehension, or around specific topics where they had been struggling, we would aim to remodel the lessons so that they could be taken outdoors.

The lessons are developed so that learning outdoors increases children’s activity and gets them out of their chairs and moving.

Every child is offered at least one timetabled lesson of 55 minutes outside a week, in either the forest, pond, garden or other areas of the school grounds. All lessons correspond directly with the work being done in class and extend the children’s knowledge of taught subjects.

For example, year 3 pupils were struggling to learn the mountains of the UK. So, a lesson was devised combining myths and legends of the mountains and countries of the UK. The children had to build or draw one of the four mountains using natural materials. Each team then created an advert to sell their mountain to a giant who was looking for a new home.

The range of subjects that can be taught outside is as wide as those taught inside. Grow to School’s expertise has helped us to design an outdoor learning curriculum that covers all subjects. It is hard to pick a favourite lesson, but children love “Thorsday Thursday” when all year 4 pupils spend a day outside for their Viking topic.

Perhaps the most talked about lesson, at least from what I hear from pupils and families, is when the children make a working model of the digestive system and compare their results with the Bristol Stool Chart!

Another good memory I have is when year 5 learnt about the Second World War. They started the topic by being parachuted into enemy territory, setting up camp, and deciphered coded messages. The weather that year was glorious and over the weeks they dug for victory, created and tested bomb shelters using water balloons as bombs, and finished the term celebrating VE Day outside, complete with bunting, flags cakes and even Churchill (played by me) reading his VE Day speech.

To complement Thorsday Thursday, we are currently planning more regular events, including a Stone Age Day for year 3, a Victorian Day for year 5, and an Ancient Greek day for year 6.

These days have all the excitement of a school trip, and the children seem to love working in year groups as opposed to classes, enjoying the thrill of being outside all day. It is also considerably cheaper and easier to organise than taking three classes off site!

Overcoming barriers

There was some reluctance from staff to work outside in the early stages due to perceived risks or inclement weather, as well as a lack of confidence in both delivering lessons outside and the results they might yield.

However, after outdoor learning was timetabled, staff became used to the routine of going outdoors once a week.

When learning outdoors, everyone is working towards the same goal, so the children get a greater sense of community and team-work. No-one has to be “the best” and the focus is on the team. Pupils celebrate each other’s work more, which improves self-esteem, confidence and awareness.

It provides the opportunity for all children to shine. Often “less academic” children display leadership skills and new-found confidence as they are more comfortable with the hands-on learning and will step forward.

The sessions help to solidify knowledge. They give children another way to take in information and this practical, doing approach while learning helps them to retain things.

We have had many successes along the way, but one boy has always stood out as outdoor learning really turned his school life around. In year 3 he struggled to concentrate and would at times demonstrate challenging behaviour in and outside the classroom.

About halfway through year 3, during an outdoor learning lesson on the Romans, everything changed. He spent the whole lesson quietly focused on creating a timeline of the Roman Empire, and from that defining moment he never looked back.

While classroom activities and lessons still proved challenging, outside he shone. He has since learnt how to lead a team, how to delegate, and how to share. He would often hop to different teams to help support peers who were struggling and the quality of the work he produced was outstanding.

When he left Hyrstmount last year, we know he left with the knowledge that despite his struggles academically, he had pride in his abilities as a leader, a team player his and outdoor skills.

Wet weather

Hyrstmount is based in Yorkshire and is no stranger to wet weather. One of the first purchases schools often make when preparing for outdoor learning is wet weather clothing for children.

Of course, the reality is that once you have dressed 30 children in the appropriate clothing, either the sun has come out or there are only five minutes left of the lesson!

However, we find that it is more likely to be the teacher who hates wet weather rather than the children. So, ensure teachers have decent warm coats and wellies. Unless it is really chucking it down, half an hour outside allows for a decent, if short, lesson and no-one will get too wet or cold.

Sending out letters with requests for old wellies and waterproof coats has helped us to build-up our supply of wet weather clothing for those children who do not come to school appropriately dressed. And we ask children to bring spare socks for wellies in winter.

Outdoor space and resources

There can be barriers to taking a class of young children outdoors. As well as the unpredictable weather, a lot of schools will say that they haven’t got the outdoor space. Others are concerned about keeping the class on track and how they will teach a lesson outdoors without it becoming disrupted.

At Hyrstmount, we do have outdoor space, but you don’t have to have a huge, green, planted area. Regardless of space, we have found that having a good bank of resources that can be used outdoors to support your lessons really helps.

Resources that we use regularly include natural materials – stones, sticks, acorns, seeds, grass, dandelions, daisies, leaves etc – as well as things like bamboo canes, guttering, balls, chalk, shower curtains, string, and tarpaulins!

Ask at local DIY shops and building companies for old pieces of wood, timber and scaffolding boards. Tyres are also easy and free to get hold of (local garages). We also re-use containers like milk bottles and yoghurt pots.

For cheap storage, we have a plastic greenhouse in a sheltered spot – it is a waterproof, shelved alternative to a shed and after five years is still going strong. We also have a cheap tarpaulin up to give cover from the rain and re-use old classroom tables for outdoor learning.

We also use mini-whiteboards to aide teaching and, of course, having laminated sheets is a must!

The cost of resources or buying in outdoor lessons may feel prohibitive but remember that some things can be legitimately purchased using your PE and Sport Premium. That is how we have covered the costs of the Grow to School lesson bank.

Fulfilling the school’s vision

Hyrstmount has recently been inspected by Ofsted and was judged to be good overall with outstanding personal development. Ofsted recognised that leaders and staff provide a range of opportunities for pupils and enhance the curriculum. We as a school are acknowledging the role that regular outdoor learning plays in supporting and enhancing the school curriculum.

The school has now successfully embedded the practice of teaching outside, seeing benefits not only in children’s learning and attainment but also in the development of social skills and the professional development of teachers.

  • Matthew Leach is headteacher at Hyrstmount Junior School in Batley, Yorkshire.

Further information & resources

  • Grow to School is not-for-profit and supports schools to deliver outdoor learning across all key stages with whole classes or small groups, including curriculum-based sessions and support for how to use your school’s outdoor space. It has been awarded the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom’s Quality Badge. Visit www.growtoschool.co.uk

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