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FEATURE FOCUS: OUTDOOR LEARNING


Outdoor learning vital for post-lockdown education


be remembered for one reason only and that is the coronavirus pandemic. It will go down in history as a time when people’s lives changed completely and not least the lives of our children. With schools closed, pupils have had to switch to home-learning, online learning and get used to a completely new sense of normal when it comes to daily education rituals. And now, as the Government carefully


prepares for schools to reopen and for some children to return to the classroom, post- pandemic school-life is set to be very different to the one which existed pre-lockdown. Smaller class sizes, staggered start and finish


times and reduced social and physical contact. And this is just the start. But whilst there are not many upsides to the


A


s the UK begins to ease lockdown restrictions around daily outdoor


exercise and steps are taken to gradually reopen schools it’s vital, now more than ever, that children are encouraged to spend more time in the natural world. In our second look at outdoor learning this


month, Mark Castle, the Chief Executive of the Field Studies Council (FSC), explains the importance of giving children the opportunity to engage with the environment and highlights the benefits it will have as teachers and pupils finally start getting back into the classroom. There’s no doubt about it, the year 2020 will


current global situation, at the FSC we believe there is an opportunity of a lifetime for parents, teachers, schools, educators and of course, pupils to embrace outdoor learning like never before. Socially distancing pupils will be far easier to do


in an outdoor setting than it is in the confines of a small classroom space. So let’s embrace this. For years, outdoor learning advocates have


been banging the drum about taking learning outside of the classroom and now more than ever we feel it’s vital that children and young people spend time outside to make them happy, improve their health, mental well-being and develop new skills. It’s our aim at FSC to inspire everyone to


become curious, knowledgeable, passionate and caring about the environment. There is no substitute for hands on, real world experiences.


28 www.education-today.co.uk


Learning outdoors crucially builds life skills and boosts mental and physical health and wellbeing. Although our network of field study centres,


which attract 150,000 schoolchildren a year, have been shut since March due to COVID-19, digital learning has given us a bridge to continue engaging learners and keep them curious about the outside world. Through our newly launched #fieldworklive


programme we have continued to support teachers, schools, parents and pupils with lessons encouraging students to take part in science and geography related fieldwork projects whilst at home. The sessions, which attracted an audience of


377,000 learners across the globe, have challenged students whilst in lockdown to think and learn about the environment in fun and engaging ways as well as make use of their own outdoor garden spaces. And now restrictions on outdoor movement


have been lifted, there is even greater scope for parents to get outdoors into the natural world with their children. Where possible we would encourage families


to combine their daily exercise activities. The options are endless from enjoying a nature walk together or creating a scavenger hunt to building a den or recording local wildlife. And as schools return, we urge teachers to


follow Scotland’s example and to explore ways in which outdoor learning can be used to optimise physical distancing among classmates. As has been said many times before, the benefits of outdoor learning are far reaching.


June 2020


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