WCC Outdoor Education and Learning Strategy Approved
As mentioned in last week’s Heads Up, the new WCC Outdoor Education and Learning Strategy has just been approved, which will help Warwickshire schools to deliver high quality outdoor education and learning. There’s no doubt that outdoor learning experiences have a positive impact on children and young people’s development, contributing to personal growth and social awareness as well as developing skills for life and the world of work.
Once the Strategy is fully launched in early Summer 2022, schools will be able to access services such as an online directory of outdoor venues and activity providers and additional resources to help plan and coordinate outdoor education activities. We’ll also be facilitating the sharing of best practice between schools, to increase the amount of regular, enjoyable and challenging opportunities to learn outdoors.
Simon Ashbell, Outdoor Learning Lead at the Revel C of E Primary School in Rugby, was one of those professionals who provided feedback to contribute to the strategy. He commented:
“Our children love outdoor learning in all its forms. It’s highly engaging and enriches our school. At the Revel Primary School, we have committed to outdoor learning over the past five years, providing curriculum-based outdoor learning days and lessons, Forest Schools and Environmental Education to all year groups (from Nursery to year 6) all year round.
“We find that it cultivates curiosity, resilience and creates context for a lot of our core subjects. Outdoor learning and Forest School amplifies our children’s development by allowing risks to be taken, adventures to explore and deep learning experiences to be had. It also gives the whole school community a sense of connection to ourselves, others and the environment. We love it so much that we have begun helping other schools integrate outdoor learning into their settings with training and consultations. We are really excited that Warwickshire County Council is helping to create connections for all schools so we can all begin to cross-pollenate our practices.”
Portfolio holder for Children, Families and Education, Cllr Jeff Morgan, said “We’re delighted to launch this new strategy, which shows our commitment to supporting and enabling schools and other education settings to plan and deliver outdoor education and adventure. Outdoor education brings lots of benefits to children, developing problem-solving adaptability skills, as well as making connections with our natural world and environment. I’m particularly grateful to all those teachers and educational professionals who took the time to share their experiences and challenges with us as part of the process in developing our plans and I’m looking forward to seeing outdoor education thrive in Warwickshire”.
Further updates on the new Strategy and access to planned services will follow in Spring 2022.