We\u2019re sure you can all remember a time when we were younger, running through the woods, jumping in puddles, swinging precariously from trees discovering new and exciting things on our adventures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We enjoyed the rare school trip once or twice a year where we would visit sea aquariums, museums or zoos. For most of us this was all the outdoor learning we experienced, but when we were at home we were rarely inside. Instead, children would fill the streets outside their homes, riding bikes, playing football and other games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the years it seems with better technology readily available to every household with children as young as five having the latest smartphone or video game, children today are leading more enclosed lives, and in schools with a curriculum full of classroom-based lessons they are rarely experiencing the benefits of outdoor learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
125 schools across England were recently part of a project commissioned by the Natural Connections Demonstration which is a four year initiative to help school children \u2013 particularly in a disadvantaged area \u2013 to experience the benefits of learning outdoors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sue Waite, Associate Professor in Outdoor Learning at Plymouth University, said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe model for this project was built on substantial evidence into both the benefits and challenges schools face when embedding outdoor learning into core teaching. By working directly with teachers we\u2019ve helped to bring about a sustainable culture of outdoor learning across schools that will continue long after the project has ended and will leave behind a lasting legacy.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Natural Connections project provides strong evidence that learning outdoors has multiple benefits for school children. 92% of teachers surveyed said that pupils were more engaged with learning when outdoors and 85% saw a positive impact on their behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The majority of children also thought they learned better and achieved more when learning outside. 92% of pupils involved in the project said they enjoyed their lessons more when outdoors, with 90% feeling happier and healthier as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some other experts have conducted researches into outdoor learning; some of the various benefits they have discovered include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of the recent global Outdoor Classroom Day on 17th<\/sup> May, we saw over 1.7million children and young people from around the world and more than 340,000 in the UK and Republic of Ireland participate in outdoor lessons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following the Government\u2019s recognition of the importance of time outdoors in the DEFRA 25 year environmental plan launched earlier this year, with \u00a310 million in funding allocated to support outdoor activities, hopefully with this budget more can be done to incorporate outdoor learning into the schools\u2019 curriculum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We\u2019re sure you can all remember a time when we were younger, running through the woods, jumping in puddles, swinging precariously from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":278,"featured_media":79313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1534,1613,4,1,7,9,10,1562,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abertillery-news","category-aberystwyth-news","category-bristol-news","category-cardiff-news","category-liverpool-news","category-manchester-news","category-swansea-news","category-wirral-news","category-wrexham-news"],"yoast_head":"\r\n