What's new

Grounds for Learning

Scottish Natural Heritage helped establish Grounds for Learning  , the Scottish School Grounds Charity, almost 20 years ago. We have now awarded them a further grant for the next 2 years, focusing on support for CPD for teachers and promoting outdoor learning and play in and around the schools of the Central Scotland Green Network   area.

To find out more about what Grounds for Learning can do for you visit their website  . There you can search for resources  , view their inspiring natural play   and woodland play  projects and case studies and much more. Or why not visit their YouTube channel  ?

Discover Explore

Discover Explore   is an exciting new exploration game set in the Great Glen which encourages primary school children and their families to get outdoors and uncover the stories and history of different locations through a series of daring missions.

To find more information, choose your missions and get your adventure started visit www.discoverexplore.co.uk 

Discover Explore is part of Discovering Places  , the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Campaign to inspire people in the UK to discover their local built, historic and natural environments.

The Deer Education Zone

The Deer Education Zone  is aimed at primary and secondary pupils across Scotland, whether in towns and cities or in the countryside.  It features a series of activities that fulfil a range of Experiences and Outcomes of the Curriculum for Excellence, with opportunities to learn outdoors.

Sharing Good Practice

Our 'School Grounds - designing for nature, health, learning and play' event was held on 14th November at Thornlee Primary School.  To find out about how it went and view presentations from the contributors, visit our Sharing Good Practice page. 

New Education Scotland Outdoor Learning Resources

Education Scotland have recently published two new outdoor learning resources: 

Building your Curriculum: Outside and In  As an active and productive pedagogy, outdoor learning is an integral part of good practice within learning and teaching. Planning for regular, frequent learning outdoors ensures that progressive and sustainable outdoor learning opportunities are embedded in the curriculum and that they form a central part of the vision and ethos of the school or centre. Building your Curriculum: Outside and In supports a strategic approach to the development of outdoor learning and provides a framework and process for collaborative planning and review.

Outdoor Learning: Practical guidance, ideas and support for teachers and practitioners in Scotland  This resource provides practical, accessible and straightforward advice on how to engage children and young people with learning outdoors. It incorporates ideas for organising learning in the outdoors, for making connections across the curriculum and for planning within curriculum areas. It also includes a CPD framework and supporting materials.

Teaching in Nature - how going 'wild' changes learning

Take a group of teachers, introduce them to the wonders of a local natural place and then leave them to do what they do best. The results? Exciting, creative and motivating cross-curricular outdoor learning opportunities for pupils - and teachers who are confidently using outdoor places across the curriculum!

Last year 4 groups of teachers met with Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) National Nature Reserve (NNR) managers to learn about the natural and cultural features that make their site special. Over the course of the school year these teachers, from early years, primary, secondary and special schools, worked collaboratively to develop activities for their classes to do on these sites and test them out. They chose to address a variety of learning outcomes in a range of subject areas, including RME, Art & Design and English.

Find out more about the Teaching in Nature Project from the teachers themselves  or read the full report  written by educational researchers at the University of Stirling.