What's new

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 local 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. 

If you would be interested in getting involved in any future Teaching in Nature projects, please contact Sharon Cunningham