Outdoor Learning

We believe that the outdoor environment is a rich, dynamic and natural space for learning and development in children of all ages. We also believe that being outside is vital for our pupils’ physical health, emotional well-being and cognitive development. When outdoors, children have the freedom to explore and develop their physical boundaries, to take risks and to discover the real world with all their senses. This can have huge positive effects on a child’s self esteem and confidence.

Outside can be liberating; children have room to be active, noisy, messy and work on a large scale. Outside is dynamic; you cannot predict what might happen, and as such it provides opportunities to experience and develop emotions, what they feel like and how to deal with them.

Access to learning outside of the classroom, either in a man-made environment, such as a playground, or a natural environment, enables children to learn in ways that the indoor classroom does not: concepts can be explored on a grander scale, blown up in size and multiplied. Mess can more easily be made to explore and investigate. Children can develop their tidying and organising routines. Fresh air, rain, wind, sunshine and other elements bring the children into close contact with nature and enable them to experience the wonder of the outdoor world first hand. Questions arise outdoors which can only be explored outside and physical exercise and spatial understanding are developed.

Our rationale

We offer outdoor provision based on the following key conclusions about the essential value of outdoor learning:

• Being outdoors has a positive impact on children’s sense of well-being, engagement and helps all aspects of children’s development, including physical, emotional and social

• Playing, learning and exploring outdoors all offer opportunities for children (and adults) to engage, solve problems and do things in different ways

• Outdoors environments offer a chance to experience learning on a different scale in comparison to being indoors

• Being outdoors gives children first-hand, formative contact with the weather, seasons and the natural world.

• The outdoor environment is liberating and can offer children the freedom to explore, use their senses and be physically active and exuberant.

• The outdoor environment usually offers more freedom and space to move, and inspires different movement from that indoors. This is vital for young children to develop their coordination, build muscle mass and experiment with moving their bodies.

• Every child has a right to daily outdoor learning and as much value should be placed on the outdoor environment as inside. The same amount of resources, planning, time, and money should go into providing the outdoor space as the indoor one. It is not an optional extra.

 

What is outdoor learning?
Outdoor learning is not a subject in itself; it is a vital method for teaching and learning in every subject. It has no curriculum of its own. Instead, each area of the curriculum is taught both inside the classroom and outside of it. This involves learning activities in the school grounds, including our wonderful pond area and school garden, forest school sessions led by Forest-school trained school staff, activities in the Poundbury area, visits and trips in the wider local area, or pupils staying for a few days at an outdoor education centre. 

The following are some examples of how outdoor learning has been implemented at Damers First School:

• Foundation creating their own garden area in their outdoor space. 

• Year 1 half-termly “welly walks”, including to Poundbury Hillfort.

• Year 2 mapping and field work in the school grounds

• Year 3 trip to Lulworth Cove.

• Year 4 residential visit to Leeson House, near Swanage, learning orienteering and geography field work skills and  engaging in a range of activities including coastal walks and pond dipping.

 

Eco Schools

Eco Schools and Let’s Go Zero is at the heart of our school. We want every child to leave Damers with climate awareness and the impact they can have on local, national and global environmental topics making a real difference for everyone. All our sustainability work is integrated into our curriculum and there is a real enthusiasm across the school to work towards being Carbon Zero.

The children drive the eco work through their eco ambassadors in each class. They set the agenda, help to plan our activities. They ensure that everyone really makes a difference. Every child at Damers is an eco ambassador. Working with our local community has been essential to our success. Whether it is the community supporting us, like the community garden volunteers, local Garden Centre or us helping the community, for example through the recycling of ink cartridges across Poundbury, recycling clothes or items that can’t be recycled at the curbside like crisp packets. We sell compost from our Ridan to the community for a donation or donate compost from our Ridan to local schools, the Town Council to be used in flower beds and Borough Gardens.

Each Year Group makes a Jane Goodall Roots and Shoots Pledge related to the Sustainable Development Goals, linked to their environment curriculum learning and the Eco Schools Ten Topics. Classes and year groups work on their pledges and feed back to the whole school about the impact they have had, what they learned and what they will do next in an assembly with the whole school. Pledges include ideas such as reducing litter locally, identifying the wildflowers/trees in the school grounds and teaching other children and adults the names, carrying out random acts of kindness in the community, raising money to twin a toilet, saving koalas from bushfires or adopting one of the big five like a rhino.

The Eco Ambassadors take part in an audit of the school every year that is then used to put together an action plan of what the school needs to work towards to be Carbon Zero by 2030. The children write persuasive letters to businesses we work with asking them to reduce their packaging. They also write letters to the County Council and our local MP on local and national issues like wanting a safe cycle lane/route from Dorchester to Poundbury and every new house built having swift bricks. The children don’t take no for an answer.

The children analyse the energy consumption in the school using Energy Sparks with our caretaker, making sure the heating comes on and goes off at the right time and with the correct temperature. They analyse the impact our solar has on the energy we use which generates 40% of our energy on a sunny day. Teachers and children who are seen to be powering down correctly can apply for funds that can go towards a trip, workshop, equipment from the energy money saved each month. “Keep on Powering Down, Keep Getting Rewards.”

We have become nationally, even internationally, known for our environment work winning many awards including: Eco Schools Primary Eco School of the Year, Jane Goodall Roots and Shoots Educational Institution of the Year and Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Free Schools Champion of the Year. The children have spoken to decision makers such as Environment Ministers, MPs and Royalty about their environmental campaigns. Children have represented the school at environment events with schools from around the world, businesses, national environment organisations each sharing their environmental work and learning from each other.

We are a Single Use Plastic Free School and look to Reduce, Reuse, Refill, Repair before Recycle. We make sure that all the procurement, stationery, events and fundraisers that happen within our school follow this plan of action.

We cover a whole range of issues and topics including biodiversity, energy, school grounds and gardening, waste/litter, water, marine life, transport, healthy living and global citizenship. Ask any child about our eco work and they will talk passionately about what we have achieved and what we want to achieve. The children are making a real difference locally and nationally in our fight against climate change.