Outdoor-Education has played an integral role in our curriculum offer here at Greatwood since 2019.

Here are some photographs from some of our very first Outdoor-Education trips from 2019:

       

Back in 2019, Outdoor-Education was part of our Pupil Premium approach to raising standards here at Greatwood. We quickly saw the benefits and decided that this approach should be a non-negotiable for all of our children.

All children from Year 1 to Year 6 access three weeks of bespoke Outdoor-Education every single year. It runs every single afternoon and all day on a Friday.

There is no cost to our families for any of the activities and we even provide waterproofs and walking boots wherever needed. 

Click on the links below to see our bespoke Outdoor-Education curriculum learning chapters:

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

This year some of the Outdoor-Education opportunities that our children have experienced are:

Pony Trekking

Climbing at a climbing wall

Dry stone walling

Orienteering

Den building

Using a map to plan out a walk and follow the map

Fire lighting

Reading a compass

Using a key on a map

Making a shelter

Willow weaving

Tree identification

Cooking on a campfire

Building rafts

and lots, lots more

Farm Twinning:

Here at Greatwood we have been twinned with Whitewoods in Pateley Bridge for the past eighteen months. Dr Peter Brambleby and his wife Michelle Brambleby have welcomed us to their land over 20 times already and we will continue to work in partnership with them for the forseeable future.

Whitewoods Wellbeing Website

Research to support Outdoor-Education and the benefits:

Our whole school attendance has increased significantly since introducing Outdoor-Ed to our curriculum offer in 2019.

The countryside Charity carried out a survey in 2023 whereby 96% of parents thought that it was important for children to experience green spaces first-hand and spend time in the natural world.

The survey revealed that:

• 85% of parents in England think that every schoolchild should be able to experience the countryside first-hand as part of the national curriculum
• 96% think it is important for children to spend time in the natural world, including the countryside (with 69% saying this is very important and 27% saying it is quite important)

The top five reasons cited by parents for why children should spend time in nature were:

1. Boost physical health (74%)
2. Learn more about nature and science (74%)
3. Boost their mental health (70%)
4. Experience the thrill of observing wildlife first-hand (65%)
5. Understand why we should protect the countryside (64%)

Mr Magee (a Montane Spine Race finisher) and Mrs Colley (a fully qualified Forest School practitioner) are our Outdoor-Education leaders.