outlook • May 2007

learningthroughlandscapes

groundnotes July 2009

Unlocking the potential of your school grounds

unlockingthepotentialofyourschoolgrounds

Schoolgrounds-UK

around your school grounds with new eyes – and challenge yourself to identify useful features that could help you to deliver a different key aspect of the core curriculum, a vital initiative or offer added value to the community. After all, your outdoor space is a resource that’s every bit as valuable as your school building.

In this Groundnotes, school grounds professional Felicity Robinson goes back to basics and helps you ensure you are unlocking your school grounds' full potential, with ideas for:• curriculum delivery• supporting initiatives• extra curricular activities • practical pointers for successfuloutdoor experiences.

curriculumdeliveryoutdoorsWhen teachers are asked to estimate the percentage of time they use the outdoors as a teaching environment, it is clear that older children benefit very little from core time outside – often the figure is as low as 0.1% and seldom higher than 5% for Year 6 and above. The reasons given are many

and varied, not least the weather and perceived behavioural issues. However, many schools are solving these issues, and even finding that their worries are unfounded – especially in the context of behaviour, since many of the children who don’t settle well indoors flourish and are more on-task when working actively outside.

The Council for Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) suggests that throughout the early years foundation stage 50% of outdoor learning is a reasonable expectation, 10 to 20% throughout primary school and into KS3, and as high as 5-15% in KS4 and above. Approaches recommended include planning percentages of curriculum time for LOtC in every subject or allocating a regular slot in the week for everyone. Certainly, thinking ahead is vital – curriculum planning should include working out which aspect of a theme, topic or learning outcome could be delivered best using the outdoors.

Here to inspire you are some examples of curriculum activities for all ages, from a variety of schools, all of which make good use of the space, features and special nature of the outdoors:• sensory treasure hunt including

making and tasting herb teas – stimulating, hands-on learning.

• making and baking gingerbread men on an open fire – a good opportunity to learn fire safety.

• finding out about wind resistance using large plastic sheeting and mesh to make dens.

• making story thrones – an outdoor art project linked to planning a story circle. This was big and messy, making good use of the outdoors.

• designing an outdoor stage using scrap materials – spatial design and problem solving.

How can you make sure you are using your school grounds to their full potential? Lots of schools up and down the country – large and small, rural and urban – are already using their school grounds every day to enhance learning and play. Others are keen to offer more opportunities to get the most out of their school grounds but need new inspiration and ideas. Even if you already have outdoor experiences embedded in your school ethos, it can pay to take a look

‘The first-hand experiences of learning outside the classroom can help to make subjects more vivid and interesting for pupils and enhance their understanding. It can also contribute significantly to pupils’ personal, social and emotional development.’ Learning Outside the Classroom: how far should we go? Ofsted 2008

groundnotes • July 2009

unlockingthepotentialofyourschoolgrounds

• big art weaving through trees using scrap – a large scale, whole-body activity for reception children (see above).

• building raised beds – this involved large scale measuring and ergonomics to plan the optimum size.

• fair-testing friction experiments using pull back cars, meter sticks and different ground surfaces. The plenary was also held outside around a chalked feedback ‘house’. The children enjoyed the fresh air, space to work, and self-management of their task.

• micro-climate survey using wind spinners and thermometers to plan a new quiet garden and seating area – using the special nature of outdoors for a real-world problem-solving task.

• D&T project to design and make a range of cloches for a growing garden – real problem solving, plus production of practical resources for the garden club.

• PSHE circle debate sitting on the grass – the Year 6 teachers commented that ‘The children were more focused on the topic than on jostling and disturbing each other’.

• identifying and drawing 2D and 3D shapes found in the grounds for maths.

• resistant materials (Year 8) – identification of structural materials used in the grounds, researching their properties and considering sustainability criteria.

• geography (Year 9) – students had to assess 10 places of their choice in the grounds against climate criteria, to plan a good place for eating lunch.

• science (Year 10) – students performed a demonstration of parallax, commenting: ‘We understand more…you get to join in and test things for yourself.’

supportinginitiativesoutdoorsYour school grounds are not just spaces to learn and play – they can also support a wide variety of initiatives aimed at improving children’s lives. In many cases, school inspections and self-evaluation will also cover the contribution schools make to these initiatives, and making clear how new projects meet these aims may make funding easier to attain.

Every Child Matters Here are the five Every Child Matters objectives and suggestions on how your school grounds can help meet them:• be healthy – active play, growing and

eating fruit and vegetables

• stay safe – being sun aware, learning about risk and challenge

• enjoy and achieve – enjoying learning and socialising through a range of learning styles and social spaces

• make a positive contribution – being part of the process of developing external learning environments

• achieve economic well-being – developing practical skills, knowledge and enterprise.

Find out more by visiting www.everychildmatters.gov.uk.

Healthy schools

You can help reinforce and support many aspects of healthy schools outdoors by, for example:• growing food and promoting healthy

eating• being active• ensuring drinking water is available at

all times to all students• addressing sun-shade issues• helping to address bullying and

behavioral issues• supporting emotional health and

well-being• developing self-esteem.Find out more by visiting www.healthyschools.gov.uk;www.ltscotland.org.uk/healthpromotingschools

Growing schools Supporting the growth of plants and caring for animals in the grounds is of key importance. This can be as simple as developing and managing wildlife habitats, or growing fruit and vegetables, or more complex – for example, animal husbandry. Find out more by visiting www.growingschools.org.uk.

Sustainable and eco-schools Experiences in the school grounds prepare children and young people to make sustainable choices throughout their lives. Through working in their grounds children understand better what sustainable choices mean, and can test, experiment and demonstrate sustainable design and environmental impact. Find out more by visiting www.teachernet.gov.uk/sustainableschools; www.eco-schools.org.uk.

Extended schoolsPutting schools at the heart of communities – with a range of services for pupils, families and the wider community, including breakfast clubs, after-school care, and family learning – is central to the Extended Schools program. Extended activities that might particularly make use of the school grounds include early years day care, for example, a crèche, adult recreation, sport and adult learning. Find out more by visiting www.teachernet.gov.uk/extendedschools.

groundnotes • July 2009

unlockingthepotentialofyourschoolgrounds unlockingthepotentialofyourschoolgrounds

Brushwood Junior School is in the market town of Chesham and takes children from a mixed catchment of affluent and deprived postcodes. Forty per cent of the pupils come from two of the most deprived postcodes nationally.

In April last year, the school ran a cross-curricular project focusing on an archaeological dig. The project was planned and implemented with the support of a professional archaeologist and students from University College London.

Over the easter break the outlines of a Roman villa were constructed in the grounds, in stone, with relevant artefacts buried. Children came back at the beginning of term to a week-long ‘dig’ project, now also a permanent feature that will be a resource for years to come, for all aspects of the curriculum.

The school's Ofsted targets are to encourage writing and presentation skills, and this project provided many relevant opportunities – including newspaper reports, story making, re-enactments, writing fact sheets about Roman life and ‘dig’ instructions.

The project also supported science in a number of ways, including a decomposition experiment, floatation to separate materials, looking at bones, and learning about convection currents (Roman heating systems). Numeracy skills

were developed through setting up the dig grid, taking area and perimeter measurements, data analysis, working with Roman numerals and investigating tessellating mosaics.

Map-reading skills, arial photos and discussion on settlement patterns led to further work in geography and DT, including drawing floor plans and making model villas, jewellery and costumes. The discovery of the artefacts led to questioning, interpretation, debate, testing hypotheses and critical thinking as well as being an exciting and engaging physical outdoor activity. Language development was another key outcome with children encountering Latin for the first time. They also learned technical words and techniques used by archaeologists.

The project was designed to be inclusive. One student in a wheelchair couldn’t get on to the dig site itself but he could sift material so his group excavated some scorched seeds and charcoal.

Headteacher Ray Plimsaul says: ‘Anyone could set this up. It’s experiential learning that the children will never forget. The concepts, the questioning, the richness of language that has come out of this is remarkable. The children are living their education.’

MakingitworkHere are some key points for successful outdoor experiences that teachers have identified:• be flexible so you can adapt to

changes in weather. With the right clothing and footwear much is possible

• get parents onboard – they can be very supportive when they understand the learning taking place during outdoor activities

• have easy access to clip boards and other resources

• use pencils outside – they work better on damp paper

• identify a gathering place and boundaries for the task in hand

• use a special sound/horn/whistle to gather children back when dispersed (for more on behaviour management see ‘Further resources’)

• develop teacher confidence with support and observation – there is sometimes a tendency for less confident staff to focus on behaviour issues rather than learning opportunities

• remember, it does not have to be a whole session outside – you might just need a 10 minute task to gather some data, or do a demonstration

• take advantage of opportunities as they arise. For example, at one school finding the remains of a fox’s lunch led to some impromptu discussion and questions about death, the food chain, predators and carnivores!

extracurricularuseofschoolgroundsSchool grounds can be an excellent focus for extra curricular activities such as:• pedestrian and cycle safety

training With links to your school travel plan, support from your local authority road safety teams and parent volunteers, your grounds can be a safe practice zone to develop pedestrian and cycle skills.

learningthroughlandscapes

groundnotes • July 2009

unlockingthepotentialofyourschoolgrounds

furtherresourcesAvailable to download from the Member Services pages of our website: • Groundnotes Sustainable school grounds,

Growing food in the school grounds, Design and technology in the school grounds, Environmental art, Managing behaviour in the outdoor classroom

• Profiles An introduction to extended schools, Every Child Matters

Website• The Council for Learning Outside

the Classroom’s website www.lotc.org.uk provides a lot of guidance for curriculum planning, planning for progression and ways to make learning ‘irresistible’. There is also guidance on engaging with parents, and advice on developing a LOtC policy.

Books• History in the School Grounds by Jacqui

Dean; Arts in the Schools Grounds and English in the School Grounds by Brian Keaney; Science in the School Grounds by Jill Thomas; Phyical Education in the School Grounds by Sue Chedzoy; Mathematics in the School Grounds by Zoe Rhydderch-Evans; Geography in the School Grounds by R Hare, C Attenborough, T Day; Personal, Social and Health Education in the School Grounds by R Hare, C Attenborough and T Day.

All written for Learning throughLandscapes and available from Southgate Publishers. Visit www.southgate publishers.co.uk or call 01363 776888.

School grounds professional Felicity Robinson, a long-term associate of LTL, can be contacted at commonwood@btinternet.com.

To help unlock the potential of their grounds Amersham School – a business and enterprise secondary college in Buckinghamshire – took part in a Creative Partnerships project to focus on the outdoors as a learning environment. With the support of a team of teachers and a landscape architect, over a two month period the students and staff explored their site from the perspective of several curriculum subjects, looking at the opportunities they already had for developing learning resources, as well as suggesting ideas for future development.

One teacher commented, ‘We are always looking for innovative ways to grab the interest of our students. As a maths teacher it can be difficult to achieve this. The Creative Partnership project gave

© This resource was originally created as part of the Schoolgrounds-UK membership scheme from the national school grounds charityLearning through Landscapes operating in Scotland as Grounds for Learning(registered charity no. in England and Wales

803270 and in Scotland SCO38890).

To find out more about membership call 01962 845811 or visit www.ltl.org.uk

us the opportunity to break out of the mould. By moving the classroom outside we are able to perform more practical hands-on maths – including transformations, graphing, measuring, and even finding approximations to Pi.’

The lead teacher summarised the impact of the project on the school: ‘It’s made the school look at the real potential for using a more imaginative teaching environment and has created a forum for more cross-curricular discussion, and exploration of shared teaching and learning areas.’ Comments from students included: ‘I can listen and contribute more – I have learnt to speak out and my ideas will be listened to’ and ‘I never thought I would look forward to coming to school’.

• growing clubs which could also help with regular grounds maintenance, as well as the more common seasonal gardening projects. Some schools take on large-scale, family-focus allotments and others make a very positive impact in their school grounds with planters and tubs.

• wildlife clubs which could take responsibility for habitat management including going into the pond for the annual weed clearance! Even the smallest urban site can have a wildlife

club and investigate habitats such as cracks in walls and pavements, and the impact of micro-climates on minibeasts. Local expertise to support these activities can be found in wildlife organisations and school community amateur experts.

• sports clubs Many varied clubs can use your school grounds, and some schools are introducing new activities such as parkour (free-running) to enthuse young people to be more active!