CONSULTANCY
OUTDOOR LEARNING – WHOLE SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT
SOuL can support you in focussing on the development of learning beyond the classroom as a core component of teaching and learning, across the whole curriculum.
This on-going consultancy and inset package is designed to help school leaders close the gap between current school practice and their ambitions for an embedded Outdoor Learning curriculum.
This support will deliver meaningful culture change at your school so that:
- Outdoor Learning underpins the approach of all staff at your school and takes place on a routine and regular basis.
- Staff feel confident and competent in their delivery and have the permission of SLT to be creative and innovative in their teaching approach.
- Children are engaged in practical, experiential and multi-sensory ‘learning by doing’ in the outdoor environment, which innately develops physical literacy, language acquisition, independence, social skills and curiosity.
What does it include?
1. Initial visit focusing on your school’s current context, priorities, experience, resources and ambitions.
2. Two full-day, on-site consultancy visits, tailored to suit the needs of the setting, spent either consecutively or staggered within one academic year to evaluate progress and identify next steps.
These visits may consist of:
- One-to-One or small group advisory work with school leaders, Governors, teachers or Outdoor Learning coordinator.
- Team planning or teaching.
- Support with Outdoor Learning self-evaluation and action planning, through professional discussion and learning walks.
- Creation or evaluation of policies and communication documents (outdoor learning policy, updated uniform policy etc).
- Review and/or creation of standing risk/benefit assessments for the on-going use of your school site for O.L.
- Review of school mission/vision statement and how this is reflected in the school’s development planning, website and marketing materials.
- Curriculum-mapping to maximise opportunities for O.L.
- Exploration of an O.L. skills progression document to help staff evaluate progress of pupils’ skills across key stages.
- Review of existing policies and practices pertaining to outdoor learning.
- Two half-day, off site, post-visit follow up work sessions, which might include research, provision of note of visit/summary of recommendations etc.
- Telephone and email support between the main school contact and John Newton for the duration of the package.
- Evaluation and celebration of your progress and achievements.
3. A series of three staggered Inset events throughout the course of an academic year based on your setting specific requirements to build skills, confidence and best practice in delivering the curriculum in a practical and experiential way using your outdoor environment.
Topics covered including:
- All curriculum areas in an outdoor setting using simple, low cost resources to contextualise and give meaning to learning.
- Utilising the existing space in your school grounds to maximise O.L. opportunities.
- Using the ‘LOC Handbook’; a useful bank of easy-to-follow lesson plans (included in this package).
- Site development plan for possible future development.
- Character Education, why, what and how. A exploration of the of the concept of character and the skills required to develop qualities in young children such as self regulation, resilience, independence and confidence in own abilities.
- Additional extras depending on your requirements might also include horticulture, attitudes to risk and fire lighting.
4. LOC Handbook: Over 140 outdoor specific lesson plans form EYFS to KS – 2
5. A comprehensive ‘School Grounds Development Plan’ to enable you to get the most from your outdoor spaces.
6. Support for the ‘launch’ of your school’s O.L. curriculum with all stakeholders.
7. 2 x tickets to our National Outdoor Learning Conference.
8. Bonus digital resources: 1. Further activity ideas for linking to the curriculum outdoors 2. Our Character Development 3. Essential LOC Kit List 4. English Language and Art Lesson Pack based on ‘The Lost Words’ 5. Horticulture Curriculum Pack 6. Fire Lighting Guidance 7. Key Research Document for the benefits of LOC 8. guidance on risk benefit to reduce your paperwork and give your staff confidence.