Anne Hunt, CEO of the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, explains how teachers and EVCs can enhance their outdoor learning with the charity’s latest online materials.
Learning outside the classroom (LOtC) is a powerful way to extend and enrich education, making learning more engaging, relevant and memorable. It encompasses everything from bringing visitors into school, using your school grounds and visiting local sites like museums, heritage centres, religious buildings and natural spaces, to residential experiences here and overseas.
To help your school get started or enhance your existing practice, the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom is offering free resources to create more engaging and memorable learning experiences that have impact.
Why use the free LOtC resources?
Our three simple resources help capture what you are already doing, understand how to start your LOtC journey, and help you take more of your lessons into school grounds.
Teachers and EVCs can use Exploring your current LOtC, which is a questionnaire to help you understand what your school is already doing and spot opportunities to do more. There is a simple step-by-step guide on Starting your LOtC journey, which offers hints and tips on how to develop your LOtC and get everyone on board.
Or, you can use the ’Using your school grounds’ resource to discover a whole school approach to taking learning into your school grounds, which is one of the first steps to extend your curriculum beyond the classroom.
Kim Hudson, CLOtC Awards and CPD manager, who has created these resources, said: “As teachers are time limited, we have developed these new resources as a simple introduction to planning inspiring and engaging learning experiences beyond the classroom.
“Many schools already offer their students fantastic LOtC opportunities, however these experiences are often seen as a one-off or an add-on and are not effectively planned for or monitored; these resources will help schools understand how to do this to optimise the impact for students and the school.”
The resources were developed with teachers from some of the Council’s LOtC Mark schools to ensure they are as relevant and useful to teachers as possible.
Rhys Thrower, associate executive principle at the Meridian Trust, which operates a number of LOtC Mark academies, said: “As a leader working alongside a number of schools within the Meridian Trust, we have worked with and been supported by CLOtC over the past two years to embed learning outside the classroom into our schools’ curriculum, I was asked to provide feedback on these new resources.
“The team from CLOtC have again produced an excellent set of resources to help schools to progress their learning outside the classroom practice. This suite of resources will help to guide schools on their journey and focus on enhancing learning opportunities for pupils.
“They will encourage schools to evaluate what they are currently providing and move forward with new ideas especially in relation to their local learning environment.”
Why take learning beyond the classroom?
The evidence is strong and consistent that learning beyond the classroom has a wide range of benefits for students and schools, including:
Improved academic performance – Research consistently shows that LOtC helps students apply their learning in realworld contexts, deepening understanding and improving retention. LOtC experiences tend to be very memorable, so the learning sticks.
Enhanced personal and social development – Experiences beyond the classroom build confidence, teamwork, communication skills and resilience.
Boosted wellbeing and mental health – Learning beyond the classroom, especially in natural environments, reduces stress, increases physical activity and supports wellbeing.
Stronger sense of belonging – Exploring local communities and working together outside the classroom helps students feel more connected to their school and community.
Increased engagement and motivation – Making learning hands-on and relevant sparks curiosity and enthusiasm, helping students feel more involved in their learning and generate an enthusiasm that comes back with them into the classroom.
Find out more about how the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom can support schools to start, embed and develop their learning outside the classroom at www.lotc.org.uk/educators/developing-your-lotc.
