Surrey Wildlife Trust has been awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) Quality Badge for its new outdoor education centre at Nower Wood.
The Trust was awarded the LOtC Quality Badge for ‘high quality and creative’ teaching across all its outdoor learning programmes in Surrey. And the report stated that inspectors continue to use the Trust’s education team to benchmark all other providers in the sector.
“Being awarded the LOtC Quality Badge is a real coup for the Trust’s education team, as it shows that we offer young people high quality outdoor learning experiences they can really benefit from,” said Aimee Clarke, the Trust’s director of education.
“This is the ultimate accolade for us, to know that we are held up as the model against which all other providers in the outdoor education field are measured,” added Aimee.
Nower Wood Centre
The Trust’s new £1.1m Nower Wood centre was officially opened by HRH The Countess of Wessex in April. Nestled in the heart of 81 acres of ancient woodland near Leatherhead, the building houses three spacious heated classrooms. It can accommodate up to 90 students at any time of the year - including those with special educational needs and disabilities.
The classrooms are equipped with the latest audio visual technology, including video microscopes.
Visitors can also take part in pond-dipping, minibeast hunts, wild play, campfire activities, mammal studies and environmental surveys.
Elaine Skates, chief executive of The Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, said: “The LOtC Quality Badge reduces red tape and provides assurance for schools, ensuring that many more young people have memorable, exciting and valuable learning outside the classroom experiences. I congratulate Surrey Wildlife Trust on being awarded the LOtC Quality Badge.”
To find out more about all of the Surrey Wildlife Trust’s outdoor learning opportunities and the new Nower Wood education centre visit www.surreywildlifetrust.org/outdoor-learning.
More information about the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge can be found at www.lotcqualitybadge.org.uk.
