Our school is committed to provide children with the space, the attitude and the opportunities to learn in a natural environment. Our vision for the future is to implement learning opportunities that together with the learning taking place inside the classroom, will allow children to have an opportunity to transfer their skills, both outdoors and indoors.
Part of the philosophy of our school is to encourage and inspire individuals of any age through positive outdoor experiences.
By participating in engaging, motivating and achievable tasks and activities – on our extensive grounds; in a woodland; on a beach; in a Castle; in a Park and even in our temporary gravel playground environment each participant has an opportunity to develop intrinsic life-long skills.
We deliver sessions to the whole school community and through those sessions, we can raise all childrens self-esteem, well-being, sense of achievement, including our own. Outdoor learning, whatever the weather, is an inspirational process, which offers all learners regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence. It is particularly important to those children who learn best through active movement. Very young children learn predominately through their sensory and physical experiences which supports brain development and the creation of neural networks.
- Learning outside the classroom supports the development of healthy and active lifestyles by offering children opportunities for physical activity, freedom and movement, and promoting a sense of well-being.
- Learning outside the classroom gives children contact with the natural world and offers them experiences that are unique to outdoors, such as direct contact with the weather and the seasons.
- Playing and learning outside also helps children to understand and respect nature, the environment and the interdependence of humans, animals, plants, and lifecycles.
- Outdoor play also supports children’s problem-solving skills and nurtures their creativity, as well as providing rich opportunities for their developing imagination, inventiveness and resourcefulness.
- Children need an outdoor environment that can provide them with space, and places to explore, experiment, discover, be active and healthy, and to develop their physical capabilities.
Sergeant Major Hatton allowed us the privilege of visiting the RAR Manorbier and walking 2KM around the range to raise funds for PE equipment. Pictured are some of the children, parents and staff. £400 has been raised so far. Thank you so much Sergeant Major Hatton and everyone who made this possible.
Links with the community
We strive to provide our children with links to our community. We believe that our pupils need to gain skills that will prepare them to be a citizen of the world both in the school grounds and in the wider community. Our Community means so much to us and they have really come together to support us through a very difficult time. We cannot thank everyone enough.
Some of the things they have done for us:- Given us a temporary school, raised funds to purchase equipment, organised school trips, purchased a modular classroom for our new base, etc.,
EduCCate School of Excellence and Eco School program
Through our EduCCate and Eco schools program, our pupils learn so much from our wider Community, particularly from organisations such as Darwin Science; National Parks; National Trust; EduCCate Global; UNCC. Our pupils are all Eco Warriors. The role is taken very serious by both pupils and staff. Together, staff and pupils meet to discuss the school needs and how those needs can be met.
As an EduCCate Global and Eco School we:
- Recycle our paper
- We collect textiles for recycling into Eco projects
- We re-use most materials in our outdoor school sessions
- We grow vegetables and fruit
- We study plants and wildlife
- Take part in the yearly Darwin Science Challenge
- Regularly visit our adopted beach Lydstep for outdoor lessons, fossil hunts and clean ups