Outdoor learning helps children and young people build confidence, resilience, practical skills and stronger relationships while making curriculum learning more meaningful. At Compass Community Schools, it is used alongside structured classroom teaching as part of our personalised and therapeutic approach to education.
For learners with special educational needs (SEN), autism, social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs or difficult experiences of education, learning outside can be particularly valuable. A different environment can reduce pressure, encourage curiosity and help young people begin to see themselves as capable learners again.
Outdoor learning is not simply a break from the classroom. It is a purposeful part of the broader outdoor and experiential learning available across Compass Community Schools.
Outdoor learning is planned education that takes place beyond a traditional classroom. It uses outdoor spaces, natural environments, local communities and educational visits to help learners develop knowledge, skills and confidence.
It might involve studying habitats in a woodland, completing geography fieldwork, growing food, navigating a walking route or visiting a place connected to a history topic. It can also include Forest School, conservation work, outdoor sports, practical challenges and carefully planned school trips.
The aim is not simply to deliver the same classroom lesson outside. Good outdoor learning uses the environment to give children experiences they could not gain from books or screens alone. Learners can touch, test, observe and apply what they are learning in a real setting.
Outdoor learning can help children develop confidence, resilience, communication, independence and practical life skills. It makes learning active and gives young people a clear reason to use what they know.
A lesson about habitats becomes more meaningful when learners can examine soil, identify plants and look for signs of wildlife. Geography comes to life when they map their local area or observe how land is used. History can feel more immediate when learners visit the places connected to the people and events they are studying.
These experiences connect new knowledge with movement, sight, sound and emotion. This can make unfamiliar ideas easier to understand and learning more memorable.
Outdoor activities can also create visible outcomes. A shelter stands up, a route is completed or a plant begins to grow. These results give learners a real sense of achievement and help them understand how their effort led to success.
Outdoor learning can provide a calmer, more flexible way for children with SEN and SEMH needs to engage with education.
Some learners find busy classrooms, formal written tasks or long periods of sitting difficult. Outdoor environments may offer more space to move, regulate emotions and approach an activity at an appropriate pace.
Practical tasks also give children different ways to take part and succeed. A learner who is reluctant to write may become absorbed in recording wildlife after visiting a nature reserve. A young person who finds group discussions difficult may communicate more naturally while building a shelter or completing a shared challenge.
At Compass, outdoor activities are planned around each learner’s individual needs, confidence and readiness. Staff provide clear guidance, predictable boundaries and the right level of support so that activities feel purposeful, achievable and safe.
This complements the small classes, personalised learning and trusted relationships found across our specialist schools.
For children who have struggled in education, success outside the classroom can begin to change how they think about themselves.
Completing a practical challenge gives learners clear evidence of what they can do. They might climb higher than they expected, help a group find its way or solve a problem when the original plan does not work.
Staff can build on these successes. The determination shown during an outdoor challenge can support perseverance with a difficult classroom task. The confidence gained while navigating a route can make other unfamiliar situations feel more manageable.
Over time, learners can begin to view themselves differently: as capable, curious and ready to try.
Outdoor learning gives children opportunities to solve problems and make decisions in situations where their choices have a real effect.
Learners might need to choose suitable materials for a shelter, adjust a plan when the weather changes or decide how to share responsibilities within a group. They learn that things do not always work the first time and that changing their approach is a normal part of solving a problem.
With appropriate supervision and supported risk-taking, children can practise using tools, managing equipment and taking responsibility for themselves and others. These experiences help develop independence while teaching learners to understand boundaries and make safer decisions.
Outdoor learning can also support skills that matter beyond school, including teamwork, communication, planning, persistence and adapting when circumstances change.
Trusted relationships are central to learning at Compass Community Schools. Outdoor experiences can help those relationships develop in a relaxed and natural way.
When staff and learners cook outdoors, explore a new place or work together on a challenge, they share the experience. Conversations can feel less formal, encouragement becomes more personal and adults have opportunities to notice strengths that may not be as visible in the classroom.
For children who have found it difficult to trust adults or feel safe in education, these moments can be significant. Positive experiences build connection gradually and show learners that the adults around them are dependable, interested and ready to help.
Stronger relationships can then support calmer, more confident engagement throughout the school day.
Outdoor learning is a broad term covering curriculum lessons, educational visits, physical activities and practical experiences beyond the classroom.
Forest School is a particular long-term, learner-led approach delivered through regular sessions in a natural setting. It places a strong emphasis on exploration, supported risk-taking and personal, social and emotional development.
Across Compass schools, Forest School activities can include den building, natural art, outdoor cooking and learning to use tools safely. Regular sessions allow learners to develop their skills, independence and confidence over time.
Discover why Forest School is so popular at Compass Community Schools and how it helps learners explore, connect and grow.
Outdoor learning does not have to involve travelling a long way. A school garden, local park, woodland trail or community space can provide rich opportunities to learn.
Local activities can help children become familiar with their surroundings, connect with nature and recognise the learning opportunities available close to home.
At other times, a carefully planned expedition can help young people discover just how much they are capable of achieving.
During the Compass Schools Arctic Circle trip, learners travelled to Finland and took part in activities including navigation, campfire building and teamwork in challenging conditions.
For some learners, getting on the plane was a major achievement in itself. They returned with greater confidence, independence and willingness to try unfamiliar things. The trip showed how experiences beyond the classroom can expand a young person’s understanding of the world and their own potential.
Outdoor Classroom Day is a global movement that promotes and celebrates outdoor play and learning at school and at home. It holds two international days of action each year while encouraging schools to make time outdoors part of children’s everyday lives.
The movement highlights how outdoor learning can improve engagement, develop important life skills, support physical and mental health and give children a better understanding of the environment.
This closely reflects the Compass approach. Outdoor learning is not treated as an occasional reward or a break from education. It is planned as part of a broad, personalised curriculum that supports learning, wellbeing and personal development throughout the year.
Yes. Outdoor learning is used across Compass Community Schools to enrich curriculum subjects, support therapeutic education and help learners develop skills for life.
Activities vary between schools because they are planned around individual learners, curriculum goals and the opportunities available locally. They may include:
Structured classroom teaching remains an essential part of education at Compass. It provides routine, specialist instruction and a carefully sequenced curriculum. Outdoor learning complements this by giving learners opportunities to apply their knowledge, explore ideas and experience success in different ways.
Together, these approaches create a balanced education that helps children feel safe, stay engaged and prepare for positive futures.
Yes. Outdoor learning can take place throughout the year, with activities adapted to the weather, environment and needs of each learner.
Experiencing different seasons can be an important part of learning. Children can observe how habitats change, develop an understanding of weather and learn how to prepare for different outdoor conditions.
Staff plan activities carefully and consider clothing, equipment, accessibility, supervision and risk. The aim is to create experiences that are safe, inclusive and appropriate while still giving learners meaningful opportunities to explore and grow.
For many children at Compass, outdoor learning helps rebuild their relationship with education. It can turn an unfamiliar topic into something tangible, create space for a trusted conversation or provide the first success that encourages a learner to keep going.
Whether learners are exploring a local woodland, working together in a school garden or travelling beyond their usual surroundings, the purpose remains the same: to help them build knowledge, confidence and belief in what comes next.
When young people are given the right support and meaningful opportunities to explore their world, learning can go far beyond the classroom walls.
