INTENT

At Shakespeare we want to:

• Engage pupils' with learning and increase motivation for other areas of learning
• Develop and extend key skills of communication, problem solving, creativity, critical thinking, leadership and cooperation
• Give children a greater understanding of our natural environment 
• Enable children to develop respect for their local environment.
• Develop children's understanding of how to stay safe when out and about in the local environment.
• Allow children to explore and experiment
• Improve social skills
• Enhance pupils' overall health and wellbeing
• Create a positive impact on behaviour

Learning outside the classroom is successful when it is an integral element of long-term curriculum planning and closely linked to classroom activities. We value the further opportunities for learning that can take place outside the classroom, including: activities within the school’s own buildings, grounds or immediate area.  Outdoor Learning is a broad term that includes: outdoor play [learning through play], school grounds, projects, environmental education, recreational and adventure activities, personal and social development, and more.

IMPLEMENTATION 

Each Year Group is responsible for planning and delivering outside activities within their curriculum areas on a termly basis. Staff will ensure that their curriculum planning includes sufficient well-structured opportunities for all learners to engage in learning outside the classroom. They will evaluate the quality of learning outside the classroom to ensure that it has maximum impact on learners’ achievement, personal development and wellbeing. They will ensure equal and full access for all learners to learning outside the classroom by monitoring participation in activities by different groups of learners and removing any barriers. 

The Outdoor Learning coordinator will support staff with ideas, resources and implementation strategies. 

Staff will use the school buildings and grounds as a context and a natural resource for learning, as well as the neighbouring environment which includes Fleetwood Beach and Fleetwood Memorial Park. In Early Years they will include the outdoor environment when planning for learning and enable children to access the outdoor areas on a daily basis. They will ensure that the outdoor areas offer children the opportunity to investigate and explore, problem solve, use their imagination and creativity. They will ensure the outdoor areas offer children opportunities to develop their gross motor skills and allow children to enjoy energetic activity outdoors and the feeling of wellbeing that it brings. They will observe, assess and record the learning that happens in the outdoor areas as well as give children the opportunity to plan and have ownership for their learning in the outdoor environment.

As well as in Early Years in other year groups Outdoor Learning will help children to care for and respect the outside environment, enable children to work on their own and with others, give them the space and freedom and the opportunity to relax, enjoy and have fun outdoors. 

Each Year Group will have access to a Beach School programme once a term led by a qualified Beach School Leader. 

All classes will participate in Outdoor Classroom Day.

Outdoor Learning will be linked with STEM activities, Maths, English, Art and Environmental studies which will be clearly evident in teacher’s plans, photo evidence and pupils work. 

We will create partnerships with other agencies in the area for example Wyre Rangers,  Wildlife Trust, Rossall Point, RNLI and work on projects alongside them. 

The school’s after school club Outdoor Club will be involved in keeping the school grounds tidy, managing the habitat areas and developing their outdoor skills.

IMPACT

Providing exciting, direct and relevant learning activities outside the classroom with hands-on activities will lead to improved outcomes for pupils, including better achievement, standards, motivation, personal development and behaviour. Pupils will show positive effects of learning outside particularly those who are hard to motivate. They will show an increased enjoyment of spending time outdoors, talk about their experiences positively and want to repeat outdoor experiences. They will be able to offer their own ideas on how to further their learning. Pupils will feel proud of what they achieve and show a desire for new challenges. Pupils will demonstrate good levels of achievement across the curriculum and be able to show a higher level of confidence. 

The outdoor areas will provide a range of different environments in different climatic conditions. It will form the basis for assessment practice. Children will be regularly asked for feedback from outdoor sessions and this will be recorded to help measure impact and positive effects learning outside might have. Pupils will be able to recognise their own strengths and those of others In addition, observations may also be used to respond to children’s interests and experiences and inform future planning.  Photographs, film and pupil voice will illustrate children’s experiences and may be included as evidence of learning.  

BEACH SCHOOL

Pupils at Shakespeare Primary have been actively using our local beach for Beach School sessions for many years.  Beach School follows the same principles as Forest School, using the coast as a platform for their learning. Beach School isn't just for the summer months, it is a year round learning experience. Children gain a greater understanding of their local environment by exposure in all weathers, seeing and feeling seasonal changes. Children love the freedom that being outside offers. The beach environment enables them to try out new challenges without inhibition, work on skills learnt in the classroom, develop team work and emotional intelligence, and give them the opportunity to think and respond creatively as well as being a great space to embody a sense of health and wellbeing. At the heart of their learning are the obvious environmental messages; keep our beach clean, care for our marine wildlife and know how to protect our coast for our future generations. 

Have a look at our amazing learning!