Teachers venture beyond the classroom
April 6, 2018
It’s a sunny afternoon in early spring and a group of teachers are crouched in a circle looking for signs of dragons. Nearby another group are learning to recognise a tree while blindfolded and in the valley below a third group are stamping on the ground to charm worms. If the laughter is anything to go by they are thoroughly enjoying the Our South Downs Schools’ Conference.
Fire starting, dissecting owl pellets and investigating the materials our homes are built from were also on the timetable for more than 100 delegates attending the Our South Downs Schools’ Conference 2018, held at Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre.
This was the sixth annual conference organised by the South Downs National Park Authority to inspire and support teachers to use the special qualities of the National Park to enhance their curriculum.
“We know that contact with nature improves children’s ability to concentrate and their self-discipline,” says Jonathan Dean, Education Officer for the National Park. “And yet children in the UK have less contact with nature now than at any time in the past.”
“I’ve seen how children’s resilience, motivation and concentration increases when they’re learning outside,” says Helen Porter, teacher, outdoor learning provider and author of new book Educating Outside. “Academic ability becomes irrelevant as different challenges present themselves and pupils who might have written themselves off inside the class gets the opportunity to shine in a different way. You see peers perceptions of each other change too.”
The South Downs National Park is on the doorstep for more than half a million children and young people and the conference is just one part of our work to connect them with this incredible landscape. Our long-term goal is to inspire a lifelong commitment to enjoying, understanding and caring for the natural environment and support urban and under-represented groups to benefit from all that the National Parks have to offer.
Key note speaker Professor Justin Dillon, President of the UK National Association for Environmental Education kicked things off with a reminder that humans are naturally good at learning. He reminded everyone that the job of teachers is to sustain this natural curiosity.
As Helen Porter says: “You see how children love school trips. It is possible to take that enthusiasm and make it part of everyday learning. You can teach history, science, cookery… really elements of any subject can be taught outside.”
In the afternoon Matthew Dampier, Headteacher of Droxford Primary School in the Meon Valley told the story of how embracing his schools’ local environment has led to outstanding learning. One morning his pupils even arrived at school to find that the centre of the football pitch had been fenced off and were told that it had been sold to raise money for new equipment, with plans to erect a telephone signal mast. The ruse sparked a day of discussion about development in special places before their pitch was returned unharmed.
Between speeches, a range of workshops were led by expert outdoor education staff from organisations across the National Park such as the RSPB, the Weald and Downland Living Museum, Sussex Wildlife Trust and Amberley Museum. “It’s amazing to see the energy in the groups as they bash rocks together to make sparks or shout their dragon poetry together into the sky,” continues Jonathan. “If they’re excited about being outdoors then their pupils will be too. This is always such an inspiring day and I’m looking forward to hearing stories of these lessons being used outside the classroom walls.”
Find out more about the National Park Authority’s learning resources on the Learning Zone
Places on the Our South Downs Schools conference 2019 will be available from the autumn term, make sure that you don’t miss out by signing up to our termly teacher’s newsletter
Educating Outside: Curriculum-linked outdoor learning ideas for primary teachers by Helen Porter is published by Bloomsbury