The SEEd website has a feature, written by Natural England’s Principal Advisor for Outdoor Learning, Jim Burt, busting 4 myths on outdoor learning in schools. These are:
Myth 1: In order to get outdoor learning into schools we need to change the national curriculum
Myth 2: Outdoor learning is just for extra-curricular activity
Myth 3: Outdoor learning is about trips and residentials and is too expensive for many schools
Myth 4. Unless we can show outdoor learning has an impact on exam results we won’t be able to convince schools
Burt’s article is a celebration of the natural connections project which reported recently, and there is considerable detail about the project in what he writes. What’s not so clear is how widely held these myths are, or whether they are the only reasons why many schools have found (and still find) taking children out of the classroom so difficult.