The school is one of the most important settings and mechanisms through which we can address the health and wellbeing of children and young people. As a result, there is interest in identifying effective interventions and in understanding how educational cultures, practices and environments can be modified or used to support the equitable physical, social, cognitive, and academic development of children and young people.

A growing body of evidence suggests that the use of natural environment is associated with better health outcomes and may potentially be of value as a resource in tackling some of our most intractable health issues [2, 3]. There is increasing interest as to how the natural environment could be utilised as a health promotion tool, setting or context in which to address the increasing burden of health problems. Many types of natural environment - from the National Parks, with their protected environments with high levels of biodiversity and culturally important spaces, to urban greenspaces, close to large populations offering spaces for physical activity and stress relief - could have a role in public health promotion or as a therapeutic setting. 

This study confirms the profound and transformative impact that residential experiences can have on pupils. Findings also conclude that this impact is significantly greater for ‘vulnerable’ pupils

A survey called Bringing Children Closer to Nature ran in 2019 and was the first national online survey of Forest School and outdoor learning amongst educators and woodland owners. The report published in July 2019 provides much-needed evidence about the barriers and opportunities to establishing and sustaining Forest Schools in particular, also a snapshot of outdoor learning activities in schools, and lastly recommendations for taking action to bring more children closer to nature.

Learning Away started life as a Paul Hamlyn Foundation special initiative in 2009. Since then we have worked closely with 60 primary, secondary and special schools to demonstrate the positive impact that high-quality residential learning can have on children, young people and schools.