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.

The journey through education for any child in Scotland must include opportunities for a series of planned, quality outdoor learning experiences. Curriculum for Excellence through Outdoor Learning is designed to help teachers, educators, Community Learning and Development (CLD) and their partners, including the voluntary sector, plan such experiences to ensure that progressive and sustainable outdoor learning opportunities are embedded in the new curriculum.

Natural Childhood presents compelling evidence that we as a nation, and especially our children, are exhibiting the symptoms of a modern phenomenon known as ‘Nature Deficit Disorder’. We look at what this disorder is costing us, why it’s proving so difficult to reverse, and gather current thinking on what we must do to eliminate it, before opening up the question to the nation for consideration.