When Lessons Move Outside, Children Light Up

Did you know that even brief time spent in nature dramatically boosts children’s mental health and concentration? Recent studies show outdoor lessons lead to better focus, lower stress levels, and happier learners - often equalling the benefits of medication for attention. 

For example, after just a 30-minute nature walk, children showed improvements in concentration as great as those seen with prescription medication, and outdoor learning reduced the need for teachers to redirect student attention by half.​

Despite this being true for children of all ages (and adults), most schools cease ‘forest school’ time or days after reception year in the UK. 

I asked a local head-teacher why this is, and her response saddened me: 

“Because we have so much to get through, in so little time.”

The mandatory curriculum imposed upon state schools by Ofsted is becoming un-workable. 

The teachers and students are all crumbling under the relentless pressure of increasingly ‘high standards’, and classrooms are not optimal environments for learning.

That's why we'll be taking our school community outdoors into nature every day, whatever their ages. 

Where did you do your best thinking as a child?