Get Set for Summer Coaching Days!

It's no secret that outdoor learning delivers a whole host of benefits. Physical activity releases endorphins and dopamine promoting positive mental wellbeing and supports healthy emotional development in young people. It also contributes towards a healthier body, even just 30-60 minutes a day of movement makes a huge difference over time! Check out our 'Four Faves' blog on the benefits of outdoor learning here.

So as summer has finally arrived, we're gearing up for our busiest period of coaching sessions in schools. We find these to be one of the most important services we provide alongside our app. What are our coaching days? Not your run of the mill sports day, that's for sure! We're dedicated to helping schools achieve the maximum impact from The Outdoor Classroom. The app is not simply an asset to a school, it's a necessity, and our coaching days are targeted towards educating pupils and faculty on the endless applications for the app.

During our coaching days, we provide tailored CPD sessions with teachers. Most educators will no doubt agree that there's no better way to learn something than doing it yourself. Which is exactly what we do! We set our training teachers off on their own course with The Outdoor Classroom app, following the map, locating plaques and completing challenges on the go, as their pupils do in lessons. Seeing teachers and support staff engage in healthy competition against each other during training sessions is equally comical as it is rewarding, and we absolutely love to see teachers sprinting around their school grounds with the same excitement as their pupils.

Once they've completed their course, we return to the classroom to run through answers with teachers. Our multiple media options include picture, video and drawing responses tailored to support SEN pupils, and the whole class love reviewing their answers together and seeing each other's recorded videos and images. The same goes for the teachers!

Of course, we don't just leave all the fun to the teachers! During the school day, we set up a variety of courses for pupils to engage in and learn with The Outdoor Classroom. We work closely with the school in preparation for this so we can propose courses that best fit their needs. In a recent visit to one of our member schools, Year 3 were working hard on their cross-curricular science of plants, so we incorporated a fun 'Parts of a Flower' course into the day for this class. We find this is the best for providing pupils with a fun break from the classroom without interrupting their scheduled learning.

However, we're also excited to offer orienteering days. Our app was developed from the love of the sport of orienteering, and the belief in the potential it has to educate. Electronic timing kits are incredibly expensive, and cost schools thousands of pounds to purchase. The Outdoor Classroom app can also serve as a built-in electronic timing kit, so schools are able to access sporting equipment worth thousands all within the app itself!

There's nothing quite like the joy and freedom that comes with outdoor learning, which is why we work so hard to provide coaching days, helping schools to engrain The Outdoor Classroom into their daily routine, increase physical activity and offer exciting new learning opportunities for their pupils.

If you'd like to find out more about what we do, visit our website or contact our outdoor learning experts for more information.