Outdoor Learning

Barriers to outdoor learning.
“For the most part, nothing keeps our children indoors. I do frequently (at least once a week) have to provide clothing to allow them to partake in outdoor activities.” (Teacher in Canada)
Taking children outdoors for lessons at primary and secondary school is most often instigated by individual teachers as opposed to being at the centre of whole-school policies. With that in mind, we asked what stops teachers taking lessons outdoors. They told us:
• Pressures caused by curriculum work (47% in the USA; 45% in the UK; 40.5% globally; 39% in Australia; 35% in South Africa; 33% in Canada).
• Health and safety fears (17% in Canada; 17% in the UK; 15% globally; 14% in the USA; 9% in Australia).
• The weather (81% in South Africa; 79% in Canada; 77% in the USA; 70% globally; 68% in Australia; 58% in the UK).
Again, a promising 17% of teachers worldwide said that nothing prevents them from taking classes outside (24% in the UK; 23% in South Africa; 18% in Australia; 17% globally; 15% in Canada; 6% in the USA).

The future?
These findings are encouraging as they show that there is a fast-growing number of schools worldwide that recognise how important outdoor learning and play is for children, teachers and whole schools, as well as parents and the wider community. This is part of a wider growing movement, backed by research spanning neuroscience to biology, that recognises unequivocally that time outdoors – and time to play - is important for all children.
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