The UK school grounds charity, Learning through Landscapes (LTL), champion the outdoor classroom

School grounds are a vital, but often neglected, resource. Young people who do not have access to decent school grounds are not getting the best start in life. School children spend up to 25% of their school day outdoors (longer in early years settings), so it is essential that the grounds are developed to maximise the benefit to children’s learning and development.

Why invest in your school grounds?

The Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto, launched by the DfES in November 2006, stresses that every young person should experience the world beyond the classroom as an essential part of learning and personal development. Good quality learning outside the classroom leads to a deeper understanding of the concepts that span traditional subject boundaries and which are frequently difficult to teach effectively using classroom methods alone. It provides a context for experiential learning in many areas, including thinking and problem-solving skills and life skills such as co-operation and interpersonal communication. By investing in improving the way that school grounds are used, designed and managed, learning outside the classroom can become a daily experience, not just something confined to “trips out”.

Beyond the formal curriculum, school grounds provide unique opportunities for healthy exercise, creative play, having fun and making friends; and for putting children in touch with the natural world. Schools who worked with us to improve their grounds demonstrate the benefits:

• 73% said behaviour had improved;
• 64% reported reduced bullying;
• 84% reported improved social interaction;
• 85% said that healthy active play had increased.

(National Survey of School Grounds, LTL, 2003)

Your grounds are also the first impression that pupils, staff, parents, visitors and your local community have of your school. Well designed and maintained school grounds send out powerful messages about how the school cares for both people and the environment. They improve children’s attitudes to being in school, and can be an important marketing tool.

Learning about sustainability in the school grounds

School grounds are valuable for all aspects of learning, but have particular relevance for learning about sustainability. Many schools have developed areas and features in their grounds to help children learn about some of the key elements of sustainability.

A vital element of sustainable development is protecting biodiversity. School grounds have the potential to provide a vast network of protected and managed habitats, which not only benefit the environment but also bring Science and Geography fieldwork opportunities to your doorstep. Many schools create ponds, but then become discouraged when they fall into disrepair. More successful school ponds are located within easy reach of classrooms; have sufficient space for children’s observational investigations; and inspire lesson activities which are built into the curriculum ensuring regular use. As well as ponds, wildflower meadows, native trees and hedgerows, log piles and nesting boxes are among the many ways that schools can enhance their environments - benefiting human users of the site as well as other creatures. A change as simple as altering mowing regimes to allow some areas of grass to grow long and flower may uncover an unsuspected rich resource of wild flowers.
Image — This pond has a large decked area for children to use when pond dipping. The shed provides easy storage for equipment, encouraging regular use. It is also the only entrance route to the pond, making the pond very secure.

Food growing

This is another popular way of using the school grounds to learn about sustainability. Children learn about healthy eating, food miles, composting and sustainable water use. Growing projects can be at all scales from containers of strawberries or cherry tomatoes through to creating allotments. More ambitious schools are now growing enough food to supply the school canteen with the freshest vegetables possible.

For a real “wow” factor, schools can construct a wind turbine to demonstrate renewable energy sources. This can be connected to a feature such as a water pump, or energy meter, so that children can see how the energy output varies.

Other features in the grounds should be created sustainably. For example, if seating is to be provided, consider whether you can renovate old benches instead of buying new. Where new furniture is required, investigate sustainable sources such as recycled plastics, or sustainably managed forestry.

Making sustainable changes

Sustainable school grounds are not just about what you have; more important is how you create it. Improvements to the school grounds which are made solely by the staff are at more risk of being neglected or even vandalised by pupils — and they also miss out on the huge learning opportunities provided by involvement in researching, planning and implementing change. When young people have a say in the way their grounds are used and improved, they learn to create and look after something valuable; their self-esteem grows and their behaviour improves, along with their potential to learn and achieve.

Piecemeal changes to the grounds are also often unsustainable — a pond which is dug one year turns out to be in the way of a new access route needed the next year. More sustainable is to take a strategic approach:

• Evaluate your existing provision — strengths as well as weaknesses.
• Identify the needs which are to be met — how will the grounds be used?
• Consider the whole campus — you may well identify more desired changes than you can make in the short term, so a 5-year action plan will enable you to phase in improvements.
• Involve pupils, staff and the wider community — draw on their knowledge and skills.
• Be prepared to take the long-term view
• Plan for long term maintenance — organic and participative where possible.

Learning through Landscapes is the national charity which helps schools and early years settings to make the most of their outdoor spaces for play and learning. LTL undertakes research, gives advice, encourages action and supports all those who care about improving these important educational environments.

Learning through Landscapes supports individual schools through its membership schemes Schoolgrounds-UK and Early Years Outdoors, and a range of publications, including WORKOUT, a comprehensive guide to developing secondary school grounds. Find out more from our website www.ltl.org.uk or contact us via email schoolgrounds-uk@ltl.org.uk or phone 01962 845811