Outdoor learning that involves the pupils in enriching activities through ‘outdoor play [learning through play], use of the school grounds, projects, environmental education, recreational and adventure activities, personal and social development and more,
Delamere draft outdoor learning policy .
Our aims:
Our challenge continues to be to meet the varied learning needs and challenges that our brilliant pupils experience and deliver fun and meaningful outdoor learning experiences to maximise their potential.
We will do this by
During an outdoor learning session, we looked at different ways to help the wildlife in our field. We made some bird feeders and hung them on the tress. We enjoyed watching all the different birds flying around.
The gardening club put in a great deal of effort to harvest the first batch of vegetables this year. We have successfully cultivated an abundant yield of potatoes, garlic, courgettes, and spring onions.
The next day, we organized a celebratory event where we cooked and enjoyed these vegetables as a way to acknowledge the hard work of the students. Our gardening area not only provides an excellent opportunity to learn about the process of growing and cooking nutritious food, but also serves as a platform for collaborative problem-solving and shared tasks.
Looking ahead, both the Science and Outdoor Learning departments are committed to maintaining our year-round growing program. Furthermore, we were fortunate enough to have an excess of potatoes which we happily provided to our talented school cook, Nichola, to enhance our delicious school meals.
We extend our utmost pride and admiration to the students for their dedication and achievements.
The pupils in Badger class found time to drop off some huge vegetables at DeBrook lodge residential home. The cook and manager were really grateful and told us they would be used in the next hearty meal.
It has been a really good harvest so far and we will keep you posted on the latest gardening news!
The pupils in the EYFS department had a bus morning carrying out a range of tasks. We planted our sprouts, practiced our percussion skills and mastered some maths stacking activities.As ever the achievements of the pupils made us so proud.
The current topic of Forest Art provide lots of opportunities to be creative using natural resources in a fun environment. The pupils in Fox class excelled in the outdoor classroom. Despite the wintery weather they created fantastic art projects with smiles on their faces!
The pupils in every class had the opportunity to meet some very exciting (and scary!) visitors. 'Tracey the Bug Lady' brought all sorts of exotic animals to school, and we loved it!
The pupils showed interest and some bravery as they got up close and personal with some amazing creatures.
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The pupils in Deer class had a varied morning in their Outdoor Learning session. We introduced some hot water bottles that supported the children’s understanding of hot and cold.
It was also a wet day but that did not discourage our brilliant learners. Using a combination of mud ,paint, leaves and sand the children created some fantastic natural paintings.
We are so impressed with the children’s resilience and enthusiasm.
Well done Deer class!
The pupils in early years had a fun morning making woven willow hoops. We are putting the hoops in our ‘vision tree’ that is looking better each day. As the weather gets colder we are teaching the children about the concept of wrapping up to keep warm!
Pupils carried out an experiment to see which material has the best waterproof properties. Using both plastic and wood we made predictions and then poured the water!
What a busy month for the pupils in Deer class!
During the Outdoor Learning session they managed to help make our wonderful new den, work together in the mud kitchen and share a story!
The enthusiastic Deer gang also had snack outside and explored the outdoor classroom and experienced the features of a lovely Autumn day.
The recent International Outdoor Learning Day was an opportunity for the pupils and staff at Delamere to enjoy an action packed day of activities and learning. The Outdoor classroom was the scene of great endeavours and the pupils showed amazing enthusiasm and resilience as the rain fell...... and fell..... and fell!
To complement outside the classroom activities in each class we had storytelling , messy painting ,gardening in the form of constructing a new ‘stumperey’ and the usual activities set up on the field. These ‘static’ activities encourage the pupils to build on their existing skills and experience a sense of pride in their achievements.
We hope the pictures do justice to the pupils spirit and sense of fun, we are so proud of their wonderful enthusiasm !
Earlier this term the pupils and staff at school came together to celebrate international out of the classroom day. We are all pleased to report it was a fantastic event that left a lasting impression on all involved .Classes were encouraged to carry out as much learning outside the conventional classroom and also share allotted time on the expansive outdoor classroom area on the school field. This wonderful resource was the scene of great endeavour throughout the day .The combined efforts of the pupils from different classes resulted in the building of a new bug hotel, a fantastic ‘stumpery’ which was made from the remains of the oak tree at the front of school that had to be felled and a ‘sound tree’ .The pupils really engaged in the literacy elements of the day as well as the science kitchen which was an area of great industry with all sorts of exotic lotions and potions being created there.
We plan to repeat this day each year and I hope the pictures capture the event fully. We are so proud of our pupils!
The pupils in Badger class have now finished an exciting and meaningful series of sessions in the local forest (curtesy of our friends at 5th Urmston Scout troop). The new program was called Wild Tribe and encouraged the pupils to build on existing personal skills and learn new ones in the forest setting.
Badger class have already excelled in Forest School learning sessions and this new challenge proved to be very popular and lots of fun! With the leadership of a trained therapist the children tried out a range of activities that supported their personal growth in areas such as building self-esteem, resilience, teamwork and reflecting on their own emotions. Whist undertaking the sessions the children quickly became engrossed in the fun aspects of the activities and made great progress in areas that can be harder to focus on in conventional school settings, the forest was a great location for the activities and the growth and learning was wonderful to support and observe.
