Outdoor Learning
Outdoor Education allows children to develop confidence, independence, self-esteem and awareness and knowledge of the natural environment.
The main aims of Outdoor Education at Lindens Academy
- To provide children with experiences that encourages an appreciation, awareness and knowledge of the natural environment.
- To learn to respect and care for their own local environment.
- To abide by the rules and set standards of behaviour, to work cooperatively in groups and to respect each other.
- Develop children’s self-esteem and self-confidence through the setting of small achievable tasks.
The ethos of outdoor education is in a child's right to play; the right to access the outdoors (and in particular a woodland environment); the right to experience risk in a controlled way in the natural world along with the right to develop their emotional intelligence through social interaction, building resilience to enable creative engagement with their peers and their potential. Children who struggle learning indoors are often enabled to develop new ways of learning and coping with the world. The woodland environment is central in supporting this approach to learning: the changing of the seasons, to the contemplation of an ancient tree; the dynamic nature of an outdoor environment - an infinite source of smells, textures, sounds and tastes and a range of visual stimuli all contribute to the learning experience.