Outdoor Learning

Our forest school inspired garden provides rich, stimulating outdoor learning opportunities for our youngest learners, where nature acts as both classroom and teacher. Rooted in the Pre-Birth to Three: Positive Outcomes for Scotland’s Children and Families guidance, experiences are designed around the four key principles: Rights of the Child, Relationships, Responsive Care, and Respect. Children are encouraged to explore at their own pace, supported by trusted adults who nurture curiosity, wellbeing, and resilience.

The garden offers natural features such as logs, trees, planting beds, mud kitchens, water play, and sensory pathways. These spaces foster discovery, creativity, and problem-solving. Babies and toddlers can investigate textures, sounds, and movement through natural materials, while older children engage in imaginative play, risk-taking within safe boundaries, and collaborative activities that build confidence and independence.

Outdoor experiences are also firmly embedded within Curriculum for Excellence, supporting learning across all areas. For example:

• Health & Wellbeing: developing physical skills, resilience, and emotional wellbeing through active play and connection with nature.
  
  

• Sciences: observing changes in weather, seasons, plants, and wildlife, sparking curiosity about the natural world.
  
  

• Literacy & Numeracy: storytelling around the fire circle, mark-making in mud, counting natural objects, and measuring growth in the garden.
  
  

• Expressive Arts: using leaves, sticks, and stones for music, movement, and creative artwork.
  
  

Through responsive planning and child-led exploration, the forest school inspired garden promotes confidence, creativity, resilience, and a lifelong love of learning, ensuring children thrive within a holistic, nurturing environment that blends care, play, and education.

Outdoor learning has a wide range of benefits for children’s development, well-being, and education. Here are some of the main ways it helps:

1. Physical Development

• Encourages active play that builds strength, coordination, and motor skills.
  
  

• Improves overall fitness and reduces sedentary behaviour.
  
  

• Exposure to sunlight supports healthy bone development (vitamin D).
  
  

2. Cognitive Growth

• Hands-on experiences in nature stimulate curiosity and problem-solving.
  
  

• Outdoor environments often encourage risk-taking and resilience.
  
  

• Supports learning across subjects (science, math, literacy) in real-world contexts.
  
  

3. Emotional & Mental Health

• Time in nature lowers stress and anxiety, boosting mood and focus.
  
  

• Promotes mindfulness and emotional regulation.
  
  

• Builds confidence through exploration and achievement in new settings.
  
  

4. Social Development

• Outdoor play fosters teamwork, communication, and conflict resolution.
  
  

• Children often collaborate more freely in less structured environments.
  
  

• Encourages empathy and care for others (including the natural world).
  
  

5. Connection with Nature

• Builds environmental awareness and responsibility.
  
  

• Encourages respect for living things and sustainability.
  
  

• Provides a sense of wonder and belonging in the natural world.
  
  

6. Academic Benefits

• Outdoor learning can improve attention span and classroom engagement.
  
  

• Helps children retain knowledge by linking concepts to tangible experiences.
  
  

• Increases motivation and enjoyment of learning.
  
  

Outdoor learning supports the whole child—body, mind, and spirit—by combining education, play, and connection with nature.