“The best classroom and richest cupboard is roofed only by the sky” Margaret McMillan (1925).

Outdoor learning gives children who do not typically thrive in a standard classroom environment a chance to excel at non curriculum aspects of self-improvement. It helps to enhance personal, social communication skills, mental health, sensory/aesthetic awareness and increased physical health. Safe risk taking is highly promoted as it allows children to push their own boundaries. By removing the walls of the classroom children can grow and learn through a progressive curriculum which gives them many opportunities not often found being a desk. At Highfield Middle School we have a wide demographic of needs. Outdoor learning nurtures those needs and by its very essence encourages children to take part, lead and challenge themselves. 

The curriculum is as diverse as the children we cater to. Each session is tailor made to the needs of the group and the only constraint is the weather. 

In Outdoor Learning we not only focus on personal development but on all of the other subjects covered at Highfield. The aim of being an Outdoor Learner is to learn life skills as well as essential school skills in a setting which promotes independence and acceptance. All children are considered totally individual and are there taught as such. 

Outdoor Learning strives to build more confident, well rounded and resilient Highfielders.

Curriculum Links Overview

Core Aims