Our Philosophy

At High Wycombe C of E School, we believe that learning doesn’t just happen within the classroom walls. Our commitment to outdoor learning is rooted in the understanding that children benefit from exploring, discovering, and engaging with the world around them. By integrating outdoor experiences into our daily practice, we help pupils grow in confidence, curiosity, and independence, all while supporting their academic and personal development.

Benefits of Outdoor Learning

Outdoor learning provides a wealth of benefits for our children, including:

• Enhanced Wellbeing: Time spent outdoors supports emotional health and reduces stress.
• Physical Development: Activities like climbing, running, and balancing help build strength, coordination, and fine motor skills.
• Collaboration and Communication: Working together in nature fosters teamwork, problem-solving, and language development.
• Creative Thinking: Open-ended outdoor environments inspire imagination and innovation.
• Connection to Nature: Children develop respect for the environment and an understanding of their place in the world.

What Outdoor Learning Looks Like at HWCE

Outdoor learning is embedded throughout our curriculum, from the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) to Key Stage 2. Examples of our outdoor activities include:

• Nature Walks: Exploring local flora and fauna as part of science and geography lessons.
• Forest School Sessions: Developing resilience, self-esteem, and practical skills through woodland-based activities.
• Our Butterfly Curriculum: Caring for butterfly habitats as part of our Butterfly Curriculum, where each class cultivates food plants and monitors local butterfly species to support conservation efforts.
• Creative Arts Outdoors: Painting, sculpture, and music in the open air to spark inspiration.
• Physical Education: Sports, games, and movement activities that make use of our spacious grounds.
• Maths and Literacy in Nature: Using natural objects for counting, measuring, and storytelling.

Our teachers plan lessons that make the most of our outdoor spaces, ensuring learning is meaningful, memorable, and fun.

Educational visits: School trips are of great benefit to children's learning as they broaden and enhance our academy curriculum. We take our pupils on a number of day visits and also provide a variety of in-school visits, visitors and events starting from EYFS through to Year 6

Residential Trip: Staying away from home is a powerful way of developing key life skills, building confidence, self-esteem, communication and team work. Our Year 6 residential trip provides our children with an opportunity to widen their range of experiences and find new skills and interests in which they may excel.

Our Outdoor Spaces

We are proud of our varied and well-maintained outdoor areas, which include:

• Three large playgrounds for active play and sports
• Quiet gardens and sensory areas for reflection and small group work
• A dedicated forest school area in the school and on Tom Burts Hill, with logs and natural resources
• Our Butterfly Curriculum Growing areas, Bird Hide and flower beds for gardening projects
• Outdoor classroom and seating for group activities

We are continually looking for ways to enhance our outdoor provision and welcome suggestions from our school community.

Safety and Supervision

The safety of our pupils is our top priority. All outdoor activities are risk-assessed, and children are supervised by trained staff at all times. Our team regularly undertakes training in outdoor learning best practice, first aid, and safeguarding. We ensure our outdoor environments are accessible to all children, and adapt activities as needed to meet individual needs.

What Parents Can Do

We encourage parents to:

• Dress children in weather-appropriate clothing, including waterproofs and sturdy footwear.
• Support a positive attitude towards outdoor learning, even in less-than-perfect weather
• Talk to your child about their outdoor experiences and celebrate their achievements