Where to Start on Your Outdoor Education Journey: A Guide for Schools, Educators, and Leaders
Outdoor education is no longer a “nice to have” enrichment activity. Across the UK, it is becoming a core part of high-quality teaching and learning, boosting wellbeing, strengthening curriculum outcomes, and helping children develop the social and emotional skills they need to thrive. Yet for many schools and organisations, the biggest question is simple: Where do we begin?
At Outdoor Pro, we support educators, leaders, and organisations to build safe, research backed, and inspiring outdoor learning programmes. Whether you are starting from scratch or refining what you already do, here is a clear, practical roadmap to help you begin your outdoor education journey with confidence.
1. Start With Your Why
Before you buy equipment or plan sessions, get clear on your purpose. Outdoor education can achieve a wide range of outcomes, and your priorities will shape your approach.
Common starting points include:
Improving mental health and wellbeing
Increasing physical activity
Strengthening teamwork, communication, and resilience
Enhancing curriculum learning through hands on experiences
Supporting behaviour, self-regulation, and inclusion
Reconnecting children with nature and sustainability
Research spotlight:
The Natural England Children’s People and Nature Survey (2023) found that 81 percent of children reported feeling happier when they spent time outdoors, and regular outdoor learning has been linked to improved concentration, reduced stress, and stronger social relationships.
Knowing your “why” ensures your outdoor provision is purposeful, measurable, and aligned with your school or organisation’s values.
2. Audit What You Already Have
Most schools and organisations underestimate the potential of the spaces they already own. You do not need a forest, a meadow, or expensive kit to begin.
Conduct a simple audit:
Space: playgrounds, fields, courtyards, unused corners, pathways
People: staff confidence, existing skills, external partners
Resources: natural materials, loose parts, basic tools, shelters
Curriculum links: where outdoor learning can enhance what you already teach
A well-designed outdoor programme grows from what is already available, not from what you think you should have.
3. Build Staff Confidence, Not Just Skills
The biggest barrier to outdoor learning is not weather, space, or equipment. It is staff confidence.
Teachers often worry about:
Managing behaviour outdoors
Risk assessments and safety
Linking activities to curriculum objectives
Time pressures
Their own comfort or experience outdoors
This is where training, modelling, and supportive leadership make a huge difference.
Research spotlight:
A 2022 study by the Institute for Outdoor Learning found that staff confidence is the strongest predictor of whether outdoor learning becomes embedded long term. When teachers feel supported and trained, outdoor learning increases significantly across the school year.
Investing in CPD, whether through Outdoor Pro training, mentoring, or collaborative planning, creates sustainable, confident practice.
4. Start Small and Build Momentum
Outdoor education does not need to begin with a full Forest School programme or weekly off-site visits. In fact, the most successful schools start with small, achievable steps.
Try:
One outdoor lesson per week
A half term focus on a single subject outdoors
A simple nature connection routine such as sit spots or sensory walks
Lunchtime play improvements
A single year group pilot project
Small wins build staff confidence, demonstrate impact, and help you refine your approach before scaling up.
5. Prioritise Safety and Compliance
Outdoor learning should feel adventurous, but it must also be safe, well planned, and compliant with UK standards.
Key considerations include:
Dynamic and written risk assessments
Clear behaviour expectations
Appropriate ratios
Tool and fire safety where applicable
Safeguarding outdoors
Weather appropriate clothing and shelter
Accessibility and inclusion
Outdoor Pro specialises in helping organisations create robust, legally sound frameworks that protect staff, children, and the organisation itself.
6. Embed Outdoor Learning into the Curriculum
Outdoor education is most powerful when it is not an extra, but a way of delivering the curriculum more effectively.
Examples include:
Maths through measurement, angles, and problem solving outdoors
Science through habitats, forces, and seasonal change
English through storytelling, descriptive writing, and drama
History through immersive role play and artefact exploration
PSHE through teamwork, resilience, and emotional regulation
Research spotlight:
The Education Endowment Foundation highlights that experiential learning can significantly improve retention and understanding, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. Outdoor learning provides exactly this kind of experiential, memorable context.
7. Involve Your Community
Outdoor education thrives when it becomes part of your wider culture.
Consider involving:
Parents and carers (PTA’s)
Local environmental groups
Governors and trustees
Volunteers
Local businesses
Community gardens or nature reserves
This builds sustainability, shared ownership, and long-term support.
8. Measure Your Impact
To secure long term investment and leadership buy in, you need evidence.
Track:
Pupil voice
Staff confidence
Behaviour and wellbeing indicators
Attendance
Curriculum outcomes
Photographic and observational evidence
Case studies
Outdoor Pro can help you with simple, meaningful evaluation tools. These can be altered to align with Ofsted expectations and your school improvement priorities.
Your Outdoor Education Journey Starts with One Step
Beginning your outdoor education journey does not require perfect spaces, specialist kit, or a huge budget. It requires intention, confidence, and a willingness to start small and grow.
At Outdoor Pro, we support schools and organisations across the UK to create safe, inspiring, research backed outdoor learning programmes that transform children’s experiences.
If you are ready to take the first step, or you would like help shaping your vision, we are here to guide you.
