PQE0126

Written evidence submitted by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom

1)     The Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) Sectors Working Group* is comprised of representatives from the learning outside the classroom sectors, their agencies and independent specialists, with the purpose of enabling greater coordination and communication across the sectors and with the research community in order to achieve one clear and collective voice for learning outside the classroom. The LOtC Sectors Working Group are working in collaboration with the Strategic Research Group for Learning in the Natural Environment (SRG LINE)**, comprised of key academics working in this field, have also been involved in supporting this submission. Natural England and Historic England are members of both the LOtC Sectors Working Group and SRG LINE.

2) Summary of key points:

• Education should be a preparation for society’s grand challenges. It should be a balance between preparation for work; personal and social wellbeing; and a sustainable future. It should enable citizens to make informed decisions and work to reduce social inequalities.

• Skills, knowledge, breadth of experience, health and well-being are all vital elements of education in preparing children for life.

• A broad experience base will better enable children to thrive and cope with the pace of change in the modern world. A narrow experience base can prove a significant barrier to learning and development. Therefore all children must have the opportunity to experience the world beyond the classroom as an essential part of education, regardless of their age, ability and personal circumstances.

• Educational policy and practice should recognise that learning should be supported by using a variety of methods and that learning outside the classroom (LOtC) offers a valuable stimulus and context to learning that motivates learners and facilitates application of knowledge and skills.

• In order to support LOtC, teachers need training and experience of it in order to gain confidence and become inspirational to future generations. To ensure that the benefits of LOtC are available to all, provision should therefore be made for LOtC in both initial teacher training and CPD.

What the purpose of education for children of all ages in England should be?

3)     We believe that education should be a preparation for society’s grand challenges. It should be a balance between preparation for work; personal and social wellbeing; and a sustainable future. It should enable citizens to make informed decisions.

4)     Skills, knowledge, breadth of experience, health and well-being are all vital elements of education in preparing children for life.

5)     A broad and balanced education will enable children to develop into lifelong learners who are able to adapt to the pace of change in the modern world. Children must be equipped and motivated to explore their complex and changing world and therefore be able to make better-informed decisions in it. This will have a wide range of benefits for our nation, resulting in a stronger economy; improved physical health and mental health; increased environmental awareness; and a society which is resistant to extremism, which values its unique identity, history and culture, whilst embracing those with other cultures and beliefs.

6)     Education needs to be well planned, progressive and cover both formal and informal aspects, looking beyond a series of individual subject areas focussing on relatively narrow knowledge elements. It should provide children with a wide experience base on which to build their knowledge and apply it to the world around them. It should encourage and promote creativity, fun, healthy lifestyles, problem solving, responsibility, moral awareness, environmental awareness, curiosity, people skills, communication and a sense of achievement.

7)     Many children have a very narrow experience base, which can prove a significant barrier to learning. Many disadvantaged children have never visited the seaside, seen a mountain, visited the theatre or even ventured into their nearest city centre. Children from more affluent backgrounds have fewer opportunities than their parents enjoyed to explore their local area or play in the natural environment due to parental concerns around risk. (Fewer than one in ten children regularly play in wild places; compared to almost half a generation ago. Moss, 2012, Natural Childhood). Children from a range of social backgrounds have a very limited experience of people from different backgrounds and cultures to their own. Education should ensure children have the opportunity to experience the world beyond the classroom as an essential part of education, regardless of their age, ability and personal circumstances. A purpose of education therefore should be to ensure that all learners, particularly those from disadvantaged or underachieving groups, can benefit from high quality LOtC and that key experiences, currently only gained by some through family and location, are made universally available to others.

8)     LOtC introduces learners to new and challenging situations where they can build new relationships and self-confidence.  They can become risk aware rather than risk averse as they develop more physical and thinking skills.  Offering the experience to explore different communities and surroundings provides all learners with the chance to develop their ability and interest in exploring and investigating. 

9)     Real world examples through LOtC can bring classroom learning to life and increase pupil engagement, especially for some children who struggle in class, and therefore a key purpose of education for children of all ages is to ensure that every child has the opportunity to experience all that LOtC can offer them. Educational policy and practice should recognise that learning should be supported by a variety of methods and that LOtC is often more valuable as a stimuli to learning than being in the classroom. Equal validity should be represented through the curriculum for practical skills and vocational learning as well as traditional academic subjects. In order to facilitate this teachers need these elements included in their training.

10) Evidence in support of the value of LOtC in ensuring a broad and balanced curriculum: 2010 Education Committee - Third Special Report Transforming Education Outside the Classroom: Responses from the Government and Ofsted to the Sixth Report of the Children, Schools and Families Committee, Session 2009-10. “Education outside the classroom, in its various forms, contributes to an enjoyable and enriching education.”

11) Evidence in support of LOtC improving personal and improving the quality & depth of learning: Ofsted, (2008). “Learning Outside the Classroom – how far should you go?”: “When planned and implemented well, learning outside the classroom contributed significantly to raising standards and improving pupils’ personal, social and emotional development.”

12) Evidence in support of LOtC (in a residential context) supporting skills development, character development & wellbeing: Learning Away Final Evaluation Report, York Consulting 2015. Residentials: “improve students’ resilience, self-confidence and wellbeing”; “improve students’ knowledge, skills and understanding”; “boost cohesion and a sense of belonging”.

What measures should be used to evaluate the quality of education against this purpose?

13) The purpose of education should be to prepare and inspire children for life; through skills, knowledge, breadth of experience, health and well-being. Our thoughts on how the quality of education for each of these aspects could be evaluated are as follows:

• Skills. Current assessment and examination systems are very limited in terms of the assessment of practical skills. Assessment of practical skills, including enquiry led and investigative learning is vital to ensure that a sound understanding of a subject can be demonstrated. Skills that should be demonstrated based on the needs of employers and higher education providers include: problem solving; analysing; evaluating critically; presenting observations, data and evidence; assessing the reliability of different sources of evidence; public speaking and presenting; developing hypotheses; planning own investigations or projects; recording; reaching conclusions based on evidence.

• Knowledge. The current system evaluates the quality of education in this area very rigorously, although all subject areas are not valued equally, to the detriment of the delivery of a broad and balanced curriculum. For example school performance data has an emphasis on literacy & numeracy at KS1 & KS2, and ‘e-bacc’ subjects at KS3 and above, to the detriment of other subject areas.

• Breadth of experience. The number, range and quality of experiences offered by schools, including LOtC experiences should be reported by schools and evaluated as part of the Ofsted inspection framework. With regard to the educational quality of LOtC, the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom has developed a national accreditation framework - LOtC Mark - which can be used by schools as a tool for development. Evidence based good practice guides have been produced within the sector (for example the most recent being High Quality Outdoor Learning produced by the English Outdoor Council).  This can help teachers understand what high quality provision can look like.  To ensure that the benefits of LOtC are available to all, provision should be made for LOtC in both initial teacher training and CPD. Teachers need support to develop the skills necessary to become proficient and to build confidence in the areas of planning and delivering and evaluating good, safe LOtC activities.

• Health. The impact of schools in improving obesity rates over time could be evaluated. Provision of P.E. & Health Education could also be more rigorously inspected as part of the Ofsted inspection framework to ensure it is given more emphasis in schools.

• Wellbeing. Personal Development, including impact in the areas of character education/mental health and wellbeing could be more rigorously evaluated as part of the Ofsted inspection framework to ensure it is given more emphasis in schools. The inclusion of “Personal Development, Behaviour and Welfare” in the new Ofsted inspection framework is positive; however there is still not enough emphasis on personal development in the new Ofsted inspection handbook. The judgement statement should include a wider reference to LOtC experiences other than cultural and work experience and support the concept of a broad and balanced curriculum.

14) Exposure to nature, and a connection to it, is associated with personal well-being (e.g. Maller et al., 2006); pro-environmental (e.g. Frantz & Mayer, 2014) and pro-social behaviours  (e.g. Weinstein et al., 2015; Zhang et al., 2014); and educational attainment (Richardson et al, 2015) Impact on all of these outcomes could be routinely measured.

15) A synthesis of evidence on learning outside the classroom in natural environments (LOtCine) (Dillon and Dickie, 2012) reported that:

• there was a diverse range of positive outcomes.

• that the greatest proportion of research findings focus on the impact of LOtCine on participants‟ knowledge and understanding - specifically, students perform better in reading, mathematics, science and social studies and show greater motivation for studying science.

• a broad range of skills ranging from the technical to the social and emotional have been identified as outcomes of LINE, particularly when it is integrated with the everyday school curriculum, or example it can help other school subjects become rich and relevant and get apathetic students excited about learning.

• links between contact with the environment and personal physical and mental health are well-established - exposure to the natural environment can lower the effects of various mental health issues that can make it difficult for students to pay attention in the classroom.

• hands-on contact with nature is not only essential for protecting the environment but appears to be a means of cultivating community and enhancing the mental health and wellbeing of children and adults alike.

• that children from the poorest backgrounds often have the least opportunity to benefit from these experience

• the estimated annual value of environmental knowledge alone in 2010 was £2.1 billion (£1.6 billion for GCSE subjects and £0.5 billion for A-Level), to which LOtCine can make a vital and necessary contribution.

16) Other evidence points to the restorative benefits of connection to nature, it is known to combat fatigue in children, restoring their ability to attend (Schutte, Torquati & Beattie, 2015) and therefore learn. However, rather than frame the natural environment as a resource and place for occasional outdoor learning, play or restoration, evidence suggests a need for a more embedded and nuanced approach around a sustainable relationship with, and our place within, the natural world. Just as school attendance is recognised as key to educational attainment, evidence suggests that targets for access to and a connection with nature can be set and bring about meaningful benefits to well-being (Richardson et al, 2015).

17) The Natural Connections Demonstration Project (2012-16) was shaped by evidence on barriers to LOtCine (including Dillon and Dickie 2012 and Rickinson et al 2012). Working with over 120 schools in areas of deprivation, positive impact on key outcomes, including those related to attainment and social and emotional skills have been confirmed, and a range of methods to embed LOTCine within schools’ practice have been documented.  Schools have significantly increased their LOtCine in sustainable ways, and evidence demonstrates how positive outcomes can be facilitated cost effectively by overcoming local barriers to do with teacher confidence and capacity.  

18) The Lessons from Near and Far international conference was hosted in July 2015 to identify the latest international evidence and implications for policy, research and practice in this area. The evidence from the conference and seminal reviews have been summarised in the conference report (Malone & Waite, forthcoming) and key policy aspirations, research evidence and appropriate practice contexts are identified with recommendations for action.

19) Low levels and inequalities in access to natural environments are marked. Over the period March 2013 to February 2014, children in the most affluent AB socio-economic group were almost twice as likely to visit the natural environment with their schools as those in the less affluent C2DE group (11% v 6%) (Hunt et al 2014.) LOtCine can help to meet society’s grand challenges so it should form part of every child’s life. Creating universal access to LOtCine through schools should ensure equality of access and a place for nature at the heart of school education

20) The Strategic Research Group for Learning in the Natural Environment (SRGLine) and the LOtC Sectors Working Group are working in collaboration to help support a more strategic approach to support for schools in this area.

How well does the current education system perform against these measures?

21) The concentration on numeracy and literacy measurement and the narrow gauge of 5 GCSE's above C along with the concentration on academic 'A' levels, are restricted measures of learning and development.   We therefore feel that the current education system does not necessarily perform well against these measures of ensuring that children are prepared and inspired for life through skills, knowledge, breadth of experience, health and well-being.

22) Higher achieving children are generally well served by the current system; however this is not generally true for those who are materially, socially or emotionally disadvantaged. Fear of failure can lead to a depression of self-confidence and self-worth. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are often less well equipped for the adult world in terms of personal wellbeing and resilience– they are often children and young people with lower attainment who struggle to engage with schooling.  Many young people are suffering from significant mental health issues, to some extent connected to a feeling of disconnectedness with society and how they can fit into it and evidence has shown that nature and community can trigger enhanced motivation and wellbeing.

23) The current emphasis on academic attainment and skills means that many schools are not offering a wide range of experiences through regular LOtC in the school grounds, local community or further afield, to the detriment of their wider education and development.

24) The education system does not currently measure the scale, scope or impacts of LOtC, including learning outside the classroom in natural environments or heritage, arts and cultural venues.

25) The education system does not routinely measure pupil’s access to or a connection with nature. However evidence suggests these are measures that could chart progress, for example in outdoor learning (Natural Connections Demonstration Project) and connection with nature (RSPB, 2013).

January 2016

*LOtC Sectors Working Group Members

• The Council for Learning Outside the Classroom (CLOtC)

• The Strategic Research Group for Learning in the Natural Environment (SRG LINE)

• CLOtC Sector partnerships:

• Natural Environment, chaired by the Field Studies Council
• School Grounds, chaired by Learning through Landscapes (LtL)
• Adventurous Activities, represented by English Outdoor Council (EOC)
• Farming and Countryside, represented by Access to Farms
• Heritage, represented by Group for Education in Museums (GEM)
• Study, Sports and Cultural Tours, represented by School Travel Forum (STF)
• Expeditions, represented by Expedition Providers Association (EPA),

• Relevant government agencies
• Natural England
• Historic England

*Strategic Research Group for Learning in the Natural Environment members:

**The institutions represented on the SRG LINE include:

Natural England

Historic England

Public Health England

Education Endowment Foundation

Imperial College London, Institute of Education

Kings College London

National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement

University of Aberdeen

University of Bath

University of Bristol

University of Cumbria

University of Derby

University of East London

University of Essex

University of Exeter

University of Gloucester

University of Hertfordshire

University of Oxford 

University of Plymouth

University of Sussex

University of York, Institute for Effective Education

Monash University, Melbourne

References

• DILLON, J. & DICKIE, I. 2012. Learning in the Natural Environment: Review of social and economic benefits and barriers. Natural England Commissioned Reports, Number 092.

• Frantz, C. M. and Mayer, F. S.  2014. "The Importance of Connection to Nature in Assessing Environmental Education Programs."  Studies in Educational Evaluation 41: 85-89.

• Hunt, A., Burt, J. and Stewart, D.;  Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment: pilot for an indicator of visits to the natural environment by children  Interim findings from Year 1 (March 2013 to February 2014) NECR166

• Maller, C., Townsend, M., Pryor, A., Brown, P., & St Leger, L. (2006). Healthy nature healthy people:‘contact with nature’as an upstream health promotion intervention for populations. Health promotion international, 21(1), 45-54.

• Kerr, K. (2014) Report for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB): Connection to Nature questionnaire on the Northern Ireland Kids Life and Times Survey. Belfast: School of Education, Queen’s University Belfast.

• Richardson, M., Sheffield, D., Harvey, C. & Petronzi (2015) A Report for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB): The Impact of Children’s Connection to Nature. Derby: College of Life and Natural Sciences, University of Derby.

• Malone, K. & Waite, S. (forthcoming) Lessons from Near and Far: Pathways to Impact report. Plymouth: Plymouth University.

• Moss, S. (2012) Natural Childhood.

• Rickinson, M., Hunt, A., Rogers, J. & Dillon, J. 2012. School Leader and Teacher Insights into Learning Outside the Classroom in Natural Environments. Natural England Commissioned Reports, Number 097

• Weinstein, N., Balmford, A., DeHaan, C. R., Gladwell, V., Bradbury, R. B., & Amano, T. (2015). Seeing Community for the Trees: The Links among Contact with Natural Environments, Community Cohesion, and Crime.BioScience, biv151.

• Zhang, J. W., Piff, P. K., Iyer, R., Koleva, S., and Keltner, D. 2014. "An Occasion for Unselfing: Beautiful Nature Leads to Prosociality." Journal of Environmental Psychology 37: 61-72.

• Ofsted (2010) Education Committee - Third Special Report Transforming Education Outside the Classroom: Responses from the Government and Ofsted to the Sixth Report of the Children, Schools and Families Committee, Session 2009-10.
• Ofsted, (2008). “Learning Outside the Classroom – how far should you go?”

• Learning Away Final Evaluation Report, York Consulting 2015.