Woodthorpe Church of England Primary School

Learning Outside the Classroom & Residential Visits

The outdoor learning environment can be used to bring learning alive for many children and we aim where possible to use our grounds to inspire and stimulate our children. We also aim to utilise the local surrounding community and have strong links with our local church – St John the Baptist Church, Staveley.

Residential trips are a great way of building self-confidence and increasing independence as well as allowing children to develop teamwork skills and friendships. We aim to provide our children with a residential experience whilst with us at Woodthorpe and give them the opportunity to take part if they wish to do so.

We have for the last few years taken our Year 5/6 pupils to The Whitehall Outdoor Centre in Buxton. Activities are designed to build personal confidence and teamwork, whilst challenging the child to try new experiences in a safe environment and include sporting and outdoor activities including rock scrambling, caving and a night hike to name just a few. In 2015 Year 5 children took part in a residential visit to The White Hall Outdoor Centre while Year 6 childrened stay at Edale Residential Centre where they undertook a programme of activities and had time to reflect on their time at Woodthorpe and prepare for their transition to secondary school.

We regard learning outside the classroom as an important part of the curriculum that we offer to our children and opportunities for outdoor education are included in teachers’ planning. Within the school environment, children are able to enjoy music and science lessons outside, the gazebo also forming an outside classroom area. Outdoor maths activities include estimating, measuring etc.

Our pupils also visit other schools; we work closely with schools in the cluster and have recently enjoyed dance, singing and sporting activities.