Outdoor Learning

At Harvington CE First and Nursery School we love to learn outside in our beautiful grounds. Our grassed areas were first developed about twenty years ago with an additional section being developed a little more recently. We have a story telling area, mound, tunnel, an outside stage, a mud kitchen area, vegetable beds, trim rail, interesting paths, nooks and crannies, a 'Harvington Stonehenge', a beam, bug hotels, bird feeding areas and wildlife wildernesses. We really are so lucky!

We use these areas to enrich the curriculum for all our children.

• Staff plan to teach as much outside as possible, using the area to introduce science lessons, enjoy poetry and drama, practise our French vocabulary, plan maths trails or even to teach phonics.
• Our ECO team promote environmental change, reusing materials, recycling and making changes to our world. They have stopped us using milk cartons and plastic straws, for example. We now have reusable beakers and milk bottles. They also look after our bug hotels in forest school and track the wildlife using the camera.
• We also use the space for P.E. and especially for orienteering.
• We use the area for Forest School in Nursery, Reception and Year One. These sessions are led by qualified practitioners to develop a sequence of learning skills. The children enjoy using different tools, exploring areas, making dens and using natural materials.
• Years Two, Three, Four and Five participate in Roots and Shoots. They learn about growing, planting and sustainability  by looking after our vegetable beds and potting shed. They harvest their crops and sell them in our Roots and Shoots shop. The children plant bulbs for us all to enjoy and also share plants they have grown with our local community.