At Herne, we are committed to our outdoor learning. Every child at our school has the opportunity to experience learning in our woodland and garden environment.

We use our art skills to decorate our celebration tree when we learn about festivals and celebrations from cultures around the world.

We use our woodworking skills, using saws and drills, to make habitat boxes.

We use our friendship and teamwork skills to build dens and obstacle courses, and we use our eyes and ears to collect data from birdwatching and pond dipping.

We sow seeds and grow plants on our allotment. We go on nature walks to the local woodland to see the bluebells and we learn how to protect their habitat. We link our outdoor learning to our lessons in class…and we have a lot of fun!

We know that when outside, the children can feel connected not only with nature, but with people and places across the globe. We teach the children of a sense of global justice during our woodland sessions where children are asked to consider what life would be like without access to environments like this and consider the impacts of Climate Change and Global Warming both locally and globally. By immersing the children in nature and natural environments, we hope to instil in them a love of the outdoors, a love of God’s creations and a sense of courageousness to do what they can to protect, support and enhance it in their own lives.