What Is Outdoor Learning?
Outdoor learning is exactly what it sounds like: learning that happens outside.
However, it is much more than simply moving a classroom activity into the playground.
Effective outdoor learning uses movement, space, practical resources and real experiences to help children understand, remember and apply what they are learning.
Children might measure the playground during maths, collect vocabulary for poetry, investigate shadows in science, practise phonics using chalk and hoops or explore direction and mapping in geography.
Outdoor learning can happen in a woodland, but it does not need to.
It can take place on a playground, school field, courtyard, garden, path or small patch of grass. Even schools with limited outdoor space can use outdoor learning successfully.
At The Muddy Puddle Teacher®, we help teachers take subjects such as maths, phonics, English, science, geography and history outside. We are not Forest School. Our approach is about making curriculum learning more active, practical and memorable using the spaces and resources schools already have.
Explore our Outdoor Learning Hub for more practical ideas.
Join our Free Outdoor Learning Magazine for weekly ideas, practical activities and inspiration for EYFS, KS1, KS2 and SEND.
Explore our complete library through a 60-Day Free Trial.
What Does Outdoor Learning Mean?
Outdoor learning means using outdoor spaces and experiences as part of teaching and learning.
Sometimes children learn about the outdoors. They might investigate plants, habitats, weather or seasonal change.
Sometimes they learn through the outdoors. They may use sticks to explore number, chalk to practise spelling or playground markings to investigate shape.
Sometimes the outdoors simply gives them more space to move, talk, build and solve problems.
Outdoor learning can be teacher-led, child-led or a combination of both.
A structured outdoor maths lesson may have a clear objective and carefully planned questions. An Early Years activity may give children more freedom to explore, create and follow their interests.
Both can be valuable.
The important question is not simply, “Are the children outside?”
The important question is, “How is being outside helping the learning?”
Is Outdoor Learning the Same as Forest School?
Outdoor learning and Forest School are often confused, but they are not the same.
Forest School is a particular approach that usually involves regular, long-term sessions in a woodland or natural environment. It often focuses on child-led exploration, confidence, relationships, practical skills and appropriate risk-taking.
Outdoor learning is a much broader term.
It can include Forest School, but it can also include outdoor maths, phonics, science, English, art, geography, PE and other curriculum subjects.
You do not need a woodland.
You do not need expensive equipment.
You do not need to become a Forest School practitioner before taking a lesson outside.
A playground, a few cones and a piece of chalk can be enough to create a valuable outdoor learning experience.
Read more in our Outdoor Learning and Forest School Differences guide.
Why Is Outdoor Learning Important?
Children do not all learn in the same way.
Some children understand a concept more easily when they can move, touch, build, observe or experience it in a real situation.
A child may struggle to understand perimeter from a picture but grasp it quickly after walking around the outside edge of a large chalk shape.
A child may find it difficult to generate ideas for poetry indoors but discover a wealth of vocabulary after listening to rain, watching leaves move or feeling the wind.
Outdoor learning can make abstract ideas more concrete.
It can also give children more opportunities to communicate, collaborate and demonstrate their understanding without relying only on written work.
Outdoor learning should not replace classroom teaching.
It should strengthen it.
What Are the Benefits of Outdoor Learning?
Outdoor learning can support children academically, physically, socially and emotionally.
It can help children make stronger connections between ideas and real experiences.
It can encourage movement while keeping that movement connected to the learning objective.
It can create richer conversations because children are working together, observing real objects and explaining their thinking.
It can help children who find long periods of sitting or worksheet-based learning difficult.
It can also create memorable experiences that children continue talking about long after the lesson has finished.
The benefits are greatest when the activity is purposeful.
Simply taking children outside does not automatically improve the lesson. The teacher still needs a clear objective, suitable resources and useful questions.
Outdoor Learning Makes Abstract Ideas Real
Many curriculum concepts are difficult because children first meet them as symbols, diagrams or written explanations.
Outdoor learning gives them something tangible.
Children can explore number by collecting and arranging real objects.
They can investigate measurement using actual distances.
They can explore shape by walking around it, building it or finding it in the environment.
They can understand habitats by observing where living things actually shelter.
They can explore descriptive language using real sights, sounds, textures and movement.
These experiences help children connect vocabulary with meaning.
The learning becomes something they have done, not simply something they have been told.
Outdoor Learning Encourages Movement
Children are often expected to sit still for long periods during the school day.
Outdoor learning provides opportunities to move while still working towards a clear curriculum objective.
Children can jump along number lines, move between grapheme cards, walk around shapes, collect data or travel to different challenge stations.
Movement is not simply added to make the lesson more entertaining.
It can become part of the learning.
For example, a child learning one more and one less can physically step forwards and backwards.
A child learning to blend sounds can move between phonemes before jumping into the complete word.
A child learning perimeter can walk the boundary of a shape.
This can be especially supportive for children who concentrate better when they are active.
Outdoor Learning Supports Communication
Outdoor lessons often create natural opportunities for children to talk.
They may need to agree on a method, explain what they notice, compare findings or solve a practical problem with a partner.
This gives teachers an opportunity to hear children’s thinking.
A pupil who writes very little may give a detailed verbal explanation while building, measuring or investigating.
Teachers can deepen this learning with simple questions.
“What do you notice?”
“How do you know?”
“Can you prove it?”
“What could you change?”
“Is there another way?”
These conversations help children develop vocabulary, reasoning and confidence.
Outdoor Learning Can Reduce Reliance on Worksheets
Worksheets can sometimes be useful, but they should not be the only way children experience learning.
Outdoor learning gives children other ways to practise and demonstrate understanding.
They can build, sort, collect, measure, match, explain, perform or solve a challenge.
Written work can still follow the practical activity where it is useful.
The difference is that children have something meaningful to record.
A maths calculation follows a real investigation.
A poem follows a real observation.
A science explanation follows something the child has actually seen.
Learning does not always need to begin with a pencil.
Explore our Outdoor eBooks and Maths Activities Without Worksheets for more inspiration.
What Does Outdoor Learning Look Like in EYFS?
Outdoor learning is a natural part of effective Early Years practice.
Young children learn through movement, play, sensory exploration and conversation.
Outdoor spaces allow them to pour, transport, build, climb, investigate, make marks and work on a larger scale.
Children can count natural objects, investigate minibeasts, explore water, create patterns, build shelters and develop imaginative play.
Outdoor provision can support all areas of the EYFS.
The outdoor area should not simply copy the indoor classroom.
It should offer children different experiences, including weather, movement, natural materials, larger resources and real-world observation.
Visit our Early Years Outdoors Hub for more ideas.
What Does Outdoor Learning Look Like in KS1?
In KS1, outdoor learning can help children move from practical experience towards more formal curriculum understanding.
Children might search for numbers, build words, explore shape, investigate seasonal change or retell a story outdoors.
A Year 1 class could practise numbers to 20 through a scavenger hunt.
A Year 2 class might create equal groups with hoops or investigate the properties of different materials.
Outdoor activities can form a whole lesson or simply one short part of it.
A focused 15-minute activity outside may be enough to help children understand a concept before returning indoors to record or reflect.
Explore our KS1 Outdoor Learning Resources.
What Does Outdoor Learning Look Like in KS2?
Outdoor learning remains valuable in KS2.
Older children still benefit from movement, practical problem-solving and real contexts.
KS2 pupils can explore fractions, coordinates, angles, perimeter, area, scale and data outdoors.
They can conduct scientific investigations, complete geography fieldwork, create historical timelines or collect vocabulary for writing.
A Year 5 class might map the playground using scale.
Year 6 pupils might gather data and calculate averages.
Outdoor learning in KS2 should still be challenging.
It is not about making the work easier. It is about giving children a more meaningful way to understand and apply it.
Visit our KS2 Outdoor Learning Hub and Why Take Maths Outdoors?
Can Outdoor Learning Support Children with SEND?
Outdoor learning can be very supportive for children with SEND, particularly those who benefit from movement, visual prompts, repetition and practical resources.
Children may be able to demonstrate understanding by matching, moving, collecting, building or pointing.
The larger space may also help some children regulate and participate more comfortably.
However, being outside is not automatically calming or accessible for every child.
Some children may find transitions, noise, weather, insects, open spaces or unfamiliar activities difficult.
They may need visual timetables, clear boundaries, fewer instructions, a quieter area or a familiar adult.
Children should never be forced to touch natural materials, sit on the ground or take part in sensory experiences that cause distress.
Inclusive outdoor learning adapts the activity to the child.
Explore our SEND Outdoor Learning Hub for practical support.
Do You Need a Woodland for Outdoor Learning?
No.
Outdoor learning can happen almost anywhere.
A school playground can be used for number lines, phonics games, shape hunts, poetry, science investigations and geography activities.
A courtyard can support chalk work, measuring, pattern and observation.
A small grassy space can be used for movement, sorting, building and discussion.
Walls, fences, steps, playground markings, shadows and doors can all become learning resources.
Outdoor learning should feel accessible to ordinary schools.
It is not only for settings with beautiful grounds or woodland access.
Do You Need Expensive Equipment?
No.
Many outdoor lessons can be delivered using resources schools already own.
Useful items include chalk, cones, hoops, rope, buckets, beanbags, clipboards and reusable cards.
Natural materials can also be used where it is safe and appropriate.
The outdoor environment itself often provides the best resources.
Children can measure walls, count steps, investigate surfaces, observe shadows and search for shapes.
A strong outdoor lesson does not depend on expensive equipment.
It depends on a clear purpose.
Is Outdoor Learning Safe?
Outdoor learning requires sensible risk management.
Teachers should consider the space, weather, equipment, supervision, clothing and individual needs of the children.
Schools should follow their usual policies and risk assessments.
Children need clear boundaries and simple instructions.
Outdoor learning can also help children develop their own awareness of appropriate risk.
They can learn how to move safely, use equipment responsibly and make sensible decisions.
The aim is not to remove every possible risk.
It is to provide worthwhile learning with appropriate safeguards.
How Can Teachers Assess Outdoor Learning?
Outdoor learning can be assessed through observation, questioning and discussion.
Teachers can listen to children’s explanations, watch how they approach a task and notice which vocabulary they use.
Children can demonstrate understanding by building, sorting, measuring, matching, performing or solving a problem.
Photographs can provide evidence.
Children may also return indoors to draw a diagram, complete a calculation or write a reflection.
Assessment should match the learning objective.
A completed worksheet is not the only evidence that learning has taken place.
How Often Should Children Learn Outside?
There is no fixed amount of outdoor learning that every school must provide.
Some Early Years settings use outdoor provision throughout the day.
Primary teachers may take one lesson, one activity or one short part of a lesson outside.
The focus should be on quality rather than quantity.
A short activity with a clear objective can be more valuable than spending a whole afternoon outside without a purpose.
Teachers can begin gradually.
As staff and children become more confident, outdoor learning can become part of everyday practice.
How to Start Outdoor Learning
Start with a lesson you are already teaching.
Do not try to redesign the whole curriculum.
Choose one part of the lesson that children could experience physically.
For maths, use chalk to create a number line.
For English, collect vocabulary outside.
For science, investigate one habitat or material.
For phonics, place grapheme cards around the playground.
Keep the activity short.
Use a clearly defined area.
Give only the instructions children need.
Bring the group together afterwards to discuss what they noticed and learned.
Starting small is often the most successful approach.
Try This Tomorrow
Choose one curriculum objective.
Take children outside for ten minutes and use the environment to make that objective more practical.
For example, ask children to find and describe four different shapes around the playground.
Encourage them to explain how they know what each shape is.
Return indoors and ask them to draw or label one example.
This simple activity requires very little preparation but combines movement, observation, vocabulary and mathematical reasoning.
Outdoor Learning and Teacher Workload
Outdoor learning should not create extra pressure for teachers.
Many classroom activities can be adapted rather than rewritten.
A shape worksheet can become a shape hunt.
A number-ordering activity can use reusable cards.
A poetry lesson can begin with a short observation walk.
A science lesson can use real plants, shadows or surfaces.
The same simple equipment can be reused across subjects and year groups.
Ready-made resources can also give teachers a starting point without requiring them to create everything from scratch.
Explore our Outdoor Learning Resource Hub
Join our Free Outdoor Learning Magazine for weekly ideas, practical activities and inspiration for EYFS, KS1, KS2 and SEND.
Explore our complete library through a 60-Day Free Trial.
Outdoor Learning Is Not an Extra Subject
Outdoor learning is not another subject teachers need to fit into an already busy timetable.
It is a way of teaching existing subjects.
Maths is still maths when it is taught with chalk and cones.
Phonics is still phonics when children move between grapheme cards.
Science is still science when children investigate a real habitat.
English is still English when children collect vocabulary outside.
The curriculum does not disappear.
It becomes more active, practical and connected to real experiences.
Final Thoughts
Outdoor learning can make maths visible, science real, writing purposeful and phonics active.
It gives children opportunities to move, communicate, investigate and apply their understanding.
It does not require a forest.
It does not require expensive equipment.
It does not require teachers to plan complicated outdoor experiences every day.
Begin with the space you already have, one clear objective and one simple activity.
Powerful learning can happen beyond the classroom walls.
Join our Free Outdoor Learning Magazine for weekly ideas, practical activities and inspiration for EYFS, KS1, KS2 and SEND.
Explore our complete library through a 60-Day Free Trial.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is outdoor learning in simple terms?
Outdoor learning is learning that takes place outside through practical activity, movement, exploration and real experiences.
Is outdoor learning the same as Forest School?
No. Forest School is a specific long-term approach, usually based in a woodland or natural setting. Outdoor learning is broader and can include curriculum lessons in any suitable outdoor space.
What subjects can be taught outside?
Maths, English, phonics, science, geography, history, art, PE and many other curriculum subjects can be taught outdoors.
Does a school need a woodland?
No. Outdoor learning can take place on a playground, courtyard, school field, garden or small grassy space.
Is outdoor learning suitable for children with SEND?
Yes, but activities should be adapted to each child’s sensory, physical, communication and emotional needs.
Does outdoor learning require lots of equipment?
No. Teachers can begin with chalk, hoops, cones, rope, reusable cards and features already available in the outdoor environment.
Written by Sarah Seaman PGCE MA
Founder of The Muddy Puddle Teacher®
Teacher for over 19 years
Bloomsbury author
Trainer of thousands of teachers across the UK
