Blossoming Outdoors Erasmus Project

Project Title

Blossoming Outdoors

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Natural sciences; Health and wellbeing; Environment and climate change

Project Summary

The project is entitled, ‘Blossoming Outdoors’ and that is exactly what we want all of our students to do. We aim to promote teaching and learning in the outdoors and more importantly a life long enjoyment of being in the outdoors. Learning in the outdoors allows students to develop their problem solving skills, their team work, their analytical skills, their communicative skills and also allows them to stay fit and healthy. Due to the changing seasons, the outdoor classroom is never the same, this offers children a new experience every time they step outside. Through this project our aims are:

Children will :
have the opportunity to work with learners from different cultures – develop intercultural awareness and dialogue
search and solve problems.
develop their sense of place in the world
become more resilient.
develop responsibility
work within a group of children.
feel success and failure.
develop a creative attitude.
have a better mental health from being in the outdoors.

Staff will:
have the opportunity to work with educators from different cultures – develop intercultural awareness and dialogue
acquire new skills.
share their existing knowledge and understanding around outdoor learning.
develop activity cards to be used in the outdoors.
develop new teaching and learning styles.
development of problem solving skills.
provide new perspectives on outdoor learning pedagogy and ideas that can be jointly developed to apply to the whole range of international settings.
develop their confidence in teaching in the outdoors and using it as a stimulus.
have the opportunity to acquire languages and practice language skills

Parents will:
understand the importance of the outdoors in their child’s education and development.
develop activities and ideas to use with their child in the outdoors.
work closely with staff to develop home/school links.

As a focus group, we will produce ‘Challenge cards’ created and made for all participating schools. These challenge cards will allow staff and parents to carry out fun and enjoyable activities in the outdoors with limited resources. Therefore, maintaining its success over future years after the project has concluded.

The project will also focus on developing an outdoor learning space that can be utilised by all pupils and staff to ensure that our aims are delivered and maintained, long after the project has finished.

During the project, all establishments have developed lessons for the children in the outdoors. The sessions have focused on literacy, numeracy,, health and well-being, problem solving and group work. The sessions have allowed the children to learn key skills that will support them throughout their education and beyond. The skills that they have learned in the outdoor classroom can easily be transferred to other situations. The sessions also focused on getting parents involved, using the seasons and getting the community involved. At the beginning of the project we looked at the barriers that each establishment felt prevented them from carrying out more teaching and learning in the outdoors. After consultation, it was felt that many parents and some staff aren’t happy for the children to be out in the rain, cold weather as they perceive this to make the children ill. We therefore felt that it was important to include the parents in the project so that we are raising the importance of teaching and learning in the outdoors with them. We focused on having and using the appropriate outdoor clothing, the importance of fresh air and exercise on their physical development and their mental health and well being. Making sure that parents and staff are happy about teaching and learning in the outdoors was paramount to keeping it going beyond the completion of the project.

Within our learning establishments, we have all run training days for staff on how to develop teaching and learning in the outdoors. We have given staff a bank of ideas that they can draw on or tweak to assist them with their planning. we have discussed and carried out changes to our outdoor learning environments so that they are appealing and inviting to the children. we have included things to make them aesthetically pleasing and we have also added items to provoke enquiry.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 85629,5 Eur

Project Coordinator

Central primary School & Country: UK

Project Partners

• Przedszkole 237 im. Warszawskiej Syrenki
• Przedszkole nr 124
• Scoala Gimnaziala Corbii Mari
• Willowtown Community Primary School
• Gradinita cu program normal Buciumeni