Hunsley Primary Early Years Foundation Stage Outdoor Learning Policy. This policy is applicable to Hunsley Primary

Transcription

1 Hunsley Primary Early Years Foundation Stage Outdoor Learning Policy This policy is applicable to Hunsley Primary

2 Important: This document can only be considered valid when viewed on the school website. If this document has been printed or saved to another location, you must check that the version number on your copy matches that of the document online. Name and Title of Author: Name of Responsible Committee/Individual: Lucy Hudson, Head of Hunsley Primary Board of Directors Implementation Date: Review Date: 1 September 2016 Target Audience: All Staff, Parents, Pupils, Community Users, Key Stakeholders Related Documents Hunsley Primary Behaviour for Learning Policy Hunsley Primary Child Protection Policy Hunsley Primary Attendance Policy Hunsley Primary Inclusion Policy Hunsley Primary SEND Policy Hunsley Primary Marking, Assessment and Feedback Policy Hunsley Primary Monitoring, Evaluation and Planning Policy Hunsley Primary Health and Safety Policy Hunsley Primary Risk Assessment Framework References OFSTED guidance ( Education Act 2011 The Education (Independent Schools Standards) Regulations 2014

3 Early Years Foundation Stage Outdoor Learning Policy Policy Contents Policy Statement 1. Purpose and Scope 2. Roles and Responsibilities 3. Equality and Diversity 4. Vision and Values 5. Definitions 6. Systems and procedures 7. Monitoring of compliance with and effectiveness of the policy 8. Review

4 Policy Statement This policy outlines the principles and values underpinning the expectations of the Hunsley Trust for the Early Years Foundation Stage outdoor learning experience of pupils at Hunsley Primary. 1. Purpose and Scope The Hunsley Primary learning experience is built upon these simple concepts: If a child feels safe and stimulated, they will ask questions, volunteer ideas, set out to solve problems and take risks, without fear of making a mistake this will lead to a depth of understanding If the learning is meaningful to their lives, they will find it relevant, interesting and worth the effort of hard work and persistence this will lead to sustained learning and progress over time If they have choice and flexibility, they will set themselves ambitious personal goals, have fun working with their peers or independently and become adaptable in the face of challenges this will lead to transferable skills and applications in a wide range of contexts Our school creates a learning environment where the three key elements come together every day, building year upon year as the children progress, gaining a love of learning and a depth of knowledge, skill and understanding second to none. This journey begins in the Foundation Stage and Hunsley Primary sets out in this document the guidance which shapes provision across the EYFS. Access to learning outside of the classroom, either in a man-made environment, such as a playground, or a natural environment, such as a wooded area, enables children to learning in ways that the indoor classroom does not: concepts can be explored on a grander scale, blown up in size and multiplied. Mess can more easily be made to explore and investigate. Children can develop their tidying and organising routines. Fresh air, rain, wind, sunshine and other elements bring the children into close contact with nature and enable them to experience the wonder of the outdoor world first hand. Questions arise outdoors which can only be explored outside. Physical exercise and spatial understanding are developed, many academics and child development experts believing that spatial confidence and understanding are vital for mastering key mathematical concepts as well as the key to physical and social confidence. We believe that every child deserves the very best possible start in life to meet their limitless potential. The experience provided by Hunsley Primary in the very early years of their learning journey with the Hunsley Trust has a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is vital in its own right and it provides the foundation for children to make the most of their abilities, skills and talents as they develop and progress through life. Much research is available that indicates that being and playing outside is vital for children s physical health and development, emotional wellbeing and promotes cognitive development and achievement. When outdoors, children have the freedom to explore and develop their physical

5 boundaries, to take risks and to discover the real world with all their senses. This can have huge positive effects on a child s self esteem and confidence. Outside can be liberating; children have room to be active, noisy, messy and work on a large scale. Outside is dynamic; you cannot predict what might happen, and as such it provides opportunities to experience and develop emotions, what they feel like and how to deal with them. We believe that the outdoor environment is a rich, dynamic and natural space for learning and development in children of all ages. Its value as an essential learning resource has been recognised by many pieces of research and more recently within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), particularly within the principle of Enabling Environments. The following key conclusions about the essential value of outdoor learning summarise our rationale for developing an excellent outdoor provision in accordance with this policy: Being outdoors has a positive impact on children's sense of well-being, engagement and helps all aspects of children's development, including physical, emotional and social Playing, learning and exploring outdoors all offer opportunities for children (and adults) to engage, solve problems and do things in different ways Outdoors environments offer a chance to experience learning on a different scale in comparison to being indoors Being outdoors gives children first-hand, formative contact with the weather, seasons and the natural world. The outdoor environment is liberating and can offer children the freedom to explore, use their senses and be physically active and exuberant. The outdoor environment usually offers more freedom and space to move, and inspires different movement from that indoors. This is vital for young children to develop their coordination, build muscle mass and experiment with moving their bodies. Every child has a right to daily outdoor learning and as much value should be placed on the outdoor environment as inside. The same amount of resources, planning, time, and money should go into providing the outdoor space as the indoor one. It is not an optional extra. 2. Roles and Responsibilities It is the responsibility of the Early Years Team to ensure that the outdoor learning provision planned for the children meets the Framework and the high standards of the Hunsley Primary vision. It is the responsibility of all staff to ensure that due process for carrying out risk assessments has been followed and that all risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated.

6 It is the responsibility of the Head of Hunsley Primary and senior school leaders to ensure the highest quality of outdoor learning provision, through effective training and the monitoring, evaluation, intervention and planning cycle. It is the responsibility of the Governing Body to ensure the school has in place an outdoor learning policy and that it is reviewed appropriately according to the policy review cycle. 3. Equality and Diversity Hunsley Trust is committed to: Eliminating discrimination and promoting equality and diversity in its policies, procedures and guidelines Delivering high quality teaching and services that meet the diverse needs of its pupil population and its workforce, ensuring that no individual or group is disadvantaged 4. Vision and Values Hunsley Primary Vision Statement Our Commitment Hunsley Primary is committed to being an innovative, stimulating, forward-thinking free school that makes the most of its freedoms to impact positively on pupils lives in the community and provide opportunities for all its children to make outstanding progress. Hunsley Primary children are capable, confident and creative thinkers and motivated, resilient, problem-solving learners. In particular, the school is committed to developing pupils as mathematicians and scientists. Our Children At Hunsley Primary, we believe that every child is an individual, ready, able and eager to learn. We are a fully inclusive school and we view every child as unique; we believe that all learning activities should be fully inclusive, personalised and challenging to meet all pupils needs. It is our prime aim that all children are enabled to make their best progress in an enabling learning environment, in the presence of their peers and the security of positive relationships with those around them. Our highly-trained classroom expert practitioners, from teachers, TAs, volunteers to associate Trust staff, ensure that all children have the chance to work, discuss and learn with professionals who are passionate about education. By ensuring our children become responsible for directing, sustaining and reviewing their own learning, taking responsibility for critiquing their own and each other s work and for setting ambitious challenges, we aim to embed an understanding of the importance of refining work to its best point so that children feel a sense of high achievement as a result of the feedback they receive. By maximising the benefits of our close relationship with South Hunsley School and Sixth Form College and its subject specialists, we aim to secure a continuum of learning and a depth of conceptual understanding necessary for excellent progress in all curriculum areas, leading to the highest

7 achievement at Key Stage 2, GCSE and A Level and, in due course, access to the most aspirational HE institutions, courses and professions for all children. Our Teaching and Learning Rationale Engagement, Enjoyment, Reflection, Achievement Our aim is to deliver teaching and learning which meets the needs of every single pupil in school, basing our planning on rigorous assessment and observation, mapping out challenging, supportive next steps. We plan our curriculum activities and our personalised teaching and learning approach to match the following rationale: Flexible, personalised timeframes for learning, based on excellent pupil-centred teaching teachers highly conversant in the complexities and specialisms of their practice Real learning themes and deep-thinking investigations, which prepare our pupils for 21 st Century living and engage them in learning with enjoyment and passion Inspirational and challenging learning activities, which have the principles of scientific enquiry and investigation ( working scientifically ) at their core, generating a lifelong love of learning, enquiry and discovery and a systematic means of approaching challenging and new tasks A union of primary partnerships with cross-phase and multi-disciplinary expertise for planning, delivery, monitoring and review, to ensure each child has the opportunity to build successfully on their learning from 4 to 19 Pupil resilience, independence, confidence and readiness to meet the rigours of education, through to university and beyond, and the demands of living and working in a rapidly-changing technological world Innovative, immersive and inclusive learning resources, combining the best of expert input, outdoor, hands-on, experiential learning and digital interfaces, to give pupils every opportunity to aspire to their full academic potential. 5. Definitions The outdoor environment is defined as being the area outside of the classroom, an extension of the indoor provision: The outdoor environment is where children can come into contact with the ever changing systems of nature and the four elements. It is the dynamic world of living and non-living things that endlessly interact through time and space. The seasonal changes and differing weather conditions provide children with a sense of time and place and offer endless investigation possibilities. Research suggests that if children do not have significant contact with the natural world in their early years then they can become afraid of it, disconnected from it. 6. Systems and procedures Within the EYFS document Effective Practice: Outdoor Learning the key principles and systems of outdoor learning are outlined as follows:

8 The outdoor environment has unique characteristics and features. Outdoor learning has equal value to indoor learning. Outdoor learning has a positive impact on children s well-being and development. Children need the support of attentive and engaged adults who are enthusiastic about the outdoors and understand the importance of outdoor learning. Outdoor learning is enhanced by an environment that is richly resourced with play materials that can be adapted and used in different ways. An approach to outdoor learning that considers experiences rather than equipment places children at the centre of the provision being made. Children can learn to make decisions, solve problems and grow in confidence in their own abilities outdoors and they need plenty of time to investigate their outdoor environment purposefully. They will make predictions about what may happen based on their previous play experiences and test out these ideas and theories. (EYFS Outdoors 2007) Hunsley Primary Reception team apply the above principles and procedures when planning outdoor learning activities for the children. Each school day must provide the children with equal indoor outdoor access and freedom to choose outdoors if they wish, according to the principles of the EYFS framework. Gross motor learning and physical activity are ongoing outside, however an additional curricular provision is put in place. Each week, the learning is mapped around a four plus one day cycle with the final day of the week having a specific and unique purpose to revisit the week s learning outdoor and apply, test, explore and explode the learning on a grander scale. This opportunity allows for children to master skills by applying them in a range of contexts and for staff to assess the children s understanding and mastery across the curriculum of specific knowledge and skills. Teaching staff must ensure that the learning planned for Fridays raises areas for intervention, ensures assessment is ongoing and sharply focused on how well the children are mastering skills and knowledge most likely to be introduced firstly in the classroom. Science School activities, planned for Reception, KS1 and KS2 children also utilise the outdoor learning spaces in school and beyond the site. All outdoor learning activities will have been risk assessed using the Hunsley Primary Risk Assessment Framework and resources / risks reviewed on a regular basis to ensure the provision and safeguards are relevant and precautions appropriately applied. 7. Monitoring of compliance with and effectiveness of the policy The Board of Directors of Hunsley Trust is responsible for the final approval of this policy and procedure.

9 The Executive Principal of Hunsley Trust is responsible for ensuring that this policy and procedure is implemented fairly, consistently and objectively. The Head of Hunsley Primary is responsible for overseeing the introduction, implementation, monitoring and review of this policy. Early Years Foundation Stage staff are expected to follow this policy. Senior leaders and those with designated line management will carry out monitoring on the EYFS as part of the whole school cycle. External moderation and standardisation will be called upon throughout the school year, to ensure the quality of provision is externally verified and teacher assessments are benchmarked against similar schools. 8. Review This policy will be reviewed within 2 years of the date of implementation.