Outdoor Learning at Gwinear
One of the defining characteristics of our school is our commitment to use the outdoors to enrich our curriculum. Having two minibuses, Geoffrey and Matilda, the school is able to take a whole class of children out at anytime and there isn't a week that goes by when someone isn't making use of them. At the beginning of term teachers in all classes use trips to access the huge range of learning opportunities that Cornwall has to launch topics; museums, historical sites and magical sites to inspire awe and wonder, kick start children on their learning journeys and further visits throughout the topic keep the fire burning. All classes also make regular visits to three specific sites that are close to us - see Outdoor School below.
As well as being fortunate enough to have Geoffrey and Matilda, we are blessed with fantastic grounds that have been developed over the last three years so that they act as an extension of the classroom. Our youngest children have free flow into a fantastic area complete with wild areas and pond, a tree house cross/nature hide, storytelling willow dome, mud kitchen, water play and sand play areas, poly tunnel and raised beds gardening area and last but not least the Golden Hut which serves as the epicentre for much of the outdoor learning in the school. Although it is Class 1 that has direct access to this area, it is used by all classes and indeed the majority of the resources were built by the children under the guidance of a learning mentor, including the tree house and Golden Hut! We are now embarking on our next wave of outdoor development with a huge range of enhancements being added to the wild border that we have grown around the edge of the main field. The border already has a path running through it with trim trail equipment periodically spaced around it but soon we will be adding a cloud viewing chamber, a fire pit, a construction area and much more. The PTFA and student council are also working together to extend the climbing area, which currently contains the popular traverse wall, so that it has a large free climbing structure and central tower. Keep coming back and check the photo diary below to see how we are getting on.
Outdoor Learning At Gwinear School
Outdoor Learning Archive