"I found the day extremely interesting and informative and it was a clear reflection of the excellent and important work that LTL undertakes and the vast knowledge it has in this area."- Dr Tim Rudd, Senior Researcher- FutureLab

What the speakers said...

Designs for Learning - Tuesday 23rd March 2010, The American School London

Learning through Landscapes hosted the first design conference bringing together local authorities, designers, landscape designers, and education experts to learn about and discuss creative design and the potential of the school grounds.

Click the links below to upload the presentations of each speaker:

Robin Hammerton - HMI, Ofsted
Ofsted looks for positive outcomes for children across the whole school site, within the formal curriculum and within enrichment activities. Robin presented the recent study of Learning Outside the Classroom, with a focus on the benefits of using grounds and what secondary schools can learn from the experiences of primary schools.
Click HERE for the presentation.

Mairi Johnson - Director of Design, Partnerships for Schools (PfS)
PfS is determined that school grounds are not an afterthought in the Building Schools for the Future programme. Mairi Johnson discussed the importance of well-designed school grounds not just for academic achievement but also for health, wellbeing, community engagement and sustainability.
Click HERE for the presentation

John Eachus - Landscape architect, Colour Urban Design Ltd
Good landscape architecture supports both learning and play in schools, while offering young people an opportunity for hands-on involvement in the development of their school grounds. John discussed ways to understand and support the design needs of the school/local authority and how to engage the whole school community in the design process.
Click HERE for the presentation

Richard Simmons, Chief executive, CABE
What happens when a school spends all the budget on the building itself and forgets about the outdoor classroom? Richard shared some of the lessons from the Building Schools for the Future programme so far, and give us some pointers towards re-imagining outdoor spaces in schools.
Click HERE for the presentation

Marja Perkkiӧ, the Head Teacher at Westendinpuiston Koulu School - Learning from Scandinavia
Scandinavian schools have a reputation for using their outdoors ‘whatever the weather’. In this workshop delegates heard directly about Finnish children's experiences and learnt from Finnish approaches to grounds design.
Click HERE for the presentation

Liz Delany, PfS Beyond formal sport and PE
Liz Delany helped delegates to think beyond sports courts and pitches to see how a range of developments outside can support active play and participation for students.
Click HERE for the presentation