Local School Nature Grants: How can outdoor learning training benefit you?

Applying for a Local School Nature Grant? Take a closer look at the outdoor learning training your staff could receive.

The Local School Nature Grants project, made possible by players of the People’s Postcode Lottery, is open to all primary and secondary schools and nurseries across England, Scotland, and Wales. The project provides successful applicants with £500 worth of outdoor equipment, a Climate Curriculum Kit worth £150 and, excitingly, two hours of on-site, high-quality training for staff across a selection of outdoor learning themes.

But what does a Local School Nature Grants training session look like? And how does receiving outdoor learning training benefit you and your staff? In this post, we’re taking a deep dive into the training on offer via the Local School Nature Grants project.

An overview of the support on offer

All successful applicants to the Local School Nature Grants project are eligible for two hours of high-quality outdoor learning training for staff across a range of themes, including loose parts, gardening for biodiversity, and increasing your outdoor provision. We’ll break down a typical training session in a moment, but first, let’s take a look at the additional support you’ll receive.

In addition to the training session, our Training and Development Officers complete a short climate survey of the school grounds, providing bitesize feedback and signposting to schools. This supports settings to take their next steps towards increasing biodiversity and climate resilience on their sites. The school grounds audit process is a good opportunity to involve pupils — perhaps those from an eco club or school council — in meaningful engagement with their environment. The team often find that the children and young people know their school grounds very well — from where the biggest puddles form to the areas of the playground that are iciest in winter!

Our team of experienced Training and Development Officers are available to travel to all eligible areas, delivering the outdoor learning training alongside the climate audit. LtL also liaise with several Accredited Professionals from a network of providers to enable each setting’s visit to be delivered within 3 months of a successful application decision. The two hour CPD session is aimed at school or nursery staff, including support staff and volunteers, empowering them to embed outdoor learning into the curriculum and their regular working day.

What does a typical training session look like?

Naomi Smith, a Local School Nature Grants Training and Development Officer based in and around England’s West Midlands, says it’s difficult to describe a typical day in her role, “but my favourite feedback from trainees is that they get to laugh a lot!” Like all LSNG trainers, Naomi delivers a range of courses in a huge variety of settings. Therefore, Naomi spends a short time before her visit getting to know each school, reading their application and speaking to the lead contact via email.

Sometimes, a school may have unsuccessfully applied for a grant previously. Naomi tries to be aware of this, as reapplying shows tenacity and a commitment to outdoor learning. She says:

Getting to know the lead applicant is great. They’re usually motivated, curious and passionate teachers who just want to help pupils to get outdoors. They want the best for their school and the children in it.

Dates for the training are agreed through email or via the online application portal. In the days leading up to a visit, Naomi confirms who will attend the training and, of course, assembles her equipment ready to transport it to deliver the session. On the day of the training, Naomi arrives on site and gets a good look at the school grounds. This helps her to consider practical ways that the trainees will be able to apply the skills learned through the training.

Naomi says seeing staff grow in confidence through the training session is especially rewarding. Taking the chance to try something new during the CPD session (and having the space to fail a few times!) is something Naomi is passionate about following a long career as an Early Years teacher.

The Local Schools Nature Grant training offers a great chance for staff across the school to come together within their grounds and try something different. For example, for many trainees, the fire lighting training might be the first time they use a flint and steel to light a fire.

How can outdoor learning training benefit you?

Similarly, Suzi Hoskins, a Training and Development Officer covering the South West of England, says she has never known a staff member regret making the time to attend the training. Like Naomi and the rest of the LSNG team, Suzi also spends some time getting to know each school or nursery before visiting their setting to deliver the selected two hour training course. Suzi ensures that there is some time to discuss challenges during the training, drawing on the mixture of professions in the room to build teacher confidence and discuss ideas to overcome barriers to outdoor learning. She says:

To embed outdoor learning, schools need information and resources, like our outdoor lesson ideas, alongside clear curriculum links and ideas for evidencing learning […] but they also need support to increase staff confidence.

Formerly a teacher for 30 years, Suzi says:

I love seeing the light go on in a trainee’s eyes. It’s no different from the light in a pupil’s eyes when they grasp a concept. Helping teachers to discover outdoor learning and play for themselves is what makes my job so special.

She recognises that travelling to each setting individually is crucial to this; being on site enables course attendees to reflect on what they are doing already and to begin to consider adapting the skills they’re learning to their surroundings.

After all, the most important resource to utilise is you as a professional — a teacher, a lunchtime supervisor, a learning support assistant — and your school grounds, be that acres of grass or a square of tarmac.

Finally, Suzi asks each attendee to fill in a short feedback form to help her improve her training and delivery. What is the best feedback Suzi has ever received? Suzi can answer immediately:

“Thank you for helping me to remember why I’m a teacher.”

Apply for a Local School Nature Grant

The Local Schools Nature Grants project is open for applications until midnight on 8 November. To get started with preparing your application, visit the application portal to download a copy of the application questions and browse our product catalogue. You can find information about the training sessions, as well as further guidance to support your application, including FAQs. Alternatively, before you get started, explore our tips and tricks for writing a winning application.

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