We are pleased to be working with the Our Bright Future ‘hour a day’ campaign which is calling on the government to recommend that schools lead an hour of lesson time outdoors for every child and young person.

Schools are asked to support the campaign by arranging at least one hour of activity outdoors this Thursday as part of Outdoor Classroom Day.

As we know, outdoor learning and play has a profound impact on children and young people’s health, development and happiness (see our Muddy Hands report for more details). It encourages them to be more active, boosts mental health and results in better learning outcomes across the board. Leading outdoor teaching is beneficial for teachers too.

In a report on outdoor learning, the Natural Connections* partnership with universities revealed that nine out of ten (90 per cent) staff found outdoor learning useful for delivering the curriculum, and more than seven out of ten (72 per cent) said that taking lessons outdoors was good for their own mental wellbeing.

Schools can support the ‘hour a day’ campaign by signing up to Outdoor Classroom Day and then tweeting their experiences of the day with the hashtags #OutdoorClassroomDay and #OurBrightFuture.

Find out more about the Our Bright Future ‘hour a day’ campaign here.

*Waite, S., Passy, R., Gilchrist, M., Hunt, A. and Blackwell, I., (2016). Natural Connections Demonstration Project, 2012–2016: Final Report. Natural England Commissioned Reports