Outdoor Classroom Day is a global movement to inspire and celebrate outdoor play and learning, at home and at school. On Outdoor Classroom Day itself, which has two dates each year, teachers celebrate with a special day outdoors for their class.
Children are spending less time outdoors than ever before and this is affecting their health, wellbeing and development. Time outdoors – on Outdoor Classroom Day and every day – will make children happier and healthier, as well as equipping them with the skills they need for life.
Outdoor Classroom Day is a global movement to inspire and celebrate outdoor learning and play. By getting involved in the days of action, you help send a message to the world that time outdoors every day is important for every child. You also help us achieve these longer-term shared goals:
Thank you to Unilever’s Dirt is Good and OMO/Persil/Breeze teams for sponsoring Outdoor Classroom Day from 2016 to 2020 and helping the movement grow from 500,000 children to over 10 million globally.
The global Outdoor Classroom Day movement is led by ActionFunder (formerly called Semble), a founding partner of the movement. ActionFunder works with respected environmental and educational NGOs around the world to deliver locally relevant campaigns, including: Nature Play WA (Australia), United Way Colombia (Colombia), E-Spiral (Cono Sur), Ulko-opet ry (Finland), ACE Trust (India), Movimento Bloom (Portugal), Symphonia for South Africa (South Africa), Aktif Yaşam Derneği (Turkey) and Learning through Landscapes (UK and Ireland).
In 2011, at the launch of Tim Gill’s Sowing the Seeds report, a group of educators and environmentalists discussed how schools in particular could address the issues that stop children getting outdoors. Their solution was a new campaign they called Empty Classroom Day.
In 2012 a handful of schools in London, England, got involved. By 2015, over 600 schools in 15 countries were involved. As the campaign grew, the volunteers who were running it recognised the need for dedicated investment. So, from 2016-2020, ActionFunder partnered with Unilever’s Dirt is Good brands Persil/OMO who sponsored the movement to take it global.
Following consultation with school leaders, play experts and NGOs around the world, Empty Classroom Day became Outdoor Classroom Day. Schools in over 170 countries have now been involved and over 10 million children have taken part.
In the UK and Ireland Outdoor Classroom Day is led by Learning through Landscapes and ActionFunder.
“Academic research shows that active play is the natural and primary way that children learn.”Sir Ken Robinson (1950-2020), expert in education, creativity and human development.
Help to spread the word about Outdoor Classroom Day! Share this page and get friends and colleagues on board.
Thanks for joining the movement we can’t wait to see what you get up to on the day! Please share this with your colleagues and friends to help us make it possible for every child to get outdoors to learn and play every day 🙂 Check out the resources tabs for ideas for the day – and to make learning and play part of every day!
Thanks for joining the movement we can’t wait to see what you get up to on the day! Please share this with your colleagues and friends to help us make it possible for every child to get outdoors to learn and play every day 🙂 Check out the resources tabs for ideas for the day – and to make learning and play part of every day!
We’ll send you a newsletter shortly. Time to play is critical for every child – share your moments with us by tagging #OutdoorClassroomDay and make every day a day to learn and play outdoors!