NEN Summary: Defining Outdoor Education approaches

Learning Outside the Classroom

Learning Outside the Classroom is a UK educational approach and movement that encourages teachers and practitioners to use the world beyond the classroom to enhance children’s learning and development. It is supported nationally by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom (CLOtC), which promotes safe, high-quality, and inclusive learning experiences in a wide range of outdoor and community settings.

In the UK, Learning Outside the Classroom fits within and connects to the wider family of outdoor and experiential approaches and often acts as an umbrella term for all types of learning that happen beyond the standard indoor classroom environment. This includes

Outdoor learning: learning that takes place primarily in outdoor settings such as gardens, playgrounds, woodlands, and parks, often with a focus on exploration, teamwork, and wellbeing.
Place-based learning: learning that draws on the local community, culture, and geography as key resources for education.
Civic or community-based learning: learning linked to active citizenship and community involvement, such as volunteering or local improvement projects.
Environmental education: learning that develops understanding, care, and responsibility for the natural environment.
Eco-education: a more holistic and reflective form of environmental education that focuses on sustainability and interconnectedness.

Learning Outside the Classroom is described as an umbrella term because it covers a broad spectrum of experiences and settings rather than prescribing one method. A lesson outside could be a short science activity in the playground, a community garden project, or a museum visit; all count as Learning Outside the Classroom .

So, while Learning Outside the Classroom is not a single, fixed programme, it is a national framework and philosophy that promotes experiential learning beyond the classroom, helping educators integrate outdoor, environmental, community, and cultural learning into everyday practice.

What is Learning Outside the Classroom?

Learning Outside the Classroom is a planned, curriculum-linked educational approach that takes learning beyond the traditional classroom walls to a wide range of settings, allowing children to engage with real-life experiences that enrich and extend their understanding of the world.

Learning Outside the Classroom is a UK-centred term that describes purposeful teaching and learning that takes place in a wide range of settings outside the usual classroom. Typical settings include museums, farms, historical sites, libraries, parks, beaches, city centres, theatres, and organised outdoor centres. Learning Outside the Classroom can be one-off visits, a series of linked trips, or regular sessions such as weekly outdoor lessons. Activities are chosen to meet curriculum goals and are carefully planned for safety, access and learning outcomes. Examples include a science field trip to a local river to study habitats, a history visit to a local museum to examine artefacts, a mathematics trail around the town, or a drama workshop at a theatre. Teachers prepare pupils before the visit, use structured tasks during the visit and follow up afterwards to embed learning.

Learning Outside the Classroom emphasises clear learning intentions and links to subject goals. Sessions are curriculum-focused and teacher-led while still using the unique features of the chosen place to make learning active and memorable. Risk assessment, inclusion and logistics are part of planning so all pupils can take part. Learning Outside the Classroom uses real objects, experts and environments to make abstract ideas concrete. It often involves collaboration with external providers such as museums, nature centres or community groups, and it values reflection so pupils connect experience back to classroom learning.

Key benefits for children include deeper engagement, improved recall, and wider personal development. Being in new settings makes topics more interesting and helps pupils remember key ideas. Learning Outside the Classroom supports practical skills such as observation, measuring, and interviewing, and it gives children chances to practise teamwork and communication in different contexts. These experiences can boost confidence, cultural awareness, and motivation to learn. Learning Outside the Classroom also supports physical activity and emotional wellbeing when it involves outdoor time or active tasks.

Plan a river study visit where pupils record invertebrates and link findings to classroom science.
Organise a local history walk with task sheets to practise map work and historical questioning.
Arrange a museum workshop where pupils handle replicas and complete a linked writing task back at school.

Learning Outside the Classroom is an organised, curriculum-focused form of outdoor and place-based learning. It often uses outdoor learning techniques and place-based content, but is distinct because it always ties activities explicitly to defined classroom learning goals and assessment.

Outdoor learning

Outdoor learning is an approach to education that focuses on taking teaching and learning experiences into open-air spaces, so the outdoors is central to how children learn.

Outdoor learning can take place in various settings, such as school gardens, parks, woodlands, beaches, or playgrounds. It encourages hands-on exploration, play, investigation, and discovery in outdoor spaces. Typical activities include searching for mini-beasts under logs, building shelters, observing weather changes, or making art with natural materials. The focus is on the learning experience, encouraging children to think, feel, and move as they learn.

The emphasis in outdoor learning is on experience and process. It values curiosity, risk awareness, and problem-solving over specific academic results. Staff use the outdoor setting to help children test ideas, use tools safely, work in groups, and manage emotions. Nature—such as trees, soil, weather, and wildlife—provides a stimulus for learning in language, science, maths, art, and physical development.

Key benefits for children include better physical health, stronger social skills, and improved concentration. Time outdoors supports gross motor skills and balance, such as running, climbing, and lifting. Being outside can reduce stress and improve mood, helping children learn and manage their emotions. Working in pairs or groups builds communication, cooperation, and leadership skills. Outdoor tasks also develop observation, creative thinking, and practical problem-solving.

Plan a simple nature scavenger hunt to observe plants and insects.
Run a team-building trail where children solve small physical and thinking challenges.
Observe a seasonal change and record findings in drawings or simple charts.

Outdoor learning often overlaps with place-based learning when activities use the local landscape, but its main focus is on using the outdoors as a learning setting rather than prioritising local history, culture, or civic issues. This is why outdoor learning closely connects with environmental and eco-education, but its focus is broader, using the outdoors as a setting for all kinds of learning, not just environmental topics.

Place-based learning

Place-based learning uses the local community and environment as the main resource and context for teaching and learning.

This approach roots learning in the learners’ own surroundings—their neighbourhood, town, or local natural environment. It draws on local history, culture, people, and ecology to create real, meaningful learning experiences. For example, children might study the life of their town through visits to local landmarks, explore local wildlife habitats, or interview community members about changes in their area. The community and environment become “the classroom”, helping learners connect what they study to their real world.

This approach is learner-centred and inquiry-based. Children investigate questions that matter in their own place. They gather local data, meet community members, and present findings to real audiences. Place-based projects often mix subjects. A single project can include literacy, geography, maths, and art. The aim is to develop a strong “sense of place” and to connect learning to real responsibilities.

Key benefits for children include increased motivation, civic awareness, and transferable skills. Learning that links to home or neighbourhood feels relevant and engaging. Children develop social skills by working with local partners. They practise research, communication, and problem-solving. Place-based projects build respect for local culture and for the environment. They can also raise confidence when children see their work used by others.

Map local wildlife spots and create a simple guide for families.
Interview a local older resident about changes in the area and write a short report.
Co-design a pocket garden with a community group and plant it.

Place-based learning emphasises the local human and cultural context more than outdoor learning, which centres on the outdoor environment and experiential processes.

Civic or community-based learning

Civic or community-based learning is an approach to teaching and learning that connects education with real and meaningful involvement in the local community, helping learners understand and contribute to society in active, positive ways to build civic knowledge, skills, and responsibility.

This approach brings together academic learning and meaningful community involvement. Learners participate in projects that address real needs in their local area, such as helping at a care home, joining a litter-picking event, or taking part in a road safety campaign near their school. These activities help children and young people understand democracy, responsibility, and cooperation, while building knowledge and skills from the curriculum.

A key feature of this approach is the combination of practical action and reflection. Learners use their academic skills to solve genuine problems, while teachers plan tasks based on community needs and support students in reflecting on what they have achieved. Partnerships with community groups play a crucial role, offering real-life contexts for learning. Reflection is essential; it helps children connect their actions with democratic values and a sense of social responsibility.

This form of learning offers a range of benefits for children, including stronger social responsibility, civic knowledge, and communication skills. Children learn empathy by working with others and develop a sense of agency when they see their efforts matter. Practical projects build teamwork, organisation, and planning skills. Reflective discussions help children understand fairness, rights, and responsibilities.

Organise a neighbourhood litter-pick and record results for a local group.
Run a mini fundraiser or awareness session for a local charity.
Partner with a community organisation to create a simple improvement plan for a shared space.

Civic learning shares place-based learning’s focus on the local context but puts more emphasis on service, democratic participation, and meeting community needs rather than on local study for its own sake.

Environmental education

Environmental education is a process that helps children and young people understand environmental issues, develop care and responsibility for the natural world, and take positive action to protect it. While also enabling them to develop an understanding of how natural systems work, the issues affecting them, and how people can act to protect the environment

This approach teaches about the relationships between humans and the environment. It covers topics such as pollution, recycling, conservation, and climate change. Environmental education can take place indoors or outdoors, in classrooms, gardens, or community settings. For younger learners, it might involve exploring water use, sorting recyclable materials, or learning about the life cycles of plants and animals. This type of education can also include studying food chains, testing water quality, learning about recycling, and researching local habitats. Lessons combine science, geography, and social studies to explain environmental processes and human impacts. The aim is to build knowledge, values, and skills for sustainable action.

This approach emphasises awareness, understanding, and practical problem-solving. Children learn factual knowledge about ecosystems and climate. They practise skills such as observation, data collection, and analysis. Lessons encourage attitudes of care and responsibility. Environmental education usually includes action: recycling projects, energy-saving campaigns or habitat restoration.

Key benefits for children include greater ecological knowledge, critical thinking, and pro-environment habits. Learning deepens scientific literacy through observation and inquiry. Children gain confidence in taking small, practical actions that reduce harm. It supports emotional connection to nature, which motivates longer-term care and stewardship.

Test pond water and record findings to discuss habitat health.
Run a classroom recycling audit and create an action plan.
Plant native species to attract local wildlife and monitor results.

Environmental education overlaps strongly with eco-education, but is often framed more as formal teaching about environmental systems and issues, whereas eco-education often goes further by exploring the deeper, interconnected systems of life and focusing more on sustainable living and ethical reflection.

Eco-education

Eco-education is an educational approach that teaches learners about the interconnectedness of all living things and encourages sustainable, responsible ways of living in harmony with the Earth, integrating environmental knowledge, values, and sustainable actions across the whole curriculum and school life.

Eco-education builds on environmental education but is broader and more reflective. Eco-education goes beyond single lessons and instead teaches how ecosystems work and how human behaviour affects them. It encourages “systems thinking”, meaning understanding that all parts of life, social, economic, and natural, are connected. Eco-education often involves direct experiences in nature, creative exploration, and critical thinking about how to live sustainably. For example, children might explore the concepts of waste and recycling, discuss where food comes from, or consider energy use in their setting.

This approach aims to change both minds and behaviours. Children learn about ecological limits and sustainable choices. They develop practical skills for low-impact living. Eco-education encourages systems thinking, understanding how actions connect across social, economic, and environmental areas. It supports pupil-led projects and decision-making about the school’s environmental policies. It embeds sustainability into everyday learning, school culture, and community links. Typical settings include all school spaces and local environments. Activities include whole-school audits, curriculum units on sustainability, growing food, reducing waste, and partnerships with environmental groups. The school models sustainable practice and involves pupils in long-term projects.

Key benefits for children include consistent development of pro-environment habits, leadership, and systems thinking. Regular involvement in sustainable projects builds responsibility and resilience. Children learn to plan, monitor, and evaluate actions over time. Eco-education also links wellbeing with care for place and community.

Lead a school energy or waste audit and implement small changes.
Create a long-term food-growing project and sell produce at a school stall.
Develop a pupil-led campaign to reduce single-use plastic in school.

Eco-education is broader than environmental education because it embeds sustainable practice across the whole school and curriculum rather than focusing mainly on discrete lessons about the environment.