Skip to main navigation Skip to main content
Home

Search

  • Donate
  • News & opinion
  • About us
    • Who we are
      • Our vision, mission, values
      • Meet the NCB family
        • Anti-Bullying Alliance
        • Childhood Bereavement Network
        • Council for Disabled Children
        • Lambeth Early Action Partnership
        • Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying Forum
        • Schools' Wellbeing Partnership
      • Our story
      • Our process
      • NCB in Northern Ireland
        • Outcomes Based Accountability
        • NI projects & programmes
          • LINKS
            • LINKS Grant Holder Organisations
              • A - F
              • G - L
              • M - R
              • S - Z
            • LINKS workshops
            • LINKS Young People Advisory Group
            • LINKS Internship
            • LINKS News
            • LINKS Cluster Group Meetings
        • News & opinion
        • Resources & Publications
        • The Impact of Covid 19 on LINKS Groups
        • Involving Young People in Decision Making
        • Working with children & young people in NI
          • Children's rights work
          • Commission us for participation support
          • Participation Support Programme
          • Recent projects with children & young people
          • Supporting children & young people's right to participation
          • Young NCB Northern Ireland
          • Young researchers
        • Northern Ireland events
        • Northern Ireland newsletter
        • Contact the Northern Ireland team
      • Our people
        • Trustees
        • Leadership Team
        • Anti-Bullying Alliance
        • Childhood Bereavement Network
        • Communications and marketing
        • Council for Disabled Children
        • Corporate services
        • Digital
        • Early years
        • Education
        • Fundraising
        • Health
        • LEAP
        • Northern Ireland
        • Research and Policy
        • Participation
    • Where we work
    • Join the team
      • Current vacancies
      • Employee benefits
      • Working at NCB
    • Media centre
      • News & opinion
      • Spokespeople

    About us

    We bring people and organisations together to drive change in society and deliver a better childhood across the UK.

    More
    • Who we are
    • Where we work
    • Join the team
    • Media centre
    Featured

    Meet the NCB family

  • What we do
    • Research
      • Our research projects
      • Young Research Advisors
      • Research partners
      • Families Research Advisory Group
      • Research reports
    • Networks
    • Policy
      • All Party Parliamentary Group
      • Our manifesto
      • Policy campaigns
        • Build Back Childhood
        • Give us a Chancellor
        • A vision for recovery
        • Children at the Heart
      • Reports, briefings and consultation responses
      • Research and Policy newsletter
    • Practice
      • Developing effective social care services
        • Safeguarding Early Adopters
      • Early years
        • Early Childhood Unit
          • Our programmes
            • Making it REAL
            • Special Making it REAL
            • Education Endowment Foundation REAL RCT
            • Our work in Jersey
            • Our work in Lambeth
            • Our work in Lewisham
          • Our training
          • National Quality Improvement Network
          • Our resources
            • Early years leaflets
            • Knowledge Makes Change seminars
          • Early Childhood Unit newsletter
          • Our early years work in Northern Ireland
        • A Better Start
        • Early Years SEND Partnership
        • Lambeth Early Action Partnership
      • Health
        • Designated Medical / Clinical Officer role development
        • Expert Parent Programme
        • The role of Independent Reviewing Officers in England
      • Inclusion & SEND
        • Delivering Better Outcomes Together
        • Information, Advice and Support Programme
        • It’s My Life! Decisions, Capacity and Education, Health and Care Plans
      • Wellbeing & mental health
        • HeadStart
          • Schools
          • Community approaches
          • Cross systems working
          • Outputs
          • Participation and co-production
          • Workforce development
          • Digital
          • Vulnerable young people
          • Learning from events
          • Reflections from NCB Support and Development contract
        • Schools' Wellbeing Partnership
          • Whole school approach
          • Key resources
          • Recent partnership activity
          • Partnership members
          • Our forum
          • Apply to join the partnership
        • All Together: Whole-school anti-bullying programme
        • Award scheme recognises schools building better mental health
        • Get Your Rights website
        • Joining up the dots
        • Learn Equality, Live Equal
    • Participation
      • Young NCB
      • Recent projects with children & young people
      • Involving children & young people in research
      • Hear from the young people we work with
      • Join Young NCB
    • Our strategy

    What we do

    Our impact goes beyond childhood to deliver lasting change for future generations.

    More
    • Research
    • Networks
    • Policy
    • Practice
    • Participation
    • Our strategy
    Featured

    Give us a Chancellor

    Featured

    Reports, briefings and consultation responses

  • Resources
    • Events & training
      • Calendar
      • Training and consultancy
        • Early years training
    • Covid-19 resources
    • Resources for schools
    • Major reports
    • All resources

    Resources

    Information and tools to guide policy and practice development.

    More
    • Events & training
    • Covid-19 resources
    • Resources for schools
    • Major reports
    • All resources
    Featured

    Covid-19 resources

    Featured

    Resources for schools

  • Partner with us
    • Our impact
    • Trusts and foundations
    • Corporate partnerships
    • Individual fundraising
    • Donate
    • Annual reports
    • Shop
      • Memberships
        • Anti-Bullying Alliance membership
        • Childhood Bereavement Network membership
      • Tools and resources
        • Childhood Bereavement Network resources
        • Early Childhood Unit Resources

    Partner with us

    Get involved today to help us build a better childhood for every child.

    More
    • Our impact
    • Trusts and foundations
    • Corporate partnerships
    • Individual fundraising
    • Donate
    • Annual reports
    • Shop
    Featured

    Trusts and foundations

    Featured

    Donate

Why schools should be thinking about nature

Image

Share

  • Share on facebook
  • Tweet this
  • Share linkedin
  • Email

Published

18 Mar 2021

Tags

Mental health & wellbeing - The early years - Education - News & opinion

During lockdown and this whole period of uncertainty, where we found ourselves having to connect to a virtual world, many of us turned to nature for relaxation and to de-stress. This led to being motivated to take daily walks and visit local green spaces. The sense of wellbeing nature gave us was a welcome blanket of security in an unfamiliar world.

Since the pandemic began, schools have been aware of its impact it could have on children’s wellbeing and capacity to sustain resilience. Before children across the UK returned to school, teachers and educational professionals have been considering how to help children recover emotionally whilst sensitively addressing children’s gaps in learning.

 

There is a wealth of research regarding the benefits of outdoor learning which addresses the needs of children

In the think piece ‘A Recovery Curriculum: Loss and life for our children and schools post pandemic’, Professor Barry Carpenter considers the different types of loss children will have encountered during their time away from school, including routine, structure, friendship and opportunity for freedom. He suggests schools recover following a “systematic, relationships-based approach to reigniting the flame of learning in each child.”

How this approach is put into practice has encouraged many schools to review their outdoor spaces, for some it is continuing and enhancing the resources they have, for others they are beginning to see it‘s potential as part of their recovery curriculum.

Natural Thinkers

Natural Thinkers, a programme for connecting children to nature, has always seen the benefits of nature to children’s emotional health and how it can be used to support areas of the curriculum in a way that the indoor classroom cannot.

There is a wealth of research regarding the benefits of outdoor learning which addresses the needs of children past and present including:

  • Wellbeing – increases when children spend time connecting to nature;
  • Educational gain – children’s confidence develops enabling children to try new things (Institute of Education ‘Nature Nurtures Children’ research report 2019)
  • Exercise – the outdoors encourages active play;
  • Taking risks – the outdoors lends itself for children to gain confidence in appropriate risk taking;
  • Socialisation – outside encourages children to work together in an unstructured environment;
  • Appreciation of nature – connecting to nature, develops appreciation and the desire to look after it (Harvard Medical school 2018)

When children can connect to nature, they are able to experience freedom and space to rediscover themselves, try out new skills, build confidence and form relationships. There are many ways children can engage with the natural environment, through working as a team in creating something together to trying things on their own to discover something new. Nature is a resource they can take comfort from and know that it is always there for them to connect with wherever they are.

Jo Gordon – Programme Lead

Natural Thinkers has been helping schools and childcare settings to develop their outdoor spaces, for almost ten years. Starting out in Lambeth and now supporting schools and childcare settings across the country. The programme provides staff with a framework to develop ways for children from 0-11 years to access the outdoors, ensuring that all children can connect with nature. The core value of the programme is the belief that the approach develops children’s appreciation for nature, which in turn leads to generations that will want to look after it. The framework includes Earth Pledges that children can aspire to and feel part of a collective community in achieving the same goal of saving our planet!

Natural Thinkers recent partnership with LEAP (housed by NCB) has allowed the programme to develop further, creating materials for 0-3 years olds and links to the Primary Science Programme of Study. The programme focuses on using nature as the main resource, putting STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths into a learning context that is cross curricular.

Natural Thinkers train teachers and childcare practitioners to recognise the benefits nature has on children’s wellbeing

The Natural Thinkers consultants train teachers and childcare practitioners to recognise the benefits nature has on children’s wellbeing, including ways in using nature to support mindfulness and children’s communication and language skills.  Schools who have taken on the programme often report how children become calmer, more motivated to join in, gain confidence and are inspired to talk about what they are doing whilst raising achievement.        

If you are thinking about ways to rebuild relationships and create environments that allow children to reflect, process feelings and express themselves then the Natural Thinkers programme might be just what you need right now.

Jacqui McDermid – Natural Thinkers Co Programme Lead

To find out more information on how you can access training and become an accredited Natural Thinkers setting then please do get in contact with Jacqui McDermid and Jo Gordon: naturalthinkers@ncb.org.uk

Resources for download

More info - Natural Thinkers Leaflet

About us

  • Who we are
  • Where we work
  • Join the team
  • Media centre
    • News & opinion
    • Spokespeople

Share

  • Share on facebook
  • Tweet this
  • Share linkedin
  • Email

Most Read

  • Rishi Sunak’s promise of new direction for children and families requires sustained investment

  • Investing in prevention

  • Covid-19 Inquiry rectifies omission of babies, children and young people

  • Project Assistant

  • Senior Researcher (maternity cover)

  • ‘Reach out’ and stop bullying

Back to top
Home

Sign up to our newsletter

  • About us
    • Who we are
    • Where we work
    • Join the team
    • Media centre
  • What we do
    • Research
    • Networks
    • Policy
    • Practice
    • Participation
    • Our strategy
  • Resources
    • Events & training
    • Covid-19 resources
    • Resources for schools
    • Major reports
    • All resources
  • Partner with us
    • Our impact
    • Trusts and foundations
    • Corporate partnerships
    • Individual fundraising
    • Donate
    • Annual reports
    • Shop

Meet the NCB family : United for better childhood

  • NCB Home

  • CDC Home

  • CBN Home

  • ABA Home

  • SWP Home

© National Children's Bureau 2022

  • linkedin
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy statement
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookie Policy
  • Suppliers area
  • Contact us

Registered charity No. 258825. Registered in England and Wales No. 952717.

Registered office: National Children’s Bureau, 23 Mentmore Terrace, Hackney, London E8 3PN. A Company Limited by Guarantee.

Site by Effusion