School improvement/raising achievement

Motivation

Learning outside the classroom is highly motivating. Learning in the school grounds, the locality, visiting sites further afield and residential experiences all stimulate interest, curiosity and passion for ‘doing’. These activities broaden young people's horizons, enable them to develop new skills and build relationships. They make young people more engaged with learning and therefore more likely to do well.

Teaching and Learning

For teachers, learning outside the classroom can support areas that are difficult to cover in the classroom. Teachers value its inspirational quality because it enables young people to understand better — for example, what is the point of learning how to do a survey for geography if you never actually do it?

Learning outside the classroom capitalises on and develops different learning styles, particularly kinaesthetic. Experiencing something — as opposed to hearing it described or reading about it — can also help improve young people’s recall and reflective skills, as they can relive the event in their heads.

Some studies have identified a clear link between learning outside the classroom and a rise in attainment. Research carried out in the east of England has shown that a museum visit can have a positive impact on attainment when an assessed piece of work is completed in tandem with it. Based on teachers’ assessment criteria, 60 per cent of young people scored a higher mark for their museum-based assignment compared with up to three previous assignments.

Transition

The switch from primary to secondary school can be a major stumbling block for some children. Headteachers of schools where learning outside the classroom is well embedded cite out-of-school trips, including residential stays, as an important part of Year 7 induction. In particular, it helps children to build friendship groups. Research from Cambridge University (DfES Research Report RR443, 2003) shows that more attention need to be paid to pedagogic strategies that improve pupil attainment and motivation, and that learning needs to be exciting — both aspects that can be supported by learning outside the classroom.

Staff-pupil understanding

It is unusual to find a school rated outstanding by Ofsted where the quality of relationships between staff and pupils is not also outstanding. Learning outside the classroom activities are key ways in which those relationships can be cemented. Working with children in a different environment enables headteachers, governors, teachers and support staff to see, for example, how the children respond to teamwork, what their different friendships are, and what challenges them.

Independence and Social Skills

For young people with learning difficulties and disabilities, learning outside the classroom will increase opportunities for interaction with people in the local community. This helps to develop independence and social skills which will in turn raise attainment for these students who may otherwise have limited opportunities to feel a part of the community.

Leadership

High-quality leadership is critical to school improvement. Learning outside the classroom affords adults in a school the chance to develop new leadership skills. Also, schools which run student leadership programmes speak powerfully of the benefits of learning outside the classroom in making young people more engaged in the life of the school and acting maturely in both social and learning contexts.

The Innovation Unit has carried out research into student leadership as part of Next Practice projects — see www.innovation-unit.co.uk.

The National College for School Leadership (NCSL) has looked at the benefits of student leadership linked to school improvement — see www.ncsl.org.uk.