In this episode, we were delighted to be joined by Gemma Meredith-Chapman, our new Outreach Manager at The Outdoors Group. She joined us to talk about her new role and her plans for this area of the business.

We discussed the benefits of Forest School sessions for school groups and in particular, how it can help learners struggling with anxiety or those with SEMH (social, emotional & mental health) needs. We also talked about community building and how we work with local groups to provide natural spaces for those who want to incorporate some outdoor wellbeing into the work they do.

Gemma shared some of her plans for her new role as well as telling us about some of the work she's currently doing, including her work with an Outdoor Therapist with refugee women from Exeter.

It was fantastic to hear what her plans are, and we look forward to seeing this side of the business develop over the coming weeks and months. To find out more about the Outreach provision that we offer, please visitOutreach Programmes from The Outdoors Group.

In this episode, I was joined by our Executive Headteacher Robyn Vincent and our Executive Deputy-Headteacher, Jonathan Breeze to talk about a very current topic.

They joined me to discuss toxic masculinity, feminism and how they address these very sensitive and important issues with the learners at The Outdoors School.

It was a really interesting and thought-provoking discussion, and we talked about role modelling, being open with the young people we work with and a whole host of related topics including fake news and the pressures that young people face from social media.

*This episode comes with a trigger warning as we discuss sensitive issues including eating disorders and suicide.

In this episode, we were so delighted to be joined by Dr Jim Rogers. Although with his incredibly impressive bank of knowledge and experience we could have been talking about a lot of different topics, this time he was with us to talk about the Danish school trips he organises and Nordic Schools.

We discussed why he started running these trips, what they look like and started to delve into what it is about schools in Denmark that is so different for our schools in the UK. We talked about the importance of collaboration, about not forgetting to celebrate our achievements whilst looking at improvements and a whole host more (including wild swimming!)

We referred to several things in the episode that we promised to put in the show notes so for those of you interested in those links, here they are:

PISA: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/programmes/pisa.html#publications

TIMMS and PIRLS: https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/

Oracy: www.greatoracytoolkit.co.uk 

Where you can find out more about Jim's work: www.drjimrogers.co.uk

Nordic Schools: www.nordischools.eu

In this episode, I was absolutely delighted to be joined by Rob Himburg, Director of Upland Hills School in Michigan.

We met on teams to discuss the history of this very special school, their unique approach to education and what they mean by the phrase 'a love-based education.' We chatted about how the outdoors is woven into everything they do, the benefits of mixed age groups in schools, what learner-led education looks like for them and heard some fantastic examples of this all in action.

We also discussed the work Rob does for young people with ADHD and their families, running summer camps as well as hearing a little bit about his psychology background that informs a lot of the work he does.

It was an inspiring and enjoyable discussion and we're very grateful to Rob for his time and the nourishing conversation! If you'd like to find out more about the school, you can do so over at https://uplandhills.org/.

In this episode, I was delighted to be joined by educational management consultant and lecturer Flo Besse, and deputy head of The Outdoors School, Jon Breeze.

We met to talk about the rather heavy topic of 'behaviour'. We discussed what we mean when we talk about behaviour and the mainstream approaches to managing behaviour and behaviour policies. We talked about why punitive and tariff-based behaviour policies don't tend to work and proposed a radical alternative, that we use ourselves at The Outdoors School.

We discussed adults applying their own biases to behaviour and talked about treating children in a more understanding way, supporting them with any behaviours that might be having negative impacts on themselves and those around them, rather than applying a punishment that doesn't get to the root cause behind the behaviour.

It was such an interesting discussion and one we really enjoyed having - we hope you find it an engaging and useful conversation to listen to!

Following her workshop at our Outdoor Learning Conference earlier this spring, we were delighted to be joined by Anna Harrison for this episode.

Anna works as a Nature Engagement Officer for the National Trust, on the Killerton estate. She joined us to talk about the work she is doing within the National Trust, the community-based approach they take to conservation and her experience of working on this huge and diverse estate.

It was a really interesting and inspiring conversation, and we loved hearing about the collaborative approach she's been taking with other conservation organisations and local community groups.

In this episode, we were delighted to be joined once again by Adrian Ferraro, from The Bioasis. We sat down with Senco & Assistant Headteacher at The Outdoors School, Hannah Brewer, to talk about resilience.

We chatted about the mental health crisis that is currently facing children and young people and dipped our toes into some of the possible causes. Then we took a deep dive into resilience and growth mindset, talking about why resilience is such an important practice for people of all ages and how we can support the young people we work with to build resilience in positive, meaningful ways.

As always, it was a fantastic conversation and one that left us thinking about the topic for days afterwards. There was a lot to digest and to take on board and we felt really inspired and encouraged as a result of the meeting of minds.

In this episode, we were delighted to sit down with the Head of our Alternative Outdoor Provision, Nigel Stanley.

Nigel joined us to talk about our approach to alternative provision at The Outdoors Group. We talked about how this area of our business works, what this provision looks like for the young people we work with, why it works so well and our plans for the future. We also discussed how we can embrace an unstructured Forest School approach whilst also providing structure for those of our learners who may need it.

For those wanting to know a little more about what we do, or pondering about how the outdoors can be the perfect setting for Alternative Provision, this is the episode for you!

In this episode, we were delighted to be joined by Rob Cartwright, Core Intervention Lead at The Outdoors School.

We spoke about what his role involves, the approach to literacy and numeracy that we take and how we work with learners who might previously have struggled to engage with these key building blocks of learning.

It was a really interesting and enjoyable conversation and a pleasure to hear Rob talking so passionately about literacy and the work he does.

Ahead of his appearance at our upcoming Outdoor Learning Conference, we were delighted to be joined by Mike King for this episode.

We connected online to discuss his experience of outdoor education and in particular, his work with learners with SEN (Special Educational Needs). We chatted about his school, Releasing Potential and how they are breaking the mould and doing things very differently in the way they work with their learners. We also spoke about his experience of being part of the Insitute of Outdoor Learning and discussed, in great depth, Glasser's Choice Theory.

I found it to be a really interesting and thought provoking episode and can't wait to hear more from him at the conference.

If you're listening to this before the 24th February 2025 and work in education, why not consider joining us for our free Outdoor Learning Conference in Exeter. You can find more details at www.outdoorsgroup.co.uk/outdoor-learning-conference-2025. We'd love to see you there!