89%
of teachers believe the countryside could play a greater role in cross-curricular learning within the National Curriculum in the future
The Government should take steps to prioritise the funding allocated for outdoor learning and direct resources to helping schools that struggle to fund outdoor education visits for children.
In 2007, £332 million of funding was announced by the Government for the Music Manifesto over three years. In contrast, the Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto attracted just under £4.5 million between 2006 and 2009. Not only is there a massive inequality of funding but there has been an actual halving of investment in outdoor learning from £1.7 million in 2006 to a mere £740,000 in 2009. This cut significantly reduces the support and resources available to help children and young people benefit from outdoor education.
While recognising the constraints on public sector spending, the difference in funding for learning outside the classroom between 2006 and 2009 represents a small amount in the context of the overall education budget. However, this funding is vitally important in enabling children to experience outdoor learning and the benefits related to it. We believe funding should be reinstated to 2006 levels at the very least.
Given that 89 per cent of teachers surveyed in a National Teacher Voice Survey believe the countryside could play a greater role in learning within the curriculum, the priority and funding the Government now dedicates to learning outside the classroom is derisory. It bears no relation to the clear wishes of teachers and pupils. While cost alone is not the only barrier, the ability of schools to deliver outdoor education depends heavily on the amount of money allocated within their budget.
The cost of school visits can vary from between £5 - £15 per pupil for a day and £250 - £350 per pupil for residential visits. Schools often rely on voluntary contributions from parents to be able to cover the cost of these visits. While local authorities have discretion in allocating central government school funding according to local priorities, it can result in disparities of per capita funding between different schools within the same area.
Most schools allocate their budget in accordance to their own priority areas. This means the disparity in the amount of ‘per pupil’ funding could mean the difference between taking students on an outdoor learning visit or not, depending on the priority given to curriculum-based outdoor education in the school.
All pupils should be offered a range of outdoor learning experiences as part of their education, including visits to the countryside. With 64 per cent of teachers surveyed citing funding as a barrier to outdoor education, the Government must take steps to meet the needs of schools. Creating an entitlement to outdoor education within the National Curriculum would focus government resources towards helping schools deliver results and so raise the priority of outdoor education within school budgets.
