New virtual ‘National Education Nature Park’ will help children and young people connect to nature and develop green skills
Nurseries, schools and colleges with the least access to nature are set to receive a funding boost that will help them develop the biodiversity of their site and improve their outside learning facilities.
To mark outdoor classroom day (18 May), the Department for Education has announced £15 million to support young people to get outdoors and learn about the natural world.
Schools, colleges and nurseries that are ranked the lowest in Natural England’s measure of local access to natural space and are in areas with high levels of deprivation will be eligible for a grant.
The funding could be used to buy equipment that might be preventing children in deprived areas from taking part in outdoor learning or providing accessible routes to nature in SEND schools. It could also help with the purchase of outdoor equipment and clothing, the creation of outdoor teaching areas and the purchase of teaching tools such as acoustic listening devices.
Alongside this funding, a new online ‘National Education Nature Park’ will be launched to allow young people to learn from other schools, colleges and nurseries who are taking steps to improve their biodiversity. The initiative – being delivered in partnership with the Natural History Museum and Royal Horticultural Society – will allow pupils to document and upload the steps they have taken to improve the natural environment around their site – such a creating a pond or rewilding a piece of land. Collecting and sharing biodiversity data in this way will enhance their skills in mapping, numeracy and spatial awareness.
More on:
Posted On: 18/05/2023