Additional information / resources on Outdoor and Adventurous
Activities (OAA) for Primary Schools
Contents
Introduction
3
What is OAA?
3
OAA in your School
4
OAA in your Locality
5
Use resources to support the delivery of OAA 6
Orienteering
7
Finding out more
7
Additional Information
8
High Quality Learning in the Outdoors
8
Case Study 1
9
Case Study 2
10
Case Study 3
11
Case Study 4
12
2
Introduction
The inclusion of Outdoor and Adventurous Activities (OAA) in the PE
curriculum is an indication of the value educationalists place on
such activities. Although not a compulsory element in the PE
National Curriculum at Key Stage 1, there is no reason why it
should not be introduced at this stage.
The following resource information is to help schools deliver OAA as
part of their PE curriculum and to be part of the wider school
curriculum offer. At present, limited information and training is
available to teachers and support staff, therefore this resource is
aimed at helping staff to deliver high quality OAA.
What is OAA?
It is generally agreed that 'outdoor education' or more recently 'outdoor learning' is
not a subject, but an approach to education which is concerned with the overall
development of young people. It is an organised approach to learning in which
direct experience is of paramount importance. The term learning in the outdoors
embraces activities and experiences that:

normally take place outside;

frequently have
component;

generally involve physical activity; and

always respect the environment
an
adventurous,
challenging,
residential
or
learning
The term OAA has been chosen because there is an essential need for adventure
and challenge in the education of young people. In addition, when children
participate in OAA they will be consolidating other areas of PE such as developing
motor skills, confidence and competence in the outdoor environment as well as
both mental and physical challenges. These may or may not be of a competitive
nature. Most importantly they will also be learning the principles of safety.
Before beginning any lesson, it is essential that staff check all outdoor sites for any
obvious or hidden dangers.
3
OAA in your School
All schools can deliver high quality OAA within their own school
buildings and grounds.
If you do not have an outside area, the school may have access to a
local park, village green or conservation area.
It is useful to carry out an audit of available facilities and equipment in order to
prepare and plan your lessons and activities. General PE equipment can be used for
team building activities, trails and navigation skills etc. Both indoor and outdoor
spaces can be used to introduce and develop orienteering. Schools with adventure
play equipment can plan and develop more challenging activities.
The Outdoor Education Advisers Panel (OEAP) and the Youth Sport Trust (YST) have
developed activities and courses which can help towards delivering OAA in
the school setting.
Examples of OAA which can be taught to pupils include:

Orientation and Orienteering

Scavenger hunts

Trails

Team building

Adventure games

Problem-solving activities

On site camp craft skills

Bouldering—use of low level climbing wall if available.
In order to deliver quality orienteering lessons it
is essential to have a map of the school site.
In the early stages a map produced by the
school is acceptable however; it is possible to
have a professional orienteering map produced
at a later stage which will help with the
progression.
4
OAA in your Locality
An audit of the local (within walking distance) facilities and
equipment will need to be carried out.
Points to be considered:

Where is the nearest public park or open space?

Where is the nearest area which can be mapped for orienteering?

Where can young people take part in canoeing/kayaking/sailing/climbing/skiing
etc.

Where is the nearest indoor/outdoor climbing wall?

How can young people undertake camping or a short local walk/expedition
locally?

Are there other opportunities which exist for outdoor activities locally?
Ensure you follow the schools/LA guidelines relating to safe practice out of doors.
For more detailed information about specific resources relating to OAA and case
studies refer to the OAA Resources Section.
5
Useful resources to support the
delivery of OAA
Outdoor Learning Cards have been developed by the Outdoor
Education Advisers Panel (OEAP) as a resource to support teachers
and support staff wishing to deliver exciting and inspirational
outdoor learning activities.
The Outdoor Learning Cards activities contribute directly to a wide range of
educational and development aims for young people. They cover four elements of
Outdoor Learning and can be part of an OAA programme within your school. They
can be delivered on the immediate site and surrounding area:
1.
Orienteering
2.
Team building and problem-solving
3.
Bouldering – use of level climbing walls
4.
Journeying – local visits
The Cards are supported by a Handbook and CD that provide detailed
information on all aspects of activity delivery. All of the activities have
been linked to progression through the national curriculum. Key
elements are explored further in the nationally recognised one day or
two half day training courses.
These resources are ideal for a school inset day, which can include all
staff. There is the additional bonus in that it will support cross
curricular activities.
For further details contact the OEAP:
www.oeap.info
www.oeaptraining.info
6
Orienteering
There are excellent resources on introducing orienteering and a
good starting point is to visit the British Orienteering web site. Go
to the school section and the following areas can be found:

School orienteering

Teacher training

Mapping

School Games

Competition

School resources including equipment, challenge sheets and games
www.britishorienteering.org.uk
An excellent free resource is a Tri-O package of simple orienteering
activities:
www.moray.gov.uk/downloads/file91377.pdf
Finding out more...
A good starting point with other OAA activities would be to visit the following
National Governing Bodies (NGBs) web sites. They will provide you with the advice,
guidance and help to get started:
Kayaking and Canoeing
The British Canoe Union: www.bcu.org.uk
Canoe England: www.canoe-england.org.uk
Hillwalking, Mountaineering and Climbing
The British Mountaineering Council: www.thebmc.co.uk
Caving
The British Caving Association: www.british-caving.org.uk
Sailing
The Royal Yachting Association: www.rya.org.uk
Snow Sports
Snowsport England: www.snowsportengland.org.uk/
7
Additional Information
For pupil health and safety on off-site educational visits
visit:
www.atl.org.uk/health-and-safety/off-sitetrips/off-site-trips-summary.asp
If you are a LA school contact your Outdoor Adviser or Health/
Safety Officer who will help you.
To find your local OE Adviser/Safety Officer visit: www.oeap.info
There is a Quality Badge which is the only nationally recognised indicator of
good educational quality provision and effective risk management. To
check on a provider of OAA holding the LOtC Quality Badge visit:
www.lotc.org.uk
For information about the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority visit,
www.aala.org.uk
For information on the Institute for Outdoor Learning's work to encourage
participation
in
outdoor
learning
and
training
visit:
www.outdoor-learning.org
High Quality Learning in the Outdoors
A downloadable pamphlet (website below) which will help you evaluate your OAA
and outdoor learning.
www.englishoutdoorcouncil.org/HQOE.pdf
Schools have a central role to play in delivering high quality learning outdoors.
They may provide regular outdoor and adventurous activities as one of the areas of
activity within the PE curriculum e.g. fieldwork in science and geography and
forest school activities.
8
Case Studies
Case Study 1
Orienteering Session—Utilising the School Games
Format with Year 6
Orienteering is a challenging adventure sport that provides opportunities for all
children to challenge both their physical and intellectual limits. The School Games
programme offers the opportunity for more children to participate and enjoy the
benefits of orienteering.
The School Games is made up of four levels of competition and orienteering formats
for primary and secondary intra and inter school have been created that provides a
pathway for young people to progress and develop.
On this occasion the activity took place in PE lessons, and the time was restricted to
one hour with 30 children, a class teacher, a teaching assistant, four Y8 pupils and a
lead coach.
The class was divided and one group did the symbols relay with the teacher,
assistant and two Y8 pupils. The second group worked with the coach who ran the
cones race which was helped by two young leaders. Working the children in pairs
and swapping over the group just allowed enough time to successfully complete the
tasks.
Feedback from the coach was that a different approach could be to undertake a 90
minute after school session, with two introductory formats, before finishing with a
score competition. Relays are a format most children are familiar with so the map
symbol relay always goes down well.
The feedback from all of the children, even the ones who were not keen on sport;
was that they enjoyed the session. The non-competitive children were seen to be
running around and getting out of breath!
Comments from children included statements such as: 'It was great to be outdoors’,
‘I really enjoyed the activities' and 'can we have more of this'.
The teacher commented that she was surprised by the variety and flexibility of the
activities and the competition. As well as the fact that the activities could take place
in the school grounds, hall and some in the classroom.
The need to be prepared with pens, maps, clipboards, control cards was important to
effective delivery of the session. However, she explained that this no different in
how teachers need to be prepared for any lesson! Finally, she was particularly
excited by the cross curricular links, especially with maths.
9
Case Studies
Case Study 2
Outdoor Learning Training
Feedback and Evaluations from teachers who have attended a one day training
course on the Outdoor Learning Cards.
Developed to assist teachers to deliver high quality outdoor learning activities to
support the development of a range of pupils' skill related to these activities. Four
activity areas identified as: journeying, team building, bouldering and orienteering.
Key principles underpinning the development of the cards are outlined below:

for use in and around the school grounds,

require no specialist outdoor qualifications on the part of the teacher,

require no specialist equipment,

can be delivered after a one day training
development course.
In addition the Cards:

progressive in their demands on pupils,

differentiated according to pupils' needs,

cross-referenced to PE outcomes, and

visually engaging and easy to handle.
Without exception all the teachers on the training course reported they were more
confident to deliver OAA in school as a result of the training. Those teachers, the
majority, who had very little experience of teaching OAA commented positively on
their new found confidence.
10
Case Studies
Case Study 3
Off-site Adventure Day at local Outdoor Learning
Centre
Two Year 6 classes comprising of 62 children spent a full day at the local outdoor
centre engaged in adventure activities. The programme as follows:
9.30am
Arrive – Welcome, introductions and aims/outcomes of the day. Short
whole group activity – Raccoon circles. Split in 4 groups
10.00am
2 groups on water activities. There was a choice of canoeing/kayaking/
raft building. 2 groups on land based activities using the High Ropes Course. Again
there were alternative activities to suit the needs of the group and children
Midday
Lunch
1.00pm
The programme repeated itself with the groups switching over.
3.30pm
Short reviewing session before departing for school.
The feedback from both teachers and pupils was extremely positive with the opportunity for a number of new and exciting experiences for the pupils. Staff who had the
opportunity to participate or if they preferred to observe their children in an outdoor
setting. All the children were very positive that on this adventure day all the staff
were fully engaged and had a go. Apart from new experiences the young people
were taught new skills which were immediately put into practice. Teamwork was a
fundamental part of the day with the centre staff ensuring all pupils had a purposeful
and positive experience, even though some of the children were not too happy on
water and at heights.
What was noticeable that the school staff had prepared well for the visit. Two of the
staff had pre visited and experienced the activities. They had forewarned the centre
about two particular children with special needs. Back at school the children had to
do some preliminary exploration about the activities, learning about new words and
most impressive having to learn to tie knots which they would have to use on the
day.
After the visit the school followed up the adventure day with an assembly to the rest
of the school and the customary letters back to the centre staff stating what they
enjoyed and learned.
All pupils were encouraged to take part in this adventure day owing to fact it was an
integral part of the schools wider curriculum provision, apart from participating in
OAA.
11
Case Studies
Case Study 4
Combination of an off-site visit with a residential
experience
A most unusual but educationally rewarding experience for all children in the school.
The school has a strong emphasis on learning outdoors and enriching all its pupils
with stimulating activities throughout their school journey in the school starting at 4
years through to 11years when they move on.
The programme is as follows:
Day One— All the children and staff spend a whole day at a local Outdoor Learning
Centre, with a strong emphasis on a high quality educational experience out of
School. The School Business Manager has the short straw and has to stay back
keeping the school open.
When the day ends all the pupils apart from Year 4 return to school. Year 4 stay on
and continue with an overnight residential which is part of the school residential offer
to all pupils. Year 5 go to an Outdoor Education Centre in North Wales for a week
and Year 6 go abroad to there partner school for a week staying at a UK commercial
centre.
Day One Programme
Foundation children – Have a mixture of own activities and participating in the
Nursery Rhyme activities

Year One – Nursery Rhyme activities for the day

Year Two – Orienteering for the day

Year Three – Survival activities for the day

Year Four – Bridge Building activities.

Year Five – Climbing and Archery for the day

Year Six- High Ropes, including zip wire and aerial trek
At the end of the day Year 4 will have another activity as part of their residential
package.
The next day the group all go canoeing followed by an activity before they return
home.
12
Case Studies
Case Study 4 continued...
Combination of an off-site visit with a residential
experience
The school already uses the PE funding to employ quality sport coaches with the
teachers required to work alongside these coaches to plan and deliver high quality
PE lessons. The same goes for this programme with teachers ensuring high quality
outdoor learning activities.
Recently the School has been inspected by Ofsted. The report findings found the
school to be Outstanding. Ofsted stated “The school is using the new primary school
sport funding to develop teachers' expertise in teaching sport and to extend the
range of sports on offer”.
It is also worth mentioning that each the school buy in a mobile climbing wall with
qualified instructors. All pupils over 8 have the opportunity to learn to climb.
Therefore during the time every child is at this school they have at least six
opportunities to climb and progress. These sessions are careful planned and use the
cross curricular aspects of the specific activity. Maths is very evident in these
sessions. There are cases in the School where children have taken up climbing as
their chosen activity out of school.
There is outstanding leadership and management in the School and this manifest
itself across the whole curriculum. The importance of giving all children self
confidence in their own abilities and a wide range of opportunities provided by the
School. The children not only benefit from the hard skills but also the soft ones.
Ofsted also stated, “Visits include a residential visit for Year 5 where they enjoy
team-confidence-building outdoor activities, and an annual Year 6 visit to the
school's partner school in France which extends pupils' cultural horizons”.
It is demonstrated that the Head Teacher and all its staff share extremely high
ambitions for pupils. All aspects of the school's work are kept under close review and
this includes OAA.
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