All Hallow's Blog

The Connection Between Outdoor Learning and Wellbeing

27th April 2026

Students today face more stress and mental health challenges than ever before. Outdoor learning provides a powerful solution by connecting children with nature, which research shows significantly improves mental health, emotional regulation and overall happiness in educational settings.

When pupils spend time learning outside, they develop stronger resilience and better self-regulation skills. That’s why outdoor learning is so essential to their education.

Here, we’ll explore how outdoor learning enhances pupil wellbeing in school and how we implement this at All Hallows School to create a happy, harmonious and healthy school culture.

How outdoor learning enhances wellbeing in education

Learning in natural environments provides measurable improvements to students’ physical health, mental health and academic performance. Pupils develop stronger social skills and emotional resilience whilst experiencing reduced stress levels and increased engagement with their education.

Physical and mental health benefits of natural environments

Natural environments offer immediate benefits for children’s mental health and physical wellbeing. When we take students outside for learning activities, they experience reduced stress levels and improved emotional regulation compared to indoor classroom settings.

Research on nature-specific outdoor learning demonstrates that spending time in natural spaces improves children’s physical health while providing beneficial effects on cognitive and mental health.

Regular outdoor activities address what researchers call nature deficit disorder – the negative consequences of spending too little time outdoors. Your child will benefit from increased physical activity during outdoor education sessions, which contributes to better overall health outcomes.

Outdoor learning experiences provide stress reduction through direct contact with green spaces. Students who participate in mindful nature walks and other nature-based activities show improved psychological wellbeing. The outdoor classroom becomes a therapeutic space where your child can develop healthier relationships with their environment while building physical strength and stamina.

Development of social and emotional skills

Outdoor learning creates unique opportunities for developing social competencies and emotional wellbeing in educational settings. Children learn to collaborate, communicate and solve problems together when facing challenges in natural environments.

Nature-specific outdoor settings nurture the development of social and collaborative skills that transfer to other areas of learning. Adventure education programmes particularly strengthen emotional resilience as students navigate unfamiliar situations and support one another through outdoor challenges.

Children develop stronger self-concept and confidence through hands-on experiences outside. Kinaesthetic movements and therapeutic work in natural settings help students who struggle with traditional classroom environments to engage more fully with learning. Students build emotional regulation abilities, learning to manage frustration and celebrate success in outdoor contexts before applying these skills elsewhere.

Cognitive, behavioural and academic outcomes linked to outdoor activities

High quality outdoor learning produces measurable improvements in learning outcomes across multiple subjects. Your child will demonstrate increased engagement and ownership of their learning when they’re exposed to natural environments as part of their education.

Studies examining outdoor education show that it can not only benefit students’ socio-emotional growth, but it also boosts academic performance. Students participating in regular outdoor sessions, whether through school trips, forest schools or outdoor classrooms, develop better concentration and information retention.

The key academic benefits of outdoor learning include:

improved attention span and focus
enhanced critical thinking skills
better problem-solving abilities
increased motivation to learn

The hands-on, experiential nature of outdoor activities supports different learning styles, particularly benefitting students who find traditional classroom instruction challenging.

Research intelligence suggests that multimodal, hands-on learning opportunities in natural settings support holistic wellbeing and offer an effective way of delivering curriculum content. Your child will also develop environmental awareness and pro-environmental behaviours alongside academic knowledge, creating well-rounded educational experiences.

How All Hallows uses outdoor learning to improve wellbeing

Outdoor learning is a core element of the student experience at All Hallows School. By creating accessible spaces, using proven programmes and investing in professional development, we ensure all students benefit from time spent in natural settings.

Creating accessible and inclusive outdoor environments

Our outdoor learning spaces welcome all students regardless of physical ability or background. At All Hallows, our outdoor environment includes 25 acres of beautiful Somerset countryside, giving pupils ample opportunity to explore the great outdoors.

Ensuring our spaces are filled with natural materials like logs, stones and branches creates opportunities for adventurous play while remaining accessible to students. Our water tray and dry sand area support early science education and allow children to explore through touch and observation, while our natural grass areas provide softer surfaces for various activities.

We design our outdoor environments to support different types of engagement. Some students thrive during structured field trips while others benefit from unstructured risk play. Including quiet observation areas means children can develop observation skills alongside active zones for physical exploration.

Implementing forest school

Forest schools offer a proven framework for regular outdoor learning sessions. These programmes emphasise hands-on learning opportunities using natural settings over extended periods. Students participate in activities like building shelters, exploring seasonal changes, and engaging with the local school community.

In forest school at All Hallows, our educational activities connect outdoor experiences to curriculum goals. Theme development links outdoor observations to literacy, maths and sustainability education topics for a holistic education experience. We strengthen children’s observation skills when we guide them to notice patterns, changes and relationships in nature.

Importantly, we incorporate environmental awareness and climate change topics into our curriculum through direct engagement with outdoor environments. Students also engage with aesthetic processes by creating art with natural materials or documenting seasonal changes through photography and drawing.

Our holistic approach integrates outdoor time throughout the week, making it a core part of our students’ experience at All Hallows and ensuring a constant focus on wellbeing.

Exploring and learning in Scouts Wood

At All Hallows School, we have our own dedicated 9-acre forest, Scouts Wood, which we use as a fully equipped outdoor learning environment. We’ve developed this space with purpose-built facilities that support both practical and structured learning, which include:

a log cabin that allows sessions to continue in all weathers
dedicated outdoor classrooms for group teaching and discussion
fire pits, pizza ovens and food preparation areas, where pupils learn outdoor cooking skills
mud kitchens, construction zones and imaginative play structures for creativity and exploration.

By combining natural woodland with carefully designed facilities, we’ve created an environment where pupils can move between guided learning and independent discovery.

Progressing forest school learning through the years

We build outdoor learning progressively as pupils move through the school, ensuring each stage develops new skills and deeper understanding.

In the early years, we focus on sensory exploration and imaginative play. Our pupils engage with their surroundings through activities such as mud kitchens and early tool use, helping to develop communication and fine motor skills.

As our pupils move into the junior years, we shift towards problem-solving and collaboration. Our learning begins to link more closely with classroom subjects including science and geography, with activities including nature identification, outdoor cookery and team-based challenges.

In the senior years, our pupils take on more advanced tasks and greater responsibility. They develop bushcraft skills including fire-lighting and woodcraft, while also leading projects and supporting younger pupils to develop leadership skills. This progression ensures outdoor learning remains purposeful and continues to challenge pupils as they grow.

Frequently asked questions

Outdoor learning is one of the most powerful tools schools can use to not only enhance learning but also to improve pupils’ wellbeing.

How does regular outdoor learning influence pupils’ mental health and overall wellbeing?

Regular outdoor learning helps pupils develop better emotional regulation and reduces stress levels. When children spend time learning outside, their body produces lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, whilst increasing feelings of calm and focus.

Nature connection and wellbeing are intrinsically linked through direct experiences in natural environments. Pupils who engage in weekly outdoor sessions show improvements in mood, self-esteem and the ability to manage anxiety.

The mental health benefits extend beyond students’ immediate experience. They build resilience through exposure to manageable challenges in outdoor settings, developing coping strategies that transfer to other areas of life.

What evidence from research supports outdoor learning as a way to improve wellbeing outcomes in schools?

A systematic review of 147 studies found measurable socio-emotional, academic and wellbeing benefits from nature-specific outdoor learning across school-aged children. The research showed increased student engagement, improved social and collaborative skills, and better self-concept factors.

Studies demonstrate that outdoor learning supports diverse aspects of wellbeing. Research shows benefits to mental health, emotional regulation and environmental knowledge when pupils experience nature regularly during their school years.

The evidence base continues to strengthen. Multiple studies confirm benefits to mental, physical and social health outcomes, particularly when outdoor sessions are embedded as a consistent and regular element of the school curriculum.

Which aspects of the outdoor environment most strongly affect children’s engagement, confidence and resilience?

Natural elements that allow for open-ended play and exploration have the strongest impact on engagement. Spaces with trees, varied terrain and loose materials enable children to take controlled risks and make independent decisions about their learning.

Environments that permit physical challenge build confidence effectively. When your child can climb, balance and test their physical abilities in a safe outdoor setting, they develop both motor skills and self-belief. The unpredictability of natural spaces requires problem-solving and adaptation.

Access to living things strengthens engagement and nurtures caring behaviours. Gardens, wildlife areas and spaces where children can observe seasonal changes create ongoing interest and responsibility. These environments support sustained attention and curiosity.

How can early years settings design outdoor provision to support emotional regulation and social development?

Early years outdoor spaces should include quiet areas where children can retreat when feeling overwhelmed. Creating cosy corners with natural screening from plants or willow structures gives children the privacy needed to process emotions and self-regulate.

Sensory-rich environments support emotional development in young children. All Hallows provides materials with different textures, sounds and visual interest, such as water features, plants that rustle in wind, and surfaces that make satisfying sounds underfoot. These elements help children explore and express feelings through multi-sensory play.

Social development benefits from loose parts and open-ended materials. When children have access to logs, planks, fabric and containers, they must negotiate, share ideas and collaborate to create their play scenarios. This builds communication skills and empathy naturally.

It’s also important that the environment supports different types of play simultaneously. Some children need active physical play to regulate emotions, while others prefer quiet observation. Outdoor spaces should accommodate both without one dominating the other.

How can schools measure the impact of outdoor learning on wellbeing, attendance and behaviour?

At All Hallows, we use baseline data before implementing outdoor learning programmes to enable meaningful comparison. Then, we record attendance rates, behaviour incidents and various wellbeing indicators before making changes to your provision.

We use observation tools that capture changes in engagement and social interactions. Staff note improvements in collaboration, concentration span and emotional regulation during outdoor sessions. These qualitative observations complement quantitative data about behaviour incidents and attendance patterns.

Pupil voice also provides valuable insight into wellbeing impacts. Regular conversations or age-appropriate surveys help us understand how children perceive the benefits of outdoor learning. Children can often articulate changes in their feelings, friendships and enjoyment of school that formal assessments might miss.

We also monitor specific groups to identify differential impacts. We often find that outdoor learning particularly benefits pupils with attention difficulties, anxiety or social challenges. Tracking these patterns helps us target provision effectively and ensure it benefits all students.