Outdoor Classroom Day

Resource type: Event

Price band: Free

Key stage: KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4, KS5, EYFS

Region(s): All of UK

Outdoor Classroom Day is a global movement to celebrate the wide-ranging benefits of outdoor learning and play. Outdoor Classroom Day takes place twice a year. In 2024, the first Outdoor Classroom Day took place in May and the second will take place on 7th November.

The Outdoor Classroom Day website offers a range of resources to support teachers interested in getting involved. These include:

A library of online guides.
A bank of free curriculum-linked activities for primary and secondary schools.
Outdoor Classroom Day certificate.

Cost: Free.

About Outdoor Classroom Day: The first Outdoor Classroom Day (originally known as Empty Classroom Day) took place in London in 2012. Now the world’s biggest celebration of outdoor play and learning, Outdoor Classroom Day is delivered in the UK and Ireland by Learning through Landscapes, the UK’s leading outdoor learning and play charity.

Further resources:

Download the National Literacy Trust’s free Hot Topic – Get Outdoors resource pack, containing book recommendations for pupils aged 4-14, adaptable writing activities, and ideas to promote oracy skills.
Explore the fascinating world of plants and trees with this booklist of fiction and non-fiction titles for KS2 pupils from Books for Topics or celebrate the delights of autumn with their Best Books about Autumn list for younger readers.
Find free outdoor lesson plans for EYFS, primary and secondary pupils that cover literacy and language and other areas of the curriculum on the Learning through Landscapes website.
Download CLPE’s free teaching sequence for last year’s CLiPPA-winning collection of nature-inspired poems, Marshmallow Clouds by Ted Kooser and Connie Wanek. Suitable for pupils aged 5-9.
Explore the range of free lesson plans, videos, activities, quizzes and games available from Earth Cubs, an award-winning educational content creator that uses the power of positive storytelling to teach primary pupils about the planet, sustainability and the Global Goals.
Hoopla is a monthly magazine for 5-10 year olds covering art, nature, science and cooking, with lots of suggested open-air activities.