Residentials and Outdoor Learning Opportunities

There are so many positive outcomes for children who take part in outdoor learning and visiting outdoor activity centres and we are very keen to make sure our children have as many of these opportunities as they progress through school.

We have been looking at progression of these opportunities from Early Years through to Year 6, starting from half day trips, to outdoor learning centres, to residential visits to outdoor activity centres.  We also understand that residential visits are an extra expense for parents so we have planned the following for children in school:

Early Years/Year 1 – Half a day visit in the year to an outdoor learning centre (for example, the Skylark Centre at Barlow or Ledston Hall

Year 2 and 3 – Three half day visits to Stockbridge (where children plant and harvest vegetables)

                         Full day visit to an outdoor learning centre (for example, the Skylark Centre)

Year 4/5 –  A three day, two night residential visit to Kingswood/Robinwood Activity Centre during the autumn term 

(This will be on a two year programme so your child will have one residential across the two years)

Year 6 – A three day, two night residential visit to Bewerley Park/Kingswood Activity Centre during the summer term                (after SATs) 

Residentials to the activity centre will have different challenges for Year 4/5 and Year 6.

This year we have booked for our Year 6 children to go to Robinwood in the summer term and there will be challenges planned by the centre for them.

Next academic year we have planned for next year’s Year 4/5s (current Year 3/4s) to go to Kingswood during the autumn term and next year’s Year 6 (current Year 5) to go to Kingswood during the summer term, after SATs.  Letters will go out on ParentPay very shortly with full details of when the trips are and the cost.

Unfortunately next year, Bewerley Park is fully booked already but hopefully, although it seems a long way off, the following year, our Year 6s will go there.  This year activities at Kingswood will be year appropriate.

We hope your child can go on these visits as they are so beneficial.  But, as residentials are an extra expense, we have tried to give you plenty of notice.

If you have any thoughts or concerns about the trips, please do not hesitate to come and see me.

Many thanks,

Mrs Fletcher