STEP Outside: Supporting education students to use outdoor spaces in their professional practice.

This project aims to enhance the learning and teaching of students in FHES by understanding the benefits that outside learning opportunities provide schools and children. Working alongside Teach Outdoors Ltd, which aims to encourage educators to utilise their outside spaces and natural areas sustainably and effectively to teach the curriculum, we aim to design and pilot a blended training course on NILE for students working with school age children as part of their education degrees. This will give education students at Northampton University an opportunity to explore how an outdoor environment can be utilised to support child development and used as an active learning tool. The training will provide undergraduates with skills to support future role as teachers, mentors and other occupations working with children and the accreditation of Outdoor Connections Facilitator.