School Grounds
The easiest first step to taking pupils outdoors is in your own school grounds. Across the UK more than half of all outdoor learning takes place within school grounds.
The School Grounds Topic has some natural overlap with Biodiversity, Food & the Environment, and Litter & Waste.
Our Resources
Dig Where You Stand
A Dandelion resource introducing some of the cultural traditions, folklore, customs and crafts associated with the growing year and harvest in Scotland.
Garden for Life Resources
Make your garden a haven for wildlife with the Garden for Life Forum.
Have a Grow!
A Dandelion resource offering all the guidance you’ll need to start growing.
Hurray for Dandelions!
Dandelions are often considered weeds but they are a source of pollen and nectar for insects in the Spring.
Mini Live Lesson with Froglife
We welcome British wildlife charity Froglife for a fantastic workshop all about pond building and creating wildlife habitats in schools and communities.
Place Standard Tool
A simple framework to structure conversations about place.
Pocket Garden
Create a pallet sized garden with plants you can eat, space for biodiversity and something reused.
Thinking About Food
Get pupils thinking differently about the food that they eat.
Trees Through the Seasons (5+)
To gain a deeper appreciation for nature and its rhythms through the seasons.
Totally Tatties
A Dandelion resource on how to get started with spuds including harvest and storage, different tattie varieties, tips to reduce plant pests and diseases and ideas for tattie activities.
Resources From Other Organisations
Build a Plastic Bottle Greenhouse
Build a functioning greenhouse from plastic bottles with instructions from RHS Campaign for School Gardening
Creative STAR Learning
Practical ideas about learning and playing outdoors including blogs, lessons and grant information. Written by Juliet Robertson, author of Messy Maths and Dirty Teaching: A Beginner's Guide to Learning Outdoors.
Grounds for Learning - The Playtime Revolution
A training resource created to demonstrate how free play in schools can support children’s learning.
Grounds for Learning - Outdoor Lesson Plans
Browse hundreds of lesson ideas for outdoor learning across all stages linked to CfE
Grounds for Learning - Teaching Maths Outdoors
Resources on mathematical thinking and learning outdoors packed with curriculum-linked activities.
International School Grounds Month
An annual celebration of school grounds around the world in May.
Learning Through Landscapes - School Grounds Audit Tool
An ideal starting place for schools looking to develop projects and funding bids.
Learning Through Landscapes - Outdoor Learning Audit Tool
A tool to look at outdoor learning at your school across age groups and curricular themes.
Learning Through Landscapes - Free School Grounds Resources
Loads of resources to enhance lessons outdoors. Includes games, crafts, cooking, creative writing and citizen science.
Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society - Gardening With Children
Activities focusing on gardening with children from The Caley.
Scottish Wildlife Trust - 30 Days Wild
Do something wild every day throughout June: 30 simple, fun and exciting Random Acts of Wildness.
Woodland Trust - Outdoor Learning Pack
Resources for primary teachers full of ideas for outdoor learning aligned to CfE
