Natural Norbury – Learning Beyond the Classroom

What is Natural Norbury?

Natural Norbury is our approach to outdoor learning, inspired by the principles of Forest School and designed specifically for the children of Norbury Manor Primary School.

We believe that some of the most memorable learning happens when children have the opportunity to explore, investigate, create and solve problems for themselves.

Natural Norbury takes learning beyond the classroom and into our school grounds and natural environment. Children experience practical, first-hand learning that develops their knowledge and skills while encouraging curiosity, independence, confidence, creativity and resilience.

Most importantly, Natural Norbury is for every child. Activities are adapted so that pupils with different starting points and additional needs can participate, contribute and experience success.

Natural Norbury and Our Curriculum

Natural Norbury is an established part of our wider curriculum which we are continuing to develop and strengthen.

Every year group has planned Natural Norbury learning across the year, with at least two lessons each half term. Learning is linked to the progressive Natural Norbury skills identified on our curriculum maps.

Because the purpose of Natural Norbury is to provide first-hand experiences of the natural environment, most learning takes place outdoors.

Children may:

• explore plants, trees, wildlife and seasonal change;
• investigate habitats and minibeasts;
• build shelters and dens;
• work with natural materials;
• learn to use appropriate tools safely;
• create, design and construct;
• take part in practical environmental projects;
• solve problems individually and collaboratively;
• develop gardening and conservation skills; and
• reflect on and care for their natural environment.

Rather than completing activities simply because they are outdoors, our pupils are developing progressive knowledge and skills through purposeful experiences.

Learning Through Experience

Natural Norbury gives children opportunities to learn in ways that are difficult to reproduce inside a classroom.

A den that will not stand up becomes a problem to solve. A change in the weather prompts questions about seasons. Discovering an insect creates an opportunity to investigate habitats. Working with somebody else to move or construct something requires communication, negotiation and teamwork.

Children are encouraged to notice, question, investigate, try, adapt and try again.

This supports learning back in the classroom because children have real experiences on which to draw when talking, reading, writing, designing, calculating and explaining their ideas.

Developing the Whole Child

Natural Norbury is about much more than curriculum knowledge.

Outdoor learning provides opportunities for children to take appropriate risks, make decisions, solve problems and experience the consequences of their choices within carefully established boundaries.

Before outdoor learning begins, children are taught the rules, routines and boundaries that help everyone participate safely.

As their experience develops, pupils are encouraged to become increasingly responsible for themselves, one another, their equipment and the environment.

This helps develop:

Confidence and independence – having a go, making choices and completing practical tasks.

Resilience – persevering when something does not work the first time and adapting an approach.

Communication – explaining ideas, listening to others and working collaboratively.

Problem-solving – testing possibilities and deciding what might work.

Creativity – using natural materials and environments in imaginative ways.

Responsibility – caring for equipment, living things, one another and our school environment.

Wellbeing – spending purposeful time outdoors, connecting with nature and experiencing calm as well as challenge.

Natural Norbury and Our RESPECT Values

Natural Norbury gives children practical opportunities to live our RESPECT values, rather than simply talk about them.

Children demonstrate Resilience when they persevere with a difficult task; Empathy when they support somebody else; Scholarship when they investigate and ask questions; Peace when they learn to enjoy and respect the natural environment; Excellence when they improve their work; Community when they work together; and Thankfulness when they appreciate and care for the world around them.

Our Skills Builder skills are developed naturally alongside these values through activities involving teamwork, speaking, listening, problem-solving, creativity, leadership and adapting.

An Inclusive Curriculum

Natural Norbury is designed to provide opportunities for all pupils to succeed.

For some children, learning outdoors can remove barriers that they experience in more formal learning environments. Practical activities provide opportunities to communicate, collaborate and demonstrate strengths that may not always be as visible in written work.

Children with SEND are supported and activities can be adapted while maintaining the ambition of the learning. Children who are ready for greater challenge can be encouraged to work with increased independence, solve more complex problems, justify decisions or take leadership roles.

Some children may initially be less familiar or comfortable with outdoor learning. Adults therefore provide encouragement, modelling and appropriate support so that children gradually develop confidence and participate fully.

Natural Norbury in the Early Years

Outdoor exploration is particularly important in our Early Years provision.

Children are given planned opportunities to explore the natural environment, investigate, make choices, communicate their ideas and learn through practical experiences. Natural Norbury experiences can be captured within children's learning journeys.

These experiences support the Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning, including:

Playing and exploring – investigating, experiencing new things and being willing to have a go.

Active learning – becoming involved, concentrating, persevering and experiencing the satisfaction of achieving something.

Creating and thinking critically – developing ideas, making connections, testing approaches and finding different ways to solve problems.

As children progress through the school, these early experiences develop into increasingly purposeful and challenging outdoor learning.

Natural Norbury, Nurture and Wellbeing

Our approach to outdoor learning also complements our whole-school commitment to nurture and wellbeing.

Natural Norbury provides a different environment in which relationships can develop. Children can work alongside adults and their peers, talk while completing a shared task and experience achievement in practical ways.

Elements of our nurture approach can therefore be incorporated into Natural Norbury sessions where appropriate.

Sessions can include a welcoming activity and emotional check-in before children move into their Natural Norbury learning. Opportunities for exploration and child-led activity can follow the taught focus, with adults modelling positive interaction, communication and cooperation.

Sessions can conclude with reflection and relaxation, allowing pupils to think about what they have learned, what they found challenging, how they worked with others and how they felt.

Connecting Natural Norbury to Our Growing Curriculum

Natural Norbury also works alongside our Growing Curriculum.

Every year group has its own growing box and children progressively learn how to sow, plant, tend and harvest food. Our planting calendar deliberately links this learning to curriculum topics and Design and Technology food units – from Nursery growing lettuce and Reception growing runner beans through to older pupils growing tomatoes, herbs, broad beans, spring onions and pak choi.

Children also experience the changing garden throughout the year. Activities include composting leaves, creating habitats for wildlife, caring for birds and insects, investigating soil and worms and observing seasonal changes.

Together, Natural Norbury and our Growing Curriculum turn our school grounds into an extension of the classroom.

How We Know Children Are Learning

Natural Norbury is practical, so we do not want recording to become more important than the experience itself.

Teachers identify the Natural Norbury skill and learning objective being developed and use observation, questioning, discussion and children's practical work to understand how successfully pupils are applying their learning.

Leaders Today, Learners Tomorrow

Natural Norbury reflects our belief that education should prepare children for much more than their next lesson.

When children work together to build something, care for a living thing, investigate their environment, safely tackle something unfamiliar or persevere when an idea does not work, they are learning about themselves as well as the world around them.

They are learning to be curious, responsible, resilient and confident.

Natural Norbury helps us make every moment count – including the moments that happen outside the classroom.

Each year group maintains a Natural Norbury scrapbook, with at least two evidenced learning experiences each half term. Photographs and short explanations capture what children did and the skills they were developing.

This gives us a record of children's experiences and progression without unnecessarily taking them away from the practical learning that makes Natural Norbury special.