LOTC Welcome

Welcome to our Learning Outside the Classroom pages
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Please click on the classes to view an insight to our learning outside the classroom for 2024-25
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LOTC Policy

NURSERY
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June 2025
‍This week we learnt about Saint Francis of Assisi who is known for his love of nature and animals. We went on a nature walk and spotted many birds, rabbits, insects, squirrels, flowers and plants growing. We found lots of fruit and veg growing at Forest School and talked about where our food comes from and how God provides us with the food we need. Once back at the classroom we decided to be more like Saint Francis by making bird feeders. We covered pine cones in lard and bird seed then hung them up in the trees. We learnt that we must help to care for God’s beautiful world.

May 2025
‍In Forest School this term we have been pond dipping. We carefully scooped out some pond water then looked to see what was moving in the tray. We used magnifying glasses to look at the pond creatures up close and identified them on the pond ID sheet. We found tadpoles, pond skaters, water boatman, pond snails, water lice, and water beetles. We noticed some lived in the water and some on top. We also noticed damsel flies and dragonflies flying around the pond.

April 2025
‍In Learning Outside the Classroom this week we found some little characters and decided we should make them houses. We worked in groups to use the natural materials around Forest School to make them homes. The children used great problem solving skills as it kept falling down to start with, so they had to think of ways to change it to make it stand up. The children then got very creative and added lots of decorations, a carpet, chairs etc. They worked well as teams listening and helping each other.

March 2025
‍The children had a brilliant morning when the construction company Barhale came in to teach them about construction vehicles and the safety around this.The children first learnt about the importance of wearing protective gear like a hi-vis jacket, a helmet, goggles and gloves. Once they were all kitted up they got to ride on a variety of construction vehicles to move bricks, stones and pipes. Their challenge was to fit a new water pipeline in the sand.
The children really enjoyed themselves and learnt a lot about people who help us.

February 2025
‍To celebrate Chinese New Year we made our own paint and usedit to write some chinese numbers. First we thought about what natural materials we could use around Forest School to make our paint. The children thought of: soil for brown, berries for purple, grass for green and charcoal from the fire pit for black. We mixed these with some water to make paint then painted some chinese numbers onto paper. Some children enjoyed painting patterns onto the stones and logs.

December 2024
The children have been using the wooden planks and a pallet to create obstacle courses for each other. They had lots of fun designing and creating their courses for each other then testing them out. The pallet then became the island and the grass became lava and they were helping each other across the wooden planks to safety. They used great imagination, problem solving, collaboration and decision making to reach their goal.

November 2024
‍Nursery have been exploring the natural world as part of our science learning. We have been looking for bugs that like the wet autumn weather and thinking about where they live. We used our magnifying glasses to look closely at the shapes and patterns on the slugs, snails, worms and woodlice that we found.

October 2024
‍We have had a fun half term at Forest School. We have been onscavenger hunts, collected apples then made apple crumble, made autumn leafcrowns and have been on a muddy autumn walk. This week we had a campfire. Thechildren learnt how to stay safe when close to the fire. Then they helped tobuild the fire with tinder and kindling. Once it was started we took turns totoast a marshmallow and we sang campfire songs.

September 2024
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‍Nursery have had an exciting start to the year in our Forest School area. After becoming familiar with the Forest School/LOtC expectations and exploring the environment, we have acted out some of our favourite stories. We found Gruffalo footprints and went looking for him in the woods. We also went on a bear hunt and had to go through long, wavy grass, through the deep, cold river (puddle) and in the thick, oozy mud. We also found a selection of beautiful leaves and did some leaf painting with them.

We have now moved onto our topic on autumn starting with an autumn walk and finding lots of autumn treasures.

RECEPTION
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June 2025
We learnt about maps. We explored our school playground and added different features, play equipment, plants and even mini beasts to blank school grounds map.

May 2025
In Reception, children did some gardening. We weeded our patch where our garlic is growing and we planted raspberry, strawberry and sugar snap seedlings.

February 2025
In preparation for Ash Wednesday we thought of some mistakes we had made when we were not kind to others. We recorded those on pieces of paper, which we burnt on a tray to show that we will try not to make these mistakes again. We used the ashes to make a paste with which we all drew a cross on a purple piece of paper to express that we will try to be more like Jesus.

January 2025
‍Reception children explored ice and frost. We created sometransient art in pots of water and left it overnight to freeze. We then watched it melt. We went on a frosty walk as well. When it got warmer, we planted garlic in our outdoor classroom.

December 2024
‍In December, reception children had an opportunity to paint with mud paint using handmade paint brushes previously made out of natural resources found in the forest school area. In the last session of Learning Outside the Classroom this term, children have been making bird feeders using natural resources like pine cones, covering them in fat and seeds. We were then hanging them on the trees around the playground to help birds survive the winter months.

November 2024
In November, Reception children have been learning about various celebrations. They created a poppy wreath to mark Remembrance Day and diya lights while learning about Diwali. They laid the wreath in the prayer garden, lit a candle and observed a minute of silence. For Diwali, after reading the story of Rama and Sita, children arranged and lit their diya lights in the forest school area.

October 2024
‍In October, Reception children enjoyed their outdoor PE lessons and observing changes in nature as the autumn approaches. We went on a sensory walk and created leaf artwork. We felt lucky to benefit from lovely weather every Friday in October!

September 2024
‍Reception class have been exploring the outdoor area while getting used to the rules for LOtC. We have been making use of sunny days to take our Art, Geography and science lessons outside using our senses, spotting the signs of approaching autumn and capturing our experiences in our artwork..

YEAR 1
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June 2025
Year 1 loved the trip to Frinton on Sea. We loved playing in the sea, finding shells and building bridges in the sand.

April 2025
This week in Outdoor Learning we took our science learning outside. We were learning how to identifywhether something is a plant. We thenhad to find plants which matched the criteria given such as a plant taller thanme, a plant that smells or a plant with a flower.This week in OutdoorLearning we took our science learning outside. We were learning how to identifywhether something is a plant. We thenhad to find plants which matched the criteria given such as a plant taller thanme, a plant that smells or a plant with a flower.

January 2025

December 2024
This December during our Learning Outside the Classroom in Year 1 we went on a school trip to Aldenham Country Park. In school, have been preparing for Christmas. We worked in teams to make our own Advent wreaths.

September 2024
‍In Year 1 our outdoor learning has focused on our geography topic – ‘ what is it like here?’ We have been following and creating maps. We have been looking at aerial views of the school and the grounds, finding features and drawing our own maps both by ourselves and within groups.

YEAR 2

June 2025
Maths - Making Fractions using our bodies and developing our teamwork skills
In our LOTC lesson today Miss Parmley put us into small groups. We had to then use our bodies to make ½ , 1/3 and ¼. This was quite hard and we had to communicate well with our team to ensure we had one person as the numerator, the denominator and then one person making the line to separate the numerator and denominator.

May 2025
In our Learning outside the Classroom lesson this week we went on a plant hunt around the KS1 area of the school. We have been learning about plants in our Science topic this half term and we were really surprised by how many different plants and flowers there is around school. We had to sketch the flowers and plants that we found and Miss Parmley gave us the challenge of trying to see if we could label them.

April 2025
During our LOTC lesson today talked about the different plants we have. On the way down to the Outdoor Classroom we went on signs of spring hunt and were excited to find different plants on the way.
We then proceeded to sketch all the different types of plants we could see and tried to name them. You can see the results of hunt in our sketch books.

March 2025
Using and Creating Maps
In our Outdoor Learning lessons in Year 2 this month we focused on exploring our playground and fields involving our new skill of using and creating maps. We used a real satellite view map of our school and surrounding areas to mark positions of the actual objects and then proceeded to describe where they are while also checking the accuracy of our markings. It was a very fun challenge!

February 2025
Photo Map Trail
In our LOTC lesson today, Miss Parmley explained to us that we were going to going on a photo map trail. She had taken different pictures of objects in the outside environment. We had to work with a partner to find the objects and write down where we had found them.

January 2025
‍In January during our Learning Outside the Classroom sessions in Year 2 we explored our senses of touch, hearing and sight on a wonderful winter walk around the school grounds. The morning was exceptionally cold and frosty so we had plenty of opportunities to test our senses. We touched many freezing items, played with the frost, looked at the beautiful view of the countryside and listened to the crunch of frost covered grass. We also took our Science lesson outside to our Outdoor Learning Area and were looking for different types of materials, both natural and man made. We found plenty of natural ones like wood, rocks, stones, parts of plants but also a lot of man made, like glass and metal but mostly parts of plastic rubbish like plastic wrappers, crisps packets etc. We used this opportunity to tidy the area and took all the rubbish with us to dispose of it in the right way.

December 2024
This December during our Learning Outside the Classroom session in Year 2 we continued working with the story of Snotty Dragon. We decided to show our predictions of the story continuation as a pantomime. We really enjoyed working as teams and watching each other's performances. In our last session this term we played festive games outside. We loved our made up game “Duck, duck, reindeer!”.

November 2024
‍Year 2 had a lot of different Learning Outside the Classroom opportunities this November. We started off with celebrating Remembrance Day by creating a special prayer and gathering in our Prayer Garden. The beautiful but cold weather let us enjoy making the bark and leaf rubbings in the Outdoor Learning Area which we could also explore later to look for a Sneezy Dragon! The dragon left a lot of snotty rubble which inspired us to create our own story trains to create possible continuations to this story. We also went outside in search of the minibeasts for our Science lesson..

October 2024
In October the weather was really nice so we had lots ofgreat Learning Outside the Classroom lessons in Year 2. We started off withsome number comparison using natural materials, we did some bark and leafrubbings and finished off with our favourite Autumn Scavenger Hunt and AutumnLeaves Hunt.

September 2024
‍In our Learning Outside the classroom in Year 2 we have been very busy this September. The weather was beautiful so we had an opportunity to look for and observe little creatures living in our Forest School area. We were carefully exploring different habitats like a huge bug hotel, woodland, our lovely pond and even the raised beds which we grow some vegetables in! We could spot plenty of different kinds of spiders, some lovely snails, butterflies and a few birds who were singing beautifully hidden in the trees. We also explored the area in search of objects we could later use in our Science lessons as we are learning about Habitats this half term. We found things which were alive, things that used to be alive and things that have never been alive. We collected various items like twigs, rocks, feathers and even mushrooms and some plastic rubbish. During our latest session, using the power of good teamwork we made some autumn tree art using only natural seasonal objects. We had so much fun!

YEAR 3
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May 2025
This term in Outdoor Learning we have been making the most of the beautiful weather! In English we wrote persuasive letters to someone we know and we took a walk to the local post box to post them. Lots of us have never sent a letter to someone before so it was very exciting to be able to carry our physical letters and send them ourselves! We have even started to receive replies now. We also had a guided reading lesson outside. One of our favourite things to do is change our Library books in Year 3. Once we have changed them, we buddy up and then read our new books with a partner outside. We love being outdoors!

April 2025
This term in Outdoor Learning we took our Art lesson outside. We have been learning how to draw using shapes and thought we would explore some of the shapes found on the play equipment outside. The climbing frame had lots of different shapes to draw including cuboids, cylinders, semi-circles, trapeziums, rectangles and more. We had to draw as many as we could in 10 minutes and then label them. It was so exciting seeing that shapes are everywhere! In another lesson we decided to explore the new sandpit. It was amazing, and we had to work in groups to build sandcastles. We discussed the texture and what you could do with sand. Then we were allowed to play and explore! We had so much fun! “It was the best day at school ever!”.

March 2025
We have had a busy month this month learning outside the classroom. At the beginning of the month we went on a visit to Celtic Harmony Camp, where we learnt all about the Stone Age to Bronze Age. We learnt about different stones and materials, built dens, went foraging in the woods and even helped to make soup! In class, we have been learning about pre-historic art. The children went on a nature walk, investigating a ‘natural palette’. We took some of these natural materials like flowers, leaves, berries and grass back to the classroom and tried to paint/mark make with them. It was interesting to see the colours they made.

February 2025
To finish our learning on the Bronze Age to Iron Age and begin our new topic on pre-historic art we decided to think what it must have been like to draw and create images using natural materials outside on rough surfaces this week. The children had the task of drawing things you might find in the outdoor learning environment. We mixed berries, mud, water and paint together, and used paint brushes, sticks and our fingers as tools. The children were incredibly creative and loved seeing what patterns they could make. We discussed how you wouldn’t have had a pencil to sign your name so you may have used your handprint or fingerprint. The paintings are proudly on display inYear 3!

January 2025
‍We have had a very exciting month in Year 3 in the outdoor learning area. We have been busy bringing our science and history learning outdoors and started the month by becoming ‘rock detectives’ which was a very popular activity as we love discovering new rocks in year 3. During one of our lessons in science, we created model clay fossils in a cup and then became palaeontologists and dug out our fossils! It was very fun to see what was left behind in the ‘sedimentary rock’. In History we have been learning about the Stone Age. For one of our activities, we created stone age houses using natural materials! Every group’s house looked different, but they were fantastic! We had round houses with leaves for roofs, and square houses with large wooden walls. Some of the children even thought about creating a model fire pit. They were very creative and showed excellent team work!

November 2024
‍We have had a very exciting month in Year 3 in the outdoor learning area. We began the month with a leaf sorting activity as we were amazed at how many leaves were covering the ground! We were allowed to sort them however we liked but each group decided to organise them the same – by colour! There were brown, green, orange, red and yellow leaves of all different sizes! We have also been busy creating nature portraits. This was lots of fun as we could only use natural materials found on the ground. We then played a game of guess who back in the classroom with the photos!

October 2024
We have been very busy in Year 3 in LOTC this month. We took our English learning outside and went on a nature walk to the outdoor learning area. The children were encouraged to use their senses and record what they could see, hear and feel outside. We were very lucky it was a lovely day! We used our fabulous words and phrases to go on and write Autumn themed free verse poems.

September 2024
‍We have been very busy in Year 3 in LOTC this month. The children have taken their RE learning outdoors whilst the weather has been nice. They were exploring a painting of The Holy Family – ‘The Millais Carpenter’, where they needed to recreate the scene and explore what each person within the family might be thinking and saying to one another. The children then performed a freeze frame to the rest of the group. It was a great way to talk about families, and why they are so special. We have also had a visit from an Egyptian Workshop this month for our History topic. The children spent the day around the school grounds ‘hunting’, making things, having a feast. It was a fantastic day spent outside the classroom learning in a hands on way.

YEAR 4
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June 2025
‍Year 4 have enjoyed taking their learning outside in June. Although we were careful to keep cool in the very hot weather. We had a lovely class picnic during the 60^thAnniversary celebrations. We also were fascinated to learn about the effects of earthquakes in Science. We have enjoyed practising athletics and are proud of the team that represented us at District Sports. We also enjoyed a special treat of class time in the sandpit. We liked learning about different jobs and careers during Careers Afternoon,

May 2025
‍Year 4 have enjoyed learning outdoors in May. We went on a trip to Tring Natural History Museum and identified mystery animals by the features of their skeletons in a workshop. We also enjoyed following a trail around the museum. In science we went on a leaf hunt and designed our own classification trees to sort the leaves. We also went on a ‘bird’ hunt and used research tools to identify the mystery birds by their features. In PE we practised for Sports Day and also developed our batting and bowling skills.

April 2025
‍Year 4 have enjoyed taking their learning outside the classroom this month. In English, we used the drama technique of freeze frame to explore how the characters in the book Greta and the Giants felt at different points in the story. We have also built up our fitness and stamina running on the daily mile track. We have reflected in the Prayer Garden. We also enjoyed our cricket lessons in PE.

March 2025
‍Year 4 have continued to enjoy our learning outside the classroom this month. We have conducted Science experiments on sound, where we investigated if a sound got louder or quieter the further away we were from the source of the sound. We also thought about how we could improve this investigation.
We also completed our Stations of the Cross Activity outside and have completed Collective worship outside. We have also enjoyed working on our batting and bowling skills in cricket.

February 2025
‍In Year 4 this month we have been continuing to enjoy our outdoor learning and have done a range of activities. We have taken our RSE learning outside with some role play thinking about safe and unsafe behaviours. In one of our English lessons we searched for clues and used them to solve the Mystery of the Strange Egg - which led to newspaper report writing. We also enjoyed spending time outside with our reception class buddies for Number Day.

January 2025
‍In Year 4 we have been continuing to enjoy our outdoor learning this January and have done a range of activities. We have taken our geography outside with a session where we had to give our partners directions to follow a route. We took our maths outside with a data collecting lesson and in science we went outside to investigate solids, liquids and gases. We will also be investigating a mystery and taking our RSE learning outside with some role play.

28th November 2024
‍In History we have been investigating why the Roman army was so effective. Today we did some army training and practised battle formations including the tortoise and the wedge.

21st November 2024
‍We designed and created Roman shields using things that we found in the outdoor area.

14th November 2024
‍We used maths key words and the things in the outdoor classroom to create maths problems which we challenged others to solve..

7th November 2024
‍We learnt about how energy is transferred in a circuit from a battery charge, to light a bulb.

October 2024
‍Science Outdoor learning
We learnt about the food chain that includes the snow hare and lynx by being a snow hare and being prey or a lynx and being a predator we also investigated how changing numbers of prey or predators affected the other.

YEAR 5
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June 2025
Year 5 took part in the Welwyn Hatfield Games for Year 5 at Gosling. The children all took part in a carousel of events including tug of war, archery and dodgeball. At the end there were relay races and sprints. We were proud to win the boys relay race against other local primary schools and come 2^nd in the boy and girl sprint.

May 2025
In May, Year 5 had an exciting trip to Hampton Court Palace to link with our history topic about King Henry V111. We investigated King Henry’s apartments and also visited the kitchens. Back at school we used a chart to identify the types of trees in the school grounds from the shape of the leaves. As May is the month of Mary we also spent time in the prayer garden saying the Rosary.

January 2025
‍In January Year 5 used natural materials to make a wind chime for the school grounds. As part of our science lesson on the solar system we recreated how the planets orbit the sun. To practice our fractions in maths, children had to find a fraction hid in the outside classroom and find another children with an equivalent fraction.

October 2024
Year 5 have enjoyed doing some close observational drawing and sketching in the outside area. We focused on scale and shading. We also used our senses to write descriptive sentences about the school grounds.

September 2024
‍Year 5 enjoyed following instructions to make paper aeroplanes. They had to work together with a partner to read and follow the instructions and then we tested out how far their aeroplanes could fly! We took some maths learning outside and children had to create calculations using natural objects. For example a leaf equals 7 and a stone 10. Children enjoyed experimenting with different strategies for making target numbers.

YEAR 6
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June 2025
Team Games Fun!
This term in Year 6, we've been enjoying a variety of team games that focus on collaboration, communication, and having fun together. It's been great to see everyone working as a team, supporting one another, and showing great sportsmanship while playing. These activities not only help us stay active but also build stronger friendships and teamwork skills.

May 2025
SATs Celebration
After completing our SATs, we celebrated with some well-deserved fun—roasting s'mores in Forest School and enjoying a variety of activities out on the field.

March 2025
27th March - Gardening at Forest School
Year 6 took part in a hands-on gardening session at Forest School, where they planted potatoes and radishes in the designated planting beds. The children learned about soil preparation, seed spacing, and the importance of caring for plants as they grow. This experience helped them understand the food-growing process and fostered a sense of responsibility towards nature. Everyone is excited to watch the plants develop in the coming weeks.

March 2025
6th March - Art
During our Forest School session, children engaged in creative activities using natural materials found in the woodland area. They collected leaves, twigs, stones, and flowers to craft unique pieces of art. Some created nature collages, while others built small sculptures inspired by the environment around them. This activity encouraged creativity, problem-solving, and a deeper appreciation for the beauty of nature.