Grounds for Learning

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GROUNDS FOR LEARNING

Children may spend up to 25% of their school day in the grounds, many of which consist of tarmac or grass. The aim of Grounds for Learning is to transform under-used playgrounds into stimulating outdoor space to support all areas of the 5 - 14 and Early Years Curriculum.

Features include child-centred landscapes with opportunities for imaginative play and socialising with seats and quiet areas. A variety of habitats encourage wildlife and provide a range of experiences of growing trees, flowers, fruit and vegetables. Such resources enhance many subject areas within the 5 - 14 curriculum and personal development.

Educational establishments can apply for grant aid to support these developments. FEL is the local delivery mechanism for the nationwide Grounds for Learning (GfL) initiative and co-ordinates the Stirling Grounds for Learning Partnership.

Our team at FEL offers a support service for schools, nurseries, out-of-school care and pre-school groups in the Stirling area. We help teachers and support staff to give children the chance to cover all areas of the curriculum using the outdoor environment. We can deliver this help in a variety of ways:

Outreach Programme

boys minibeast hunting in a logpile

bridge and stones

woodland walk

wildlife planting

Through our outreach programme of support for schools, nurseries, out-of-school care centres, early years educators, we offer advice, training and sometimes grants to support teaching the curriculum outdoors. Some information is also available here online. This includes help with:

Surveys
Biodiversity Survey Sheet (1)
Biodiversity Survey Sheet (2)

Design and planning of your outdoor space

Suppliers
Our list of suggested suppliers
Underground information
NB Read this before you dig!
1)Underground mapping information
2)Details of companies which deal with underground damage prevention

On-going maintenance of your grounds
Maintenance advice

Curriculum planning
See how much of the curriculum can be delivered outdoors

Growing food
An easy guide to what to grow and when

Wildlife gardening and tree planting
Sensory experiences information
Scavenger hunt sheet
List of topics covered by materials available in FEL's Resource Library

Art projects and imaginative play
Things to learn from planting and growing
A treasure hunt (early years)
A list of planting themes for ideas for using your school grounds for inspiration and resources

GFL funding
Educational establishments can apply to FEL for grant aid to support school grounds developments, as FEL is the local delivery mechanism for the nationwide Grounds for Learning (GfL) grant. See below for more details or contact us.

Further funding information

Bright New Scotland : pdf on funding sources
National Children's Bureau: Children's Play Information Service factsheet on how to raise funding for playgrounds
Eco Schools Scotland also have a useful page on funding on their website
A new fund not mentioned above is Playground Partnerships
Another local fund for Clackmannanshire and Stirling only is the Clackmannanshire and Stirling Environment Trust Landfill communities fund

Please note FEL takes no responsibility for content contained in the above websites.

Grounds for Learning Grants

There are grants available for school grounds development in the Stirling area. There are two grant schemes:

Stirling Grounds for Learning Partnership Grant Scheme - This is funded by Stirling Council in partnership with Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), and co-ordinated by Forth Environment Link. It exists to encourage schools and other establishments to plan and carry out improvements in their grounds for educational, recreational and environmental purposes.
Special Development Award - FEL co-ordinates this innovative grant scheme on behalf of the Stirling Grounds for Learning Partnership.
Three primary schools in the Stirling area - Gartmore PS,Kincardine-in-Menteith PS , East Plean PS- have so far benefited from this cash award which enabled them to work as a team with FEL project staff and Susan Humphries. Susan is a renowned environmental educator and the inspiration behind the Coombes
infant school in Berkshire, which leads the world in innovative holistic education. Development of the use of the grounds in the curriculum with the whole school community has led each school to an enhanced relationship with its outdoor space
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Kinder Garden Project

We worked with the staff, children and parents at eight nurseries in Social Inclusion areas of Stirling Council to help them to develop their outdoor areas for teaching and play along Grounds for Learning principles. The project, funded by the New Opportunities Fund (now The Big Lottery Fund) started in November 2004 and ran for two years. Click on each nursery for more information on their activities:

Baker Street Nursery School

Cornton Nursery School

Cowie Nursery School

East Plean Nursery School

Fallin Nursery School & OSC

Hillview C & FC

Raploch Castleview C&FC

St. Ninian’s Nursery School

Biodiversity Project

Biodiversity has a key role to play in helping children understand the importance of a healthy environment. FEL's Biodiversity Officer works with schools and community groups to help spread the message in an exciting and stimulating way. Find out more about our biodiversity work.

Training

In-house staff training sessions in all aspects of use of outdoor resources is available from FEL's Grounds for Learning team. In addition, we offer Stirling headteachers the opportunity to make a two-day "Heading Out" study tour to Coombes School in Berkshire, which has become a benchmark for good practice in outdoor curriculum delivery.

FEL Resources Library

Our free Resource Library houses over 4,000 items, including books, videos, audio tapes, posters, games and activities on all aspects of the environment and sustainable living. Many of the resources are specifically aimed at teachers and children. Grounds for Learning has a large section of the library devoted to outdoor learning. In addition, we have a number of activity trunks and story sacks for use by teachers, parents and carers to capture the imagination of children of all ages.

Grounds for Learning Scotland

Grounds for Learning logo

We work closely with Grounds for Learning Scotland.

©2006 Forth Environment Link, Room 7, Stirling Business Centre, Wellgreen Place, Stirling FK8 2DZ
Tel: 01786 449215 To find us see map
info@forthenvironmentlink.org • www.forthenvironmentlink.org