The Case for Outdoor Learning Has Never Been Stronger

Yesterday, Caroline Voaden MP introduced a ‘Ten Minute Rule Bill’ calling for a guaranteed minimum of outdoor learning for every child in England.

Responding to the proposed Outdoor Learning Bill, David Watts, Director of Outdoor Learning at UK Youth, said:

“We see the deep impact of outdoor learning first-hand through decades of delivering high-quality outdoor learning at Avon Tyrrell, our outdoor learning centre in the New Forest, where thousands of young people have the opportunity to experience, learn, and develop each year.

“That expertise underpins our Adventures Away from Home programme, delivered in partnership with DCMS, which has provided fully funded outdoor learning experiences, from single-day sessions to 3 day residentials, to disadvantaged and underrepresented young people across England. This year alone, the fund reached over 31,000 young people, with nearly half (46%) from the most deprived areas and 64% attending with little or no prior outdoor learning experience.

“The evidence from our work is clear: structured time outdoors builds confidence, resilience, and wellbeing in ways that other forms of support cannot replicate while also improving life chances. Our latest evaluation shows measurable gains in wellbeing across every indicator we track, with around six in ten young people reporting improvements in happiness, life satisfaction and sense of worth after taking part. Almost half told us they felt more confident to try new challenges as a result. The same evaluation found that 96% of group leaders said the experience helped them build stronger, more trusting relationships with the young people in their care, proof that the benefits extend well beyond the young people themselves, to the practitioners supporting them.

“Bursary-funded models like UK Youth’s, demonstrate that barriers to participation, including cost and transport, can be overcome through targeted investment and strong delivery partnerships between outdoor learning providers, schools and youth organisations. With an average cost of just £151 per young person, this represents a highly cost-effective investment when considered alongside the significant and lasting positive outcomes achieved.

“However, provision remains stubbornly unequal, and a child’s chances of a residential trip or even a youth work session outside still depend too heavily on their family’s postcode.”

“We recognise that Ten-Minute Rule Bills rarely become law without government backing, but their value lies in raising the profile of an issue and testing the appetite of the House.

“We are very grateful for Caroline Voaden MP’s sustained work on this topic, including her Early Day Motion calling on the Secretary of State for Education to review the evidence base for outdoor education, and her consistent advocacy for outdoor learning on the Education Select Committee.

“We would encourage the government to take up the substance of the Bill and build on models like Adventures Away from Home to deliver on its promises to young people made in the National Youth Strategy.”

Learn more:

• UK Youth’s recommendations for policy changes that would unlock outdoor learning’s life changing impact for even more young people https://www.ukyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Outdoor-Learning-Policy-Report-4_compressed.pdf
• The impact of UK Youth’s Adventures Away From Home Fund: https://www.ukyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2025.09_AAFH-Evaluation-Report-FINAL-v2.pdf
• Book your own outdoor learning experience at Avon Tyrrell https://avontyrrell.org.uk/

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