Outdoor Learning

Libra is unique to North Devon with outdoor learning and forest school resources offering practical outdoor learning for our children. Both offer opportunities to learn in a therapeutic environment. Children, however, also learn about the world around them and the importance of looking after our countryside for the future.

Libra values the importance of the natural world and so our forest school is an oasis for children to appreciate nature and the world around them. A real bond is developed over time with these unique spaces, and they are a great alternative learning space outside of the classroom to help children who have found mainstream education very difficult to engage with.

Our Outdoor Learning curriculum has built up gradually over several years and offers a huge range of opportunity for all the children across all key stages. It supports children to develop team working and respect for each other whilst in a working environment. At all times personal skills are being developed e.g. speaking and listening, meeting sensory need and helping to develop self-awareness and positive behaviours.

A wide range of animals can be used in mental health therapy, including dogs. Animals can offer an extraordinary amount of emotional support. Libra uses animals to help our children to navigate challenging emotional experiences.

Libra places great emphasis on raising children’s awareness of the environment around us, how food is produced and how to live healthily. We use the outdoors & forest school provisions to help develop engagement, confidence, self- esteem and personal awareness in order to have a positive impact on right choices and behaviour which in turn supports accelerated learning.

Edgemoor Court is now registered as and Eco School and our grounds are registered as an Education Nature Park. We are expanding our provision of habitats for wildlife, planting more trees and hedges and planting wildflower areas.  All of the above will enable us to further link the indoor curriculum with the outside world both locally and globally.

We are extremely proud of the work that is being done with children, It is innovative in terms of engaging children with their learning around the national curriculum but also in engaging them to appreciate and respect the world around them.