Studley Park Royal is a designated World Heritage Site in North Yorkshire.
Early Years (2-4)
Early Years (2-4)
In recent years there has been a cultural shift in our society that has reduced the access and use of outdoors for many young children.
A number of factors are blamed, including increased fear amongst adults in relation to children’s safety, anxieties about the threat of abduction, and technological advances leading to an overwhelming prominence of more sedentary indoor activities, such as television and computer games. However, the developmental needs of young children have remained constant and the outdoor environment continues to be essential to their health, development and well-being. Therefore, regular opportunities for sustained periods of play in a rich and stimulating outdoor environment offer a wide range of benefits to babies, toddlers and young children.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum, which covers children aged birth to the end of the Reception year, became statutory in September 2008 and places strong emphasis on the importance and value of daily outdoor experiences for children’s learning and development.
Learning outside the classroom supports the development of healthy and active lifestyles by offering children opportunities for physical activity, freedom and movement, and promoting a sense of well-being. It gives them contact with the natural world and offers them experiences that are unique to outdoors, such as direct contact with the weather and the seasons. Outdoor play also supports children’s problem-solving skills and nurtures their creativity, as well as providing rich opportunities for their developing imagination, inventiveness and resourcefulness.
And, of course, the outdoor environment offers more space than indoors and therefore is particularly important to those children who learn best through active movement. For many children, playing outdoors at their early years setting may be the only opportunity they have to play safely and freely while they learn to assess risk and develop the skills to manage new situations.
While many of these experiences will take place on-site, outdoor learning may also take place within the local community, for example a walk to the bakery, or past the building site on the way to the park. These off-site ‘expeditions’ offer both children and adults a catalyst for play and conversations. Ultimately, play and learning that flow seamlessly between indoors and outdoors make the most efficient use of resources and build on interests and enthusiasms. Forest Schools are growing in popularity across the UK and are increasingly offered as part of the early years curriculum in schools and settings.
Finally, parental involvement in children’s learning is particularly important in the early years as parents and carers are the child’s first educators. Early years settings, including children’s centres, are increasingly involving parents in developing and using their outdoor areas and in supporting other outdoor learning opportunities.
Suitable Venues
Stoke-on-Trent is world famous for its pottery and no visit to the city would be complete without experiencing this unique Museum.
Discover how bone china tableware was made in the original workshops and giant bottle kilns of the former Gladstone China Works, now preserved as the last complete Victorian Pottery factory in the country.
Charming 15th-century manor house with Arts and Crafts garden
This beautiful medieval manor sits in peaceful countryside. Cross the upper moat, passing barns, gatehouse and delightful parish church to enjoy fine oriel windows and the soldiers, griffons and monkey adorning the rooftops.
Romantic gardens offer terraces, topiary houses, gazebo, lily pond, roses and views across the spring-fed fishpond.
In the footsteps of giants...
Flanked by the wild North Atlantic Ocean and a landscape of dramatic cliffs, for centuries the Giant’s Causeway has inspired artists, stirred scientific debate and captured the imagination of all who see it. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Towering above the sea, this historic headland offers dramatic, panoramic views
The Dodman is the highest headland on the south Cornish coast. Offering spectacular views, this area is also of great archaeological interest.
A massive Iron Age earthwork, nearly 666m long and over 6m high, encloses the headland. Over 2,000 years ago, this earthwork could have housed a series of dwellings, known collectively as a promontory fort or cliff castle.
Broughton Castle is a moated and fortified manor house near Banbury in North Oxfordshire.
A world famous museum telling the story of the people of North East England during the Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian periods.
The story of Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian life is told by our costumed staff and volunteers in a unique living and working museum which hosts over 300,000 objects.
Nestling in 300 acres of countryside, Beamish boasts a railway station, a farm, a mill, a colliery village and police and fire stations.
Northamptonshire's heritage jewel
Chester Farm is an archaeologically and historically important site covering 34 hectares, which includes a large area designated as a Scheduled Monument and a complex of Grade II and Grade II* listed buildings.
The site is not currently open to the public so please do not visit unless by appointment.
Where can you do all these things in one day?
Wander wistfully through a wildflower meadow? Travel the world through Africa and China with the Gascoigne family? Come face-to-face with exotic feathery friends? Imagine yourself living in a grand Edwardian house? And enjoy a picnic while watching a herd of deer?
Lotherton Estate, of course!
'The loveliest place in the world'
Take this extraordinary glimpse into the beloved holiday home of the famous and much-loved author Agatha Christie and her family.
Greenbank House and its walled garden were built for Robert Allason in the 1760s. In 1962, the estate was purchased by William Blyth, who set to work transforming the garden into the design you see today. In 1976, William gifted Greenbank House and Garden to the NTS.
Cumbria's most famous residents
Includes sheep, cattle, dogs and geese. Large shop with sheepskin rugs, sheepy gifts, clothing, books etc
Come indoors and be enthralled & educated in our unique farm show. Includes sheep, cattle, dogs and geese. Large shop with sheepskin rugs, sheepy gifts, clothing, books etc. Our cafe serves hot meals & snacks. Licensed bar. Lots of free parking.
The Grant Museum of Zoology is the only remaining university zoological museum in London. It houses around 67,000 specimens, covering the whole Animal Kingdom.
A trip aboard an Edwardian River Launch in Oxford offers a taste of a slower life, where cares drift away with the gentle flow of the water and lifeâs pleasures can be enjoyed to their utmost. Great idea for a family day out in Oxfordshire.
Boasting stunning scenery, a temperate climate and a sheltered harbour, Canna is the most westerly of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, and also one of the most hospitable. Guided walks are possible by prior arrangement with the property manager.
For a great family day out in beautiful surroundings and the opportunity to see spectacular flying demonstrations, it’s a visit not to be missed. It’s also a great photography opportunity and courses with experts are also available. For a great present you can also book special experience days and get to handle the birds.
Fine 18th-century house with costume collection, hillside garden and estate. Home to the 'Paulise de Bush' costume collection, with over 9,000 outfits. Delightful hillside garden featuring rhododendrons, magnolias, and rare trees. Stunning parkland walks all year round.
Discovery centre brings history and the environment to life.
A local nature reserve and country park with a large lake and extensive woodland. A fairly wild sort place with natural features only, but a wonderful environment to explore, and free!
It is also the site of a Roman villa (although unfortunately there are no visible remains).
Georgian mansion filled with historic keyboard instruments set in rolling Repton parkland
Hatchlands Park was built in the 1750s for naval hero Admiral Edward Boscawen and his wife Fanny. They gave architect, Robert Adam, one of his first interior design commissions. His work can be seen throughout the house, particularly in ceilings and fireplaces.
A Georgian Italianate palace in an idyllic English landscape
A grand place for a truly entertaining day out.
A delightful garden, typical of the small country estates on the banks of the Clyde purchased by merchants and industrialists in the 18th and 19th centuries. Attractive features include a walled garden and a burn, winding through the wooded glen.
School visits are welcomed by prior arrangement.
A homely country house dated 1700 set in Victorian walled gardens at the foot of the Lincolnshire Wolds
‘I could live here!’, is what most people say when visiting Gunby Hall and Gardens. Modest-sized rooms full of character and charm make it easy to imagine you can move in yourself.
With links to Tennyson, Darwin and Vaughan-Williams there is so much to discover about the family home of the Massingberd family.
Once part of one of the most important 18th century picturesque landscapes in Scotland, an attractive woodland walk leads though spectacularly large Douglas firs (including one of the tallest trees in the country) to the amazing folly, Ossian's Hall overlooking the Black Linn waterfall.
The GWR is a steam and diesel heritage railway in the English Cotswolds. Since 1981, the volunteers have restored over 10 miles of line, together with platforms, buildings, steam and diesel locomotives and rolling stock. In addition to a scheduled service, GWR hosts a number of galas and enthusiast events.
A hidden gem which is well worth a visit
Herschel Park is a unique Grade II listed park, easily accessible in the centre of Slough. Consisting of the recently restored Victorian Pleasure Gardens and a newly created Nature Reserve, it has a rich history and amazing wildlife and plants to explore.
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