In Scotland, the government states that all children will have the opportunity to experience a four-night residential trip at some point during their time at school. With at least two-thirds of our educational experts based in Scotland, we took this opportunity to examine the role of education outside the classroom.

This week co-hosts Ross Borthwick and Isabel Rich are joined by Tom Mason, Head of Outdoor Learning, to discuss the value and impact of learning outside. Together, they look at the origins of outdoor education and its transition from the periphery of the education world to its central role in our understanding of wellbeing and child development.

Some of the resources mentioned in the episode or linked to it are listed below:

Learning Through Landscapes

https://ltl.org.uk/

The Field Studies Council, UK

https://www.field-studies-council.org/

The John Muir Trust

https://www.johnmuirtrust.org/

The Royal Geographical Society

https://www.rgs.org/

The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme

https://www.dofe.org/

The Outward Bound Trust, UK

https://www.outwardbound.org.uk/

The Adventure Society, UK

http://www.adventuresociety.co.uk/

PGL, UK

https://schoolsandgroups.pgl.co.uk/

Oppidan Education, UK

https://culdenfawestate.com/oppidan-camps-2/

Salem School, BadenWürrtemberg, Germany.

https://www.schule-schloss-salem.de/en/

Glenalmond College, Pertshire, Scotland.

https://www.glenalmondcollege.co.uk/

Gordonstoun School, Morayshire, Scotland.

https://www.gordonstoun.org.uk/

Kurt Hahn: Inspirational, Visionary, Outdoor and Experiential Educator

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kurt-Hahn-Inspirational-Visionary-Experiential/dp/9460914675?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A2D6DCNETSBBFU

Since the age of smart phones, navigating friendship, safety and self-esteem is ever more perilous and challenging for young people. Parents are seeing their children grow up in a world increasingly different from their own, while schools are having to adapt to a blurring of home life, school life and the online world.

In Episode 1 of Season 3 of The Rest is Education, we ask what an education centred around the child and seen through the eyes of a child might look like.

In this episode, David and Isabel are joined by Ramita Anand, educational consultant and founder of Elevate RA. Ramita has worked in many educational settings as a teacher and SENCO. She is the author Girl Elevated and presents the podcast Elevate, which can be found wherever you get your pods and here: https://www.elevate-ra.com/podcast/

Books or websites recommended or mentioned in the episode:

· The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: https://www.unicef.org.uk/what-we-do/un-convention-child-rights/

· OECD (2024), What Does Child Empowerment Mean Today?: Implications for Education and Well-being, Educational Research and Innovation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/8f80ce38-en.

· Girl Elevated https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60712996-girl-elevated

· Elevate RA https://www.elevate-ra.com/ book

· Jonathan Haidt https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-new-yorker-interview/jonathan-haidt-wants-you-to-take-away-your-kids-phone

· Marc Brackett – Permission to Feel & The Ruler Programme https://marcbrackett.com/permission-to-feel/

· Michael Ungar – I Still Love You https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24792938-i-still-love-you

· Lisa Demour – Untangled https://drlisadamour.com/books/untangled/ podcast Ask Lisa

· Becky Kennedy – Good Inside https://www.goodinside.com/

· Big Feelings – Mollie West Duffy & Liz Fosslien https://www.lizandmollie.com/big-feelings

· The School of Life https://www.theschooloflife.com/

· Elizabeth Day – Friendaholic https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/67353385-friendaholic

Email us: therestiseducation@gmail.com

In this week's episode, we discuss the mental health crisis affecting staff in schools and look at some of the best ways to help develop a supportive wellbeing culture in schools. David talks with Hilary Plant and John Ansell, both experts in their own fields and experienced at providing support for schools in this area.

Hilary is a local authority governor at a North London primary school. In addition to being the vice chair, link governor for SEND and inclusion and wellbeing governor, she is also a practising psychotherapist and has worked for many years in public health as a cancer nurse, researcher and senior manager.

John is an expert trainer specialising in data machine learning and data science and a leadership coach, who has worked for numerous schools and education groups on one-to-one coaching with leaders, mostly in the independent sector.

Some of the resources and websites mentioned in this episode include:

The Education Staff Wellbeing Charter can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter

On The Key, you can find a series of articles on workload and staff wellbeing, including a toolkit for line managers, You can sign up for a trial to access 3 free articles: https://schoolleaders.thekeysupport.com/staff/managing-school-staff/staff-wellbeing/

The Anna Freud Institute: https://www.annafreud.org/resources/schools-and-colleges/ten-ways-to-support-school-staff-wellbeing/

You can find John Ansell's coaching website here: https://www.johnansellcoaching.com/my-story

If you are concerned about your welfare or the welfare of someone else, please reach out to speak to a trusted friend or colleague. You can also contact the Samaritans for free at any time day or night on 116 123: https://www.samaritans.org/?nation=scotland

You can find out about the NEU (National Education Union) mental health charter here: https://neu.org.uk/latest/library/mental-health-charter

If you have any questions for the team, want to clarify anything we misunderstood or add further details to the discussion, you can email us at therestiseducation@gmail.com

Thank you, as always, for listening and supporting this podcast.

The Rest is Education