Many lessons talk about shower curtains, what is this about?
We use cut up white shower curtains as a background for children’s work, they make the work stand out and are easier to photograph. They are easily cleaned, waterproof and readily available from supermarkets. One shower curtain cut into four squares is the perfect size for most sessions. Asda and Ikea both stock them for around £2. Click here to watch a video explaining more.
Can we use our PE premium to pay for a Teach it Outside subscription?
Yes, using the PE premium for Teach it Outside subscription or to purchase one off lesson plans is an applicable and legitimate use of your PE premium.
“This funding doesn’t have to be ringfenced for PE lessons. Have you considered how to
enhance your children’s learning by thinking outside the box and encouraging other lessons to be active as well?’” (The Association for Physical Education (afPE)).
We’ve all got children in our class who don’t enjoy sport and because outdoor learning is active learning it provides another way to engage those pupils.
“We use some of our PE premium to pay for an active learning lesson subscription. It is a great way to combine the curriculum with being active.” Sports lead, Hyrstmount Junior School.
A Teach it Outside subscription can be used to make additional and sustainable improvements to the variety of physical activity your school provides, broadening and
strengthening your school’s capability for outdoor provision at the same time.
What is the reasoning behind working in four teams? Can the lesson plans work with smaller groups?
There are no hard and fast rules to this. We recommend four teams but if you have large classes or know that your class needs smaller numbers in each team, you may well need 5 or 6 teams. Every child should be engaged and involved in the team decisions made and this may require more groups. There is nothing to stop you using the resources with smaller number of groups too.
We only have a small space what natural materials do I need?
If you have no green areas, many of the resources offer alternatives, using chalk for example. Watch our video about working in playgrounds here. We have also produced a pdf with more information on natural materials and where to find them.
The lesson plans mention “use general guidelines when working with natural materials”
what and where are these?
Click here to download a pdf of our general guidelines for working with natural materials.
Do I need an additional risk assessment or are your health and safety guidelines
enough?
Yes, you will need your own risk assessment. We have written some helpful guidelines to help you write your risk assessments, click here to download. We also have a useful video on dynamic risk assessing which you can do before and during your session.
The health and safety guidelines on each lesson plan are to support your dynamic risk assessing. Click here to watch.
Do we need speciality clothing to go outside?
No, please read our advice on clothing here.
