Debate contribution: Curriculum Mainstreaming and Strategy for Outdoor Learning in Schools
Debate contribution by Mrs Michelle Guy on .
- MLA
- Mrs Michelle Guy
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 24 November 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Committee Business
- Heading
- Curriculum Mainstreaming and Strategy for Outdoor Learning in Schools
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5254004
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Outdoor education is important, and I am pleased that we, as the Education Committee, have come together to support it. There are many challenges facing our education system, and there are many things that we worry about when it comes to our kids. However, outdoor education can help to meet those challenges in a strategic way. What things make us worry? The first is the physical and mental well-being of children and young people. Growing levels of mental health issues and reported levels of physical activity are really concerning, with only 21% of primary-school pupils and 16% of post-primary pupils meeting the recommended 60 minutes of activity a day. There is concern about how that will impact on our economy, society and health service in the long term. Outdoor education is proven to improve the physical and mental health of our children. We are also concerned about loneliness, social isolation and too much time being spent online. Outdoor education and instilling a love of the outdoors and physical activity from a young age improve children's social skills, build confidence and the ability to take risks and embed a love of nature and the outdoors that can last a lifetime. We also have major issues with attendance, which is a complicated issue, with individual circumstances behind each young person's not making it into school. Again, we have heard evidence of how outdoor learning improves young people's attendance rates. We also worry about some of our children being dysregulated in the classroom, or unable to learn due to their emotional state. Outdoor education supports that. The Independent Autism Reviewer, for example, provided a briefing for the Committee on the experience of autistic children with outdoor education. In that briefing, she highlighted the experience of Dara McAnulty, an award-winning naturalist and author. He spoke about liking school and desperately wanting to learn, but he found classrooms to be claustrophobic and distressing. The outdoors was where he could find peace and where his mind could focus. As we know, when environments are adapted to make them more accessible for one group, they often tend to become better for everyone. Outdoor education is not a novelty. It is a serious policy solution that could have major educational, health and societal benefits. It is about enhancing areas of the curriculum, including literacy, numeracy and STEM, by moving beyond the structured learning environment of the traditional classroom. It is an area that should have cross-departmental support. We know, however, that there are significant barriers for those who are trying to embrace more outdoor learning. Some schools have limited outdoor space or equipment and resources. So, too, do many wider communities. School staff and leadership need further support with training and guidance. There are also significant time pressures on staff. The benefits and challenges have been recognised by the Department and the Minister, and we know that the Minister has provided some capital for outdoor equipment. Some schools have, however, had issues with the conditions that have been placed on that funding. The question, then, is this: how much more focus will this area of the curriculum and policy get from the Department, especially in supporting its expansion beyond the early years and Foundation Stage of education? Outdoor education is proving to be so beneficial in the face of some of the most systemic issues that we face in education, and it deserves a lot more focus. A strategy would be helpful, but we should not miss out on making progress through the current curriculum review process. I have had contact from teachers who are keen to see that happening. They have bought into the great work of organisations such as NI Forest School Association and PlayBoard NI. I will end with two quotes from teachers in a report by Field Studies Ireland into the inclusion of outdoor education in primary schools here. One teacher said:
"Outdoor education should not be seen as an extra. It should be a core teaching strategy".
Another said:
"We need to move beyond thinking of outdoor education as a one-off event. It needs to be woven into everyday teaching".
687 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.93).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.93 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 1.00 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:52 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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