A new OCR blog post on Nature Education in schools

A cross-posting from my blog on the GCSE Natural History. 

We are awaiting further news on this and I am hopeful of having something out for this summer that goes to a draft consultation. 

We may then - very potentally - have something ready for first teaching from 2027 (or more likely 2028...)

This is an excellent blog by Kim Polgreen and Joe Boyle of the University of Oxford. 

It was written for the OCR Blog and relates to the continuing preparations for the GCSE Natural History.

There's a focus on what Secondary schools can do in their own grounds and at low cost to offer potential for students to develop their thinking around natural history and its value.

They say:

From what we see in our own community in Oxfordshire, the fact that the GCSE has been mooted and now been confirmed has changed the conversation. Natural History is now a legitimate subject for teenagers to study at school.

And while we wait and prepare for the GCSE, there is a growing recognition of a more urgent set of “business drivers” for secondary schools to engage with nature and promote nature education. Student stress and mental health problems, student absence, teacher retention, inequality of attainment, parent stress, and even excess building heat and outdoor heat in the summer – these are all becoming overwhelming challenges for school leaders that can be helped by nature.

The blog refers to some research they have done on the way that young people relate to nature. The research is linked to here.

It finishes with 7 principles for working with young people...

These aim to help teachers and schools take advantage of cited opportunities: for wellbeing, skills development, brain development, alternative settings for learning and community building.

These are excellent and the emboldened bits are the the bits I like the most. I think some resources which relate to these would be very useful going forward.

We await the first draft specification for further consultation.

1. Experience nature first-hand. Hands-on is much much better than pictures. Contact with soil and plants supports gut health. Different outdoor spaces support different students.
2. Address key school issues. Thoughtfully-designed nature engagement activities can be used to build confidence, resilience, community, attendance and attainment, with benefits resonating through the school community.
3. Work close to school. Nature is everywhere. Lack of funds for a big trip doesn’t preclude getting out into nature locally or in school grounds. There are lichens on the school walls, a huge variety of species on playing fields and verges, and birds everywhere. A pile of dead wood or a small pond creates a mini ecosystem. Visiting areas near school, within the students’ own environment, cultivates place-based connection.
4. Diversify views of nature. nature can be studied through science and geography, but also through art, literature, history, drama, religion, philosophy, economics and maths. Examining the varied interrelationships between humans and nature through human history offers many entry points.
5. Embrace co-learning. Teachers don’t need to be experts, they can become learning coaches, discovering with and from their students, using the many tools available. Nature is such an immense topic that we’re all learning all the time.
6. Mediate with care. nature engagement is best when it’s led thoughtfully: managing expectations, involving students in risk assessments, accepting variable behaviour and remaining calm and confident will build students’ confidence and enjoyment, and support their ability to learn.
7. Work together and celebrate difference. People approach nature in different ways. Some are quiet observers, others are active workers. Nature spaces can help collaboration, allow individuals to thrive, and develop mutual appreciation and respect.

Read more here.

And check out the wider work of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery.