‘The best classroom and the richest cupboard are roofed by only sky.’

Margret Macmillan 1925

Coastal School enables our children to develop an inquisitive and positive relationship with the natural world. The Coastal School approach to learning can be summarised as one, which puts the child at the centre of their own learning. Coastal School is based on a fundamental respect for children and young people and for their capacity to instigate, test and maintain curiosity in the world around them.

Coastal School offers a unique educational experience and process that provides our children with the opportunities to thrive and develop; our children are stimulated by the outdoors and typically experience, over time, an increase in their self-belief, confidence, learning capacity, enthusiasm, communication and problem-solving skills and emotional well-being.

Coastal School promotes positive learning behaviours and attitudes, which enables our children to become resilient and independent learners, helping them to grow as individuals.

The benefits of attending Coastal School are many and far-reaching, but also difficult to measure. Below we list some, but by no means all, of the benefits of Coastal School on various aspects of a child’s life or development.

Coastal School encourages children to:

• How to be sensible, safe and responsible when using/enjoying the beach.
• Explore the effects that changing seasons and tides have on the coast.
• Understand sea defences, what hard and soft sea defences are.
• Take part in mini beach cleans, and why this is important for the environment.
• Explore the natural coastal environment.
• Explore how marine flora and fauna have adapted to survive in their environments and how different weather conditions affect them.
• Discuss pressures on the marine environment. E.g, marine pollution and overfishing.
• Discover marine protected areas.
• Identify different species and learn more about them.
• Explore and discover coastal habitats.
• Learn survival skills such as shelter building, fire lighting and cooking outdoors.

Coastal School can also:

• Develop physical abilities and help participants to stay active and healthy.
• Heighten self-awareness and improve emotional and social skills.
• Promote co-operative and group working.
• Encourage participants to take care of themselves and others.
• Foster care, appreciation and respect for wildlife and wild places.
• Broaden knowledge and understanding of the natural world.