Outdoor Classroom Day

Resource type: Event

Price band: Free

Key stage: KS1, KS2, KS3, EYFS

Region(s): All of UK

Outdoor Classroom Day is a global movement to celebrate the wide-ranging benefits of outdoor learning and play. Outdoor Classroom Day takes place twice a year. In 2026, the first Outdoor Classroom Day takes place on 21st May and the second will take place on 5th November.

The Outdoor Classroom Day website offers a range of resources to support teachers interested in getting involved. These include:

A library of online guides on the benefits of outdoor learning and how to get involved with Outdoor Classroom Day.
A bank of free curriculum-linked activities for primary and secondary schools.
Posters, letter templates and resources to help raise awareness of Outdoor Classroom Day with your community.
An Outdoor Classroom Day certificate to download.

Cost: Free.

About Outdoor Classroom Day: The first Outdoor Classroom Day (originally known as Empty Classroom Day) took place in London in 2012. Now the world’s biggest celebration of outdoor play and learning, Outdoor Classroom Day is delivered in the UK and Ireland by Learning through Landscapes, the UK’s leading outdoor learning and play charity.

Further resources:

Sign up for an immersive, interactive celebration of reading, music and imagination that inspires outdoor play on 20th May. Based on the picture book Stanley’s Stick by John Hegley and Neal Layton, the event is aimed at children aged 3-7 and hosted by the National Literacy Trust.
Download the National Literacy Trust’s free Hot Topic – Get Outdoors resource pack, containing book recommendations for pupils aged 4-14, adaptable writing activities, and ideas to promote oracy skills.
Find free outdoor lesson plans for EYFS, primary and secondary pupils that cover literacy and language and other areas of the curriculum on the Learning through Landscapes website.
Explore CLPE’s free primary teaching sequences created for a range of high-quality picture book on themes such as the urban environment, plants and trees, and animals and habitats. Sign up for their free membership to access the filters and download the teaching notes.
Download CLPE’s free teaching sequence for the 2023 CLiPPA-winning collection of nature-inspired poems, Marshmallow Clouds by Ted Kooser and Connie Wanek. Suitable for pupils aged 5-9.
Hear poems on the theme of Nature read out loud on the Children’s Poetry Archive and explore the range of resources provided to support the teaching of poetry in primary and secondary classrooms.
Find book recommendations to support the Growing Plants topic for EYFS and KS1 from Books for Topics, or celebrate the delights of the season with their Books About Spring list.
Scottish Book Trust has curated a selection of picture books that celebrate nature and being out and about for the youngest readers.
From exploring gardens and forests to discovering wildlife and seasonal change, celebrate all things outdoors with young readers aged 3-12+ with the recommendations on the Best Books for Children Who Love the Outdoors booklist from LoveReading4Kids.
Hoopla is a monthly magazine for 5-10 year olds covering art, nature, science and cooking, with lots of suggested open-air activities.