Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) has been a key part of our curriculum for over a decade and was formally recognised in 2016 when we were awarded the LOtC Mark at Bronze level. Since then, we have continued to strengthen and extend this work, achieving Silver and then Gold, and we are now reapplying for Gold.

Each class plans purposeful opportunities across the curriculum to learn in a range of spaces beyond the traditional classroom. Pupils write and sketch in our outdoor learning areas, grow and harvest produce in the edible playground beds, apply mathematical skills in local shops, explore wildlife along the canal and metro lines, survey traffic as part of fieldwork and visit places of worship such as Holy Trinity Church. Our grounds, including the forest, pond, outdoor classroom and wider outdoor spaces, are used regularly to deepen understanding and provide meaningful context for learning.

Learning Outside the Classroom at Lyng is no longer an initiative but an embedded approach to teaching, ensuring that pupils experience hands-on, real-world learning as a natural part of school life.

There are many benefits of ‘Classrooms without Walls’, here a few of them:

Improved academic performance and engagement.
Enhanced social and emotional development of learners.
Increased physical activity and appreciation of the natural world.
Development of life skills such as teamwork and communication.
Opportunities for personal growth and increased self-confidence.
Develop a greater cultural understanding.
Broadens horizons and raises aspirations.

Whether it is writing a story in the woods, working out the change in a shop or using a timetable at the bus station, LOtC offers an incredible opportunity for our students to grow, explore, and develop in ways that simply are not possible in the classroom. We are passionate about making sure that every child at Lyng Primary School has the chance to experience the world beyond the walls of the classroom, and to discover the joys of lifelong learning, whatever their age, ability or background.
By encouraging and supporting teachers to teach anywhere, children will understand that they can learn everywhere. Their learning will not be confined to desks and chairs in a classroom, but opened up to the word around them. Upon leaving our school, children will be confident, happy and always ready to learn.

From this location in our Local Learning Area,  pupils observed canal, motorway, rail and air transport, applying geographical vocabulary in a real-world context before revisiting and deepening learning back in the classroom.
experience → understanding → vocabulary

A pupil exploring the Moon landing through freeze frame drama, deepening her understanding of character and atmosphere before applying this knowledge in extended writing.
experience → understanding → writing

Our Local Learning Area (LLA) is the area within roughly a 1km radius of the school that we use regularly for learning beyond the classroom. It allows pupils to apply their learning in real, familiar contexts across the curriculum, making it meaningful and memorable. The map below shows the boundary of this area and highlights the rich resources on our doorstep in West Bromwich, including local streets, green spaces, places of worship, businesses, services and sites of historical interest. All visits within the LLA are carefully planned and risk assessed, enabling staff to use the local area confidently and often as a natural extension of the classroom without the need for extra paperwork or permission slips.