Charting New Courses: Reflections from the new Head

Time outside builds confidence, sparks creativity and invites collaboration. It offers freedom not just to move, but to wonder, to pause, and to connect with the world in a different way.

Rooted in Nature: Nurturing Well-being Through Outdoor Exploration

At a time when children’s lives can so easily become overscheduled and screen-saturated, the simple act of stepping outside holds remarkable power. There is something quietly transformative about time in nature, something I have seen time and again in schools and that is clearly embraced at Langley Prep. The school’s extraordinary outdoor environment isn’t just a backdrop; it is an integral part of how children grow, learn and flourish.

The link between time spent outdoors and children’s well-being is well documented. Research continues to show the benefits for physical health, mental clarity, emotional regulation and resilience. But long before the research, the children already knew: a walk in the woods, a run across open fields, a muddy adventure with friends – these experiences don’t just lift the spirits, they restore something deeper.

Space to Explore, Time to Be

Langley is incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by acres of green space, woodland, trails and fresh air. However, it is not just the space itself that makes the difference, it is how it is used. From forest school to everyday outdoor learning, pupils are encouraged to explore, to notice, to create and to breathe. Time outside builds confidence, sparks creativity and invites collaboration. It offers freedom not just to move, but to wonder, to pause, and to connect with the world in a different way. Whether it’s a group of Pre-Prep children building dens or older pupils reflecting during a quiet walk, there is a sense of balance and belonging that the outdoors brings.

The natural world prompts children to observe, hypothesise, test and adapt.

Learning That Follows the Child

Langley’s approach to teaching and learning is child-centred, responsive, curious and rooted in the belief that children learn best when they feel emotionally safe and deeply engaged. The outdoors offers an extraordinary canvas for this kind of learning. Whether it’s measuring rainfall in maths, studying minibeasts in science or gathering vocabulary inspiration for descriptive writing, outdoor learning helps children see how knowledge connects to the world around them. It encourages questions that don’t always have neat answers, but ones that lead to real thinking and real discovery.

The natural world prompts children to observe, hypothesise, test and adapt. These are all key attributes of a rich and dynamic curriculum, and because the environment is ever-changing, no two lessons outside are ever the same. In this way, the curriculum becomes not just something delivered to pupils, but something experienced with them.

Learning from Denmark

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of accompanying children on a cultural exchange visit to Denmark and it left a lasting impression. In Danish schools, outdoor learning is not an added extra or a special event. It is part of the everyday rhythm. There is a beautiful simplicity to their approach: children are trusted, encouraged to play and problem-solve in all weathers, and taught from a young age that nature is not separate from learning, but central to it.

The concept of friluftsliv – ‘open-air living’ – runs deep in Scandinavian culture. It celebrates time outdoors as essential for well-being and happiness. It reminded me that when we give children consistent access to nature, we offer them something enduring: resilience, independence, and a quiet kind of joy.

Time outside is not a break from learning, but one of its richest forms.

Well-being Woven Through the Day

The joy of well-being at Langley Prep doesn’t come from a single lesson or initiative. It’s part of the rhythm of school life. There is a deep understanding that children thrive when they feel seen, valued and connected. The outdoors helps foster exactly that. It creates space for movement and reflection, conversation and calm, laughter and adventure.

In a world that moves fast, Langley Prep offers not only a rich and broad curriculum, a wealth of opportunities, and memories to last a lifetime, it also offers its pupils something increasingly rare. The time and space to slow down. To listen to the rustle of leaves, to run without purpose, to lie in the grass and to imagine. Time outside is not a break from learning, but one of its richest forms.

Nature doesn’t shout. It invites. It teaches us to be present, to look closely, to move with care. Langley’s grounds are, without doubt, one of its greatest teachers, and for its pupils, a source of well-being that will last long after they leave.