KILPIN ROOM
Residential learning outside the classroom:
Achieving significant breakthroughs in learner engagement,
attainment in core subjects and teacher-student
relationships... and all in just one week!
Residential learning outside the classroom:
Achieving significant breakthroughs in learner engagement,
attainment in core subjects and teacher-student relationships...
and all in just one week!
Professor Sir Tim Brighouse
Paul Hamlyn Foundation
Peter Carne OBE
Paul Hamlyn Foundation
Sir Tim Brighouse
Learning Away Steering Group Member
Peter Carne
Learning Away Project Leader
What is Learning Away?
A five year action research programme.
One of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s special initiatives.
Supporting schools to develop, pilot & evaluate the impact of
innovative residential experiences as an integral part of the
curriculum.
A selected group of 50+ schools, clustered into 13 partnerships.
The key aim of Learning Way is to achieve significant shifts in
schools’ commitment to high quality residential learning
experiences for all their pupils.
How are we doing this?
 We’re trying to discover exactly what it is that’s so powerful
about residential learning.
 We’re trying to develop exemplary & innovative practice.
 We’re making the case for change (by finding compelling
evidence of positive impact & sharing this evidence).
 We’re developing a new website, resources, CPD materials &
case studies.
Learning Away’s guiding principles
Entitlement for all (not enrichment).
Inclusivity i.e. accessible to all pupils.
Integration with the curriculum (not an added extra).
Progression i.e. a progressive programme with a sequence of
coordinated residential experiences from age 4 to 18.
A wide range of residential experiences integrated with other
learning outside the classroom, school grounds & in class activities.
Active teacher & pupil involvement in the planning, delivery &
evaluation of the residentials.
Whole school change i.e. high quality residentials that lead to
changes in curriculum organisation & new pedagogical approaches.
What are our Learning Away schools doing?
Residential models offered include:
 Low cost camping (on school sites, locally & further afield)
 Youth hostelling
 Partnering with outdoor education, field study & heritage
providers (local authority, voluntary sector and commercial)
 Family programmes (using holiday cottages)
 School exchanges
Each partnership has a distinct identity & focuses on the
challenges/themes relevant to their context including:
 KS 2/3 transition
 Knowledge, skills & understanding at KS2
 GCSE attainment
 Resilience, confidence & wellbeing
 Community cohesion & cultural diversity
 Student leadership
 Co-construction
 Raising aspiration
 Family support
“Experiencing it made it all a lot
easier. We could write what we saw,
what we smelt, what it was like.”
Canterbury Academy, Kent – GCSE attainment residential
“When I was at Hampton Court there was just loads
of stuff to inspire me. I probably did more hours of
work in that one week than I did in the whole of this
term, I just had so much inspiration from it.”
”
Canterbury Academy, Kent – GCSE attainment residential
High quality residential learning programmes can:

Boost progress & attainment in core subjects

Improve student knowledge, understanding & skills in a range
of curriculum areas

Improve students’ engagement with their learning … leading to
improved school attendance & behaviour

Foster deeper student-teacher & student-student relationships

Enable teachers to widen & develop their pedagogical skills

Improve pupils’ transition experiences

Offer opportunities for student leadership & co-design of learning

Boost cohesion & sense of belonging

Improve students’ resilience, self-confidence & sense of wellbeing
Evaluation process
 Pupil surveys x3
 Staff surveys x3
 Parent survey
 Focus groups
 Some quantitative data collection – attainment, behaviour &
attendance
Early evaluation findings – pupil surveys
1. Attainment
2. Engagement
3. Confidence
4. Relationships
What are we finding out about why?
1. Attainment
We are discovering that high quality residential learning does appear to
boost attainment.
This seems to be the case because the teaching & learning approaches
used on residentials are different to those experienced by pupils at
school.
 Practical, context-based, problem-solving & collaborative activities
 More informal, equal relationships between staff & pupils that
promote pupils’ ownership of their learning
2. Learner engagement
There are signs that residentials promote deep engagement & engage
previously disaffected pupils & those with challenging behaviour.
There is also evidence that the engagement is sustained back at school
& evidence of improved achievement as a result.
Pupils’ evaluation responses demonstrate that they also believe their
attendance & behaviour improves as a result of the residential.
 Enjoy the pupil-centred collaborative approaches (e.g. being
involved in co-design & problem-solving tasks) & learning ‘by doing’
 Are undertaking challenging activities that provide new opportunities
to experience success
 Feel supported by their teachers & peers, with whom they enjoy
better relationships.
3. Relationships
Schools are succeeding in boosting relationships between staff & pupils
& between pupils during their residentials.
The residentials have enabled staff to build bridges with some pupils &
enabled some pupils to start to trust staff more.
Also evidence of improved peer relationships. Young people become
more tolerant & caring & develop a wider circle of friends.
These improved relationships are being sustained post-residential.
 Shared challenging, problem-solving & teamwork activities
 Working with others outside of normal friendship groups
 Extended time beyond the normal school day
 Opportunities provided by informal ‘down’ & social time
 Different places, dress, sleeping arrangements, food, etc.
Brilliant Residentials
Brilliant residentials are school visits with an overnight stay,
which are led by teachers, co-designed with pupils and fully
integrated into the curriculum.
They are like a ‘multi-tool’ for achieving vital educational
outcomes, have a huge impact on pupils of all ages and can
help to deliver whole school change.
learningaway@petercarne.co.uk
www.learningaway.org.uk
twitter.com/learningaway
First national conference: 21st March 2014
Residential learning outside the classroom:
Achieving significant breakthroughs in learner engagement,
attainment in core subjects and teacher-student
relationships... and all in just one week!