LTL interviews Christine Gilbert- Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, Ofsted- on the importance of school grounds

What were your childhood experiences of the grounds at school?
I spent my first school year in a primary school in Islington and have no memory at all of any grounds. My next school year was spent in a remote village school on the west coast of Ireland with mountains behind the school and sea in front. Today, that environment would be accurately described as a classroom without walls! Later I attended suburban primary and secondary schools both set in generous grounds. However, my only memory of using outdoor space at my secondary school in Hendon was for games and PE. I enjoyed sport enormously then and so very much appreciated the hockey field.

In your experience, how can the use of the grounds contribute to positive outcomes for children?
The short answer is quite considerably. With good planning, use of school grounds joins seamlessly with learning in the classroom providing a practical and ‘real’ dimension for pupils to practise and develop essential skills and knowledge. For example, a well-resourced outside area for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage is essential in developing all areas of learning; just think of the skills being developed as children learn to ride a tricycle around a simple obstacle course! Another example would be a trail around the grounds, promoting skills in simple orienteering as well as extending a range of other skills in, for instance, numeracy, science or geography. I know many schools use their grounds for rearing livestock or growing fruit and vegetables. Mathematics skills can be practised, and learning deepened, for example, by using shapes in the environment: a sports pitch or tessellating pattern of bricks. These experiences all add to the richness of the curriculum and help raise standards and improve pupils’ personal development. We published a very influential report about 18 months ago called Learning outside the classroom: how far should you go? Its findings have been disseminated widely and the report is the subject of many presentations to schools and local authorities.

When assessing a school's performance, how do inspectors judge the use of school grounds as learning spaces?
Inspectors look at two dimensions here. The first is about the quality of the provision, and inspectors look at the relevance of the curriculum to the needs of individuals and groups of pupils and its impact on all outcomes. Within this ‘big picture’, schools will be able to identify how the use of the grounds contributes as an important part of the curriculum and meets the needs of different groups of pupils. A good school will view whatever outside space is available to them as a learning area. The second dimension is about outcomes for pupils. In other words, inspectors will want to know what difference the provision makes to pupils’ learning and personal development. Schools should be able to tell inspectors exactly how learning outside the classroom has helped pupils improve their skills and their personal attributes. In discussions with pupils, inspectors will be able to assess the impact of their experiences outside the classroom. In short, learning outside the classroom is most successful when it is an integral element of long-term curriculum planning and closely linked to classroom activities.

What tips would you give schools about their grounds in order to improve overall performance?
In thinking about pointers to improvement, I can draw upon the findings of our inspections and, in particular, our survey report on learning outside the classroom. There are three areas that I would identify: