Getting children outside is good not only for the soul, but for their physical and mental health – throw in adventure, adrenaline, excitement, friends, challenge, and you have engaged, enthusiastic children who are building skills and memories as they go. Today more than ever we are keen to offer children experiences to help them move forward positively and confidently, reconnect with each other and with nature, and benefit from all that the outdoors has to offer.

Fun and excitement are obviously key elements of our activities, but inherent in the way we teach and lead the sessions is also the development of skills such as collaboration, leadership, problem-solving, risk assessment, decision making. Groups are encouraged to work together and to take appropriate levels of responsibility throughout the sessions. Children are helped to develop resiliency when trying new things, to overcome fears and anxieties and develop personal confidence when faced with challenges such as small spaces, dark, heights etc. We also include knowledge relevant to the activities such as history, geology and geography – contextual, experiential learning!

Rock Outdoors is committed to the well-being and personal development of every child and our programmes are as inclusive as they can be given their physically demanding nature. We are happy to adapt activities where possible so please call if you have particular needs.

Stand-alone experiences:

Half day outdoor activity: one activity from caving, climbing, abseiling, gorge-walking, team building – these can be for small or large groups, with an instructor/student ratio of max 1:9 or 1:12 depending on the activity.

Half day fire-lighting: (including toasting marshmallows!) and den-building (ratio 1:6)

Half day natural arts and crafts:  different activities such as rock-painting, weaving, observational drawing from natural objects, paper-making, natural mandalas, tie-dying material, etc. If your school or group are interested in a whole-group collaborative art activity, then please ask and we can discuss options. Whole school projects have included portraits, butterflies, painted rock paths, positive messages, decorated fences, etc.

Full day outdoor activities: this would be a combination of 2 two activities from the above list. Students bring their own packed lunches.

Programmes:
Navigation Course:

We are a registered provider of the National Navigation Award Scheme (NNAS), which offers two sets of navigation awards: the Outdoor Discovery Awards and the Navigator Awards. The  Outdoor Discovery Award is offered at primary level as it covers key skills at an age and developmentally appropriate format. It is hands-on, experiential, student-centred, and generally requires a minimum of 12 hours contact time per Star Award level depending on the age/ability of the group. Children are awarded One Star, Two Star and Three Star levels as they progress through the programme. These awards can be delivered at your school if preferred, though some time off site is always enjoyed! Click on this link for further details

Bespoke outdoor activity and learning programme:

We have developed a unique outdoor activity and learning programme which combines our outdoor adventure activities with bushcraft, navigation, environmental responsibility, and developing key outdoor skills and attitudes such as leadership, team work, responsibility, resiliency, problem-solving, reasoning and personal confidence. There are attainment targets in caving, climbing, knot-tying, abseiling, bushcraft, navigation and general attitudes and personal behaviour, all leading to an overall award of a Rock Outdoors level bronze, silver or gold. This programme is currently aimed at students 7-14 and can be adapted to meet the school’s availability of time. We have run it as a weekly half-day programme for a max group of 12 students throughout the academic year,  but this can be adapted depending on needs/objectives. In order to run the activities effectively, individual sessions are a half day (afternoon). Sessions will primarily be at Burrington Combe (BS40 7AT), (What3words:Appetite, Roughest, Issue), but we also use Wood Lane Quarry in Weston-super-Mare or can come to the school itself depending on the activity/ies

Holiday Programmes:

Based in Burrington Combe in the heart of the Mendips, we are able to take full advantage of all the outdoors has to offer in and around Base Camp. We also use locations in the Mendips, Weston Super Mare and the Brecon Beacons depending on the weather, group interests and abilities etc. These take place during major holidays and half terms, so something to keep children active and engaged when not at school!

Whatever your group we look forward to supporting your objectives and creating either individual sessions or extended programmes to meet your needs and getting children active and engaged outdoors, so please contact us to discuss possibilities. We look forward to working with you.

We also offer holiday programmes based in Burrington Combe and using locations in the Mendips, Weston Super Mare and the Brecon Beacons depending on the weather, group interests and abilities etc. Check our schedule to find the next programme.

Whatever your group we look forward to supporting your objectives and creating either individual sessions or extended programmes to meet your needs and get children active and engaged outdoors!