Making the most of the weather to get out and about always seems to have a positive impact on my mood.  As well as at break times and after school, I have been pleased to see teachers making the most of our amazing school grounds to take appropriate learning tasks outside.  During my rambles, I have stumbled across performance poetry, drama rehearsals, senior pupils reading to Year 1, and small group revision sessions. I am sure there have been many more!

I think it was the Greek physician Hippocrates who asserted, “If you are in bad mood, go for a walk.  If you are still in a bad mood, go for another walk.”  So, can going outside, particularly if some movement is involved, really enhance your mental state and even your intellectual performance?  It appears so!  Researchers such as Miller and Zlatan (2016) found that going for a short walk outside increased students happiness, attentiveness and confidence, particularly when not in urban environments. Big claims, but are they really surprising?

We know about the many and varied physical benefits of movement and exercise, but we can sometimes appear to overlook that our minds and bodies are interlinked and parts of the same whole.  Should we therefore be taken aback that time outside in a relatively natural environment may well lead to stress reduction, increased alertness, better recall, more focus and a better ability to see problems from another perspective?  In an attempt to ensure I did not get too big for my boots, my father would at times suggest that psychology was often little more the common sense, and perhaps on this occasion he was right!  Our pupils are fortunate to have access to a wonderful environment and skilful teachers, who know them all well, enabling them to make the most of our setting to maximise their learning and wellbeing… as well as their vitamin D levels!