Many schools in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire know Matthew Daily-Hunt from his work at Stanley Head Outdoor Education Centre, where he was Course Coordinator for seven years before starting Outdoor Horizons. Matthew is a qualified and experienced teacher and is an Accredited Practitioner of the Institute for Outdoor Learning (APIOL), for whom he also mentors less experienced colleagues.
Outdoor Horizons is registered with the Adventure Activities Licensing Service as licensed to provide Climbing and Trekking activities to schools and other organisations.
In school activities start at £120 for a full school day. Travel to schools over 20 miles from Newcastle-under-Lyme may incur an additional charge. For after-school sessions please contact us for a quote.
Adventurous activities and environmental studies out of school cost a minimum £150 for a full day. This includes the use of any specialist equipment but excludes transport.
Outdoor Horizons is a signatory of the Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto and works with schools to extend learning beyond the classroom. We also support the view that outdoor learning provides a route to the Every Child Matters outcomes.
Team activities have been shown to help children and young people to cooperate, communicate, listen and respect each others ideas and abilities and so help in providing a positive school atmosphere. Research has also shown that adventurous activities contribute to personal development in terms of raised self-confidence, independence, self-esteem and sense of achievement.
Outdoor Horizons brings fun, cooperative, challenging team-building and problem-solving activities into your school, for all ages from KS1 to KS4. Activities can be organised either inside or out and include such favourites as Cross-Country Skis, Crossing the Acid River and Parachute Games, as well as an ever increasing number of new team games. We bring all the equipment and organise and lead the activities. All you need to provide is a hall or flat outdoor area and some teacher supervision.
We also offer the Young Navigator Star Awards from the National Navigation Award Scheme (www.nnas.org.uk). These awards teach map and compass skills in the classroom and school grounds and lead to a nationally recognised certificate and badge.
Bookings are for a full day, which can be split into as many sessions as you want, allowing you to concentrate on one class group, or involve many groups for shorter sessions during the day.
Outdoor activities and environmental studies
We have many years experience of introducing young people to adventurous activities, and currently work with groups ranging from Primary to Post-16. We are nationally licensed and insured to lead groups in these activities:
- Bouldering (rock scrambling)
- Rock climbing and abseiling
- Orienteering and navigation training
- Mountain and hill walking
Group sizes for these activities are limited for safety reasons; please discuss your individual needs with us so that we can provide a bespoke solution.
At Outdoor Horizons our qualified teachers are also experienced in using the outdoors as a classroom.
Days can be planned around the following themes, although the exact details can be adjusted to suit your curriculum needs:
- Rock studies, comparing limestone and gritstone (sandstone)
- Erosion and weathering; the action of water and ice on the landscape
- Man’s impact and influence on the natural landscape
- River studies, following the development of a river from its source, measuring depth, width and speed
- Pond studies, catching the creatures in a pond, classifying their variation and identifying their importance in food chains and as environmental indicators
With suitable adult supervision it is possible to take whole class groups on these environmental explorations. Most of these activities are based in the Peak District of North Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Cheshire, but it may be possible to use other areas if required.