Build inclusive outdoor learning your school can sustain
Train a member of your team to lead evidence-based outdoor learning for pupils with SEND and social, emotional and mental health needs. Start with pupils who need the most support to take part, then use the same approach with whole classes or across your school.
EcoRanger Leader Level 3 Certificate · £999 per participant
Who EcoRangers supports
Start with a small group of pupils who need the most support to re-engage with learning. This can include pupils at risk of exclusion, pupils with low attendance or significant mental health needs, pupils who find it difficult to form relationships, and pupils with higher levels of special educational needs.
Once qualified, staff can adapt the approach to teach outdoors on or off the school site and widen participation to whole classes or across the school.
The impact of EcoRangers
Impact on pupils
- Improved pro-learning behaviours. Teachers saw pupils return to class more focused and ready to work independently.
- Better wellbeing and emotional regulation. In one school project, all eight pupils showed higher wellbeing and involvement scores in end-of-project Leuven observations.
- Stronger relationships and a sense of belonging. Pupils practised working together, found their voice and shared what they discovered.
- Example National Curriculum links.
Science: Identify and classify living things and compare habitats through sampling.
Geography: Use maps and fieldwork to investigate a local site and how people influence it.
English: Discuss observations, build vocabulary and present findings. - Social and emotional learning. Take turns, work through challenges together and reflect on what helped everyone take part.
- Confidence to take action for nature. Pupils developed a sense of wonder about their local environment and took practical steps to care for it.
Impact for leaders
- Confidence and competence teaching inclusively outdoors. Adapt activities and resources so pupils with different needs can take part.
- Plan and deliver with an evidence-based toolkit. Adapt session plans, schemes of work and curated resources for your pupils.
- Receive personalised feedback from Jason Wood, the course creator. Learn with other leaders through group mentoring, share ideas and draw inspiration from each other’s projects.
- Evaluate your own practice. Use your Evaluation Impact Report to review how your project supported pupils and what you could develop next.
Impact for schools and communities
- Stronger inclusion. Build the capacity to run targeted small-group projects and extend inclusive outdoor learning to more pupils.
- Stronger community partnerships. Work with local groups and businesses that care for the places around your school.
- Green skills and practical action. Support school climate action planning through projects linked to UN Sustainable Development Goals 13 (Climate Action) and 15 (Life on Land).
- Use the Evaluation Impact Report to guide what happens next. School leaders can review what pupils gained and decide how to adapt the approach or extend it to more pupils.
Example projects
Finding their voice and re-engaging in class
At Emmbrook Infant School, the project leader worked with teachers, school leaders and the SENCO to select eight Early Years and Key Stage 1 pupils who needed significant support to take part. Friends of the Emm Brook helped pupils explore local wildlife, Gavin Jones Landscaping brought in a beekeeper, and Varatio Gearboxes helped pupils build and install two hedgehog houses.
Pupils explored their local environment, asked questions about what they found, worked together and shared their discoveries. Teachers saw changes back in class. A child who had rarely spoken in class began chatting freely with friends. Another returned from sessions more focused and produced good independent work. The school went on to give all pupils the chance to complete EcoRangers and trained further staff.
“we love Eco Rangers! Thank you to you all for the difference you make.”
Grace Massarella, Headteacher, Emmbrook Infant School
Finding their voice through local conservation
Anna Clinch · Emmbrook Infant School
Teachers saw pupils speak up with peers and return to class more ready to learn.
Who took part. Eight pupils from Early Years and Key Stage 1. Anna worked with class teachers, school leaders and the SENCO to identify children who needed significant support with participation, communication, confidence or regulation.
Who helped. The Emmbrook School hosted activities. Friends of the Emm Brook led wildlife discovery. A beekeeper from Gavin Jones Landscaping brought a live hive and helped pupils make solitary bee shelters. Varatio Gearboxes helped pupils assemble and install two hedgehog houses.
What pupils did. Across six sessions, pupils explored the brook and hedgerow, identified moths and other wildlife, asked their own questions and made habitats from reclaimed materials. They practised listening and sharing what they had discovered, with activity choices and language adapted for younger pupils.
What changed. Teachers reported that a pupil who had rarely spoken in class began chatting freely with friends. Another returned from sessions more focused and produced good independent work. The project report also describes stronger communication and greater confidence with challenging tasks.
What the school built on. The school developed a whole-school approach with opportunities for pupils to build conservation and leadership skills as they progressed through the school.
A bug hotel built a sense of belonging
Jo Tandy · Emmbrook Infant School · Summer 2026
All eight pupils showed higher wellbeing and involvement in end-of-project Leuven observations.
Who took part. Eight pupils across Early Years, Year 1 and Year 2. Jo worked with school leaders, the SENDCO and class teachers to select pupils who would benefit from support with wellbeing, confidence, communication and taking part.
Who helped. Wokingham in Bloom, a Wokingham Town Council initiative, brought planting expertise and supported every session. Local company Secure Heat made and installed the permanent bug hotel using reclaimed materials.
What pupils did. Across six two-hour sessions, pupils hunted for minibeasts, explored textures, tidied the school garden, collected materials for the bug hotel and planted to attract pollinators. They shared ideas and took responsibility for creating a space the school could use.
What changed. Jo used the Leuven Scale at the start and end. All eight pupils improved in both observed measures. Pupils who were hesitant at first began joining in and suggesting activities. Jo recorded growing teamwork, confidence and pride in what they had made.
What the school can build on. The pupils left a permanent habitat and a garden future groups can care for. Jo recommended further planting, regular maintenance and collecting rainwater.
See more school projects
At Holt Copse, an Emmbrook Junior pupil who initially spoke only to the leaders was talking with volunteers and other pupils by the end.
Eight pupils built a bug hotel and planted for pollinators. Their leader recorded higher wellbeing and involvement scores for all eight in her start and end Leuven observations.
In a secondary project, pupils heard birdsong while making sound maps, chose a nest-box design and built five boxes from reclaimed wood.
“You’ve been an inspiration—not just personally, but for us as a Trust.”
“You have planted a seed in the Wokingham community whose roots continue to spread.”
“We have also been given the greatest gift of all, that of Jason’s time and experience.”
Railton Blyth, Director of Safeguarding, The Circle Trust
EcoRanger Leader Level 3 Certificate
What you get
- Six two-hour online group training and mentoring sessions, plus up to one hour of individual support.
- Curated schemes of work, session plans and learning resources to adapt for your pupils.
- Complete six learning reflections and receive detailed, personalised feedback from Jason to help you develop your own practice.
The EcoRanger Leader Level 3 Certificate is an unregulated Customised Qualification accredited by NCFE.
Talk to Jason about your school
Discuss the pupils you want to support, the spaces you have and how EcoRangers could work in your school. Calls last 20 minutes and take place on Google Meet.
