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The webinar explored how school-based orienteering can be used to enable schools to deliver effective outdoor and adventurous activities (OAA) within the PE curriculum.

Each participant was introduced to a range of practical examples of school-based orienteering and received information about how they can introduce orienteering in their school. They were also be provided with a FREE ACTIVITY PACK that will enable them to try out orienteering with their class.

Outdoor Adventurous Activities (OAA) can be described as physical and intellectual challenges which involve problem-solving and teamwork and which take place in an outdoor setting. The National Curriculum PE programmes of study include OAA within KS2, KS3 and KS4. However, despite the many potential benefits that taking part in OAA offers to young people, it is an element of the PE curriculum which some schools find challenging to deliver.
In their recent PE subject report, ‘Levelling the Playing Field’, OfSTED found that, with regards to OAA, “many schools do not match the ambition of the national curriculum”. In 3/4 of a sample of fifty primary and secondary schools, OfSTED found that “outdoor adventurous activities (OAA) are either not taught effectively or not taught at all” and that in some schools, “staff lacked competence and confidence” to teach OAA.

Orienteering activities which take place within the school site can make a major contribution to addressing the challenge of delivering high-quality OAA experiences to pupils, from KS2 – KS4. Although orienteering is often associated with the ‘great outdoors’, school sites can be an excellent place to introduce young people to orienteering. The basic physical infrastructure needed is a bespoke orienteering map of the school site and a set of orienteering control markers, which are installed around the school site and shown as ‘control points’ on the orienteering map. An orienteering course is therefore very cost-effective – orienteering does not require any expensive equipment or facilities and is very sustainable once a course has been installed. To use orienteering to its full potential, the school map should include features of an OS map, including colours to denote different areas, gridlines, a key, and a scale. Control markers should be durable, and each marker needs to include a unique set of information, meaning that students will always have to physically visit a control marker to record a selected item of information.

In its simplest form, doing school-based orienteering involves pupils being given a course around the school site which consists of a number of control points that they must visit. They use their orienteering map to locate each of the control points – and to show that they have visited them, they record some specified piece of information from each control marker e.g. the 3rd letter or 2nd number if the markers include sequences of letters or numbers. An orienteering course may be short, consisting of e.g. 3 control points, which could be completed at a sprint, or a longer course, from 6 to 15 control points, which requires stamina and endurance to complete.

Even at its most basic level, orienteering involves communication, teamwork and problem-solving, as well as opportunities for sustained physical activity and competition. However, having an orienteering course installed opens up opportunities for delivering a huge variety of different OAA challenges within the school site. These include time trials, through which pupils can analyse and improve their performance, route planning, relays, and games such as ‘attack and defence’, where developing effective tactics and strategies is key to success. Schools can also use their orienteering course for a wide range of physically active lessons across the whole curriculum and to create opportunities for lunchtime and after-school clubs.

Orienteering is inclusive, creating opportunities for all pupils to participate and experience success, and can be successfully adapted to meet the needs of SEND pupils. It can also appeal to pupils who are difficult to engage in traditional school sports. Finally, it can be successfully delivered by both PE specialists and non-specialists, particularly if they are provided with quality activity plans and some initial training.

Enrich Education are the UK’s leading provider of orienteering products and services for schools, with over 10 years’ experience of working in partnership with schools throughout the UK. We are the International Orienteering Federation’s official education partner and our outdoor learning resources were the 2023 winners of the Education Resources Award for ‘Best Primary Resource or Equipment’.

Enrich Education, part of the Edwin Group, are proud to announce that we are winners of one of the 2023 Education Resources Awards. These prestigious annual awards are organised by the British Educational Suppliers Association to highlight the quality and diversity of educational products and resources from publishers and producers in the UK, and to encourage excellence in education.

At the awards ceremony at the National Conference Centre in Birmingham on 18th May, the distinguished panel of judges selected Enrich Education’s Orienteering and Cross-Curricular Learning’ resources as winner of the “Primary Resource or Equipment” category. In their comments, the judges said that they were “impressed by the approach of Enrich Education that combines outdoor activity, exercise and gaining an understanding of map reading with all aspects of the primary curriculum. The one-off purchase provides a school with all the resources necessary across curriculum areas to provide engaging and stimulating lessons…using the orienteering methodology.”

Matthew Vaudrey, MD at Enrich Education, who attended the ceremony together with Enrich directors Joe Gibbons and John McBride, was delighted with Enrich Education’s success. “This award is a fantastic recognition of the ongoing hard work, imagination and commitment from the whole team at Enrich in providing young people with excellent educational experiences that combine physical activity with high-quality learning.” 

Join the 500+ schools that have implemented this award-winning resources across their school! Contact us to here to find out more.

Enrich Education join The Edwin Group 

Enrich Education is delighted to announce that they have joined The Edwin Group educational alliance.

Enrich Education work with schools across the UK, providing curriculum-based sport and education programmes, supporting young people to be physically active. With a primary focus on cross-curricular orienteering, and a pioneering approach to introducing quidditch to the school sector.

Liam Roberts, CEO of The Edwin Group, commented: “We’re thrilled to welcome the team from Enrich Education into the Edwin family.
 
“As a small but growing team who care deeply about raising young people’s activity levels through outdoor learning, their values and approach make them an obvious fit for The Edwin Group”.

Matthew Vaudrey, Managing Director of Enrich Education, added: “We knew that joining The Edwin Group was the right decision from the onset. The Group’s mission to positively impact young people’s lives matched ours, and they shared our passion and commitment to making a genuine difference.  
 
“Being part of the Group gives us the opportunity to expand our services and reach, so we can work with more schools and have an even bigger impact on young people’s health, wellbeing and education.”

Everyone at Enrich would like to thank the Edwin Group board and management team for working so closely and co-operatively with us throughout the process, and for being so supportive and welcoming in the short time since we became part of the Edwin family.

For more information on the Edwin group and the work they do positively impact the lives of young people follow the link below:

Enrich Education is delighted to announce that we have entered into partnership with The International Orienteering Federation (IOF). Enrich is now recognised as the official IOF School Orienteering Partner and World Orienteering Day Partner.

Through this unique and innovative partnership, Enrich will work closely with the IOF to develop and enhance opportunities for schools and young people in the UK and across the world to access orienteering and cross-curricular outdoor learning on their school sites. Enrich and IOF will work together to develop new orienteering products for schools, new event days to introduce and engage schools and young people in orienteering, new training for teachers, and enhanced opportunities for schools and young people to engage in orienteering competitions.

Enrich Education is delighted to have entered into this pioneering partnership and proud to be recognised as the IOF’s official School Orienteering Partner”, said Enrich Education Managing Director, Matthew Vaudrey. “Orienteering is a truly unique way to get young people active and outdoors, positively impacting on their physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing. The potential for schools across the world to use the power of orienteering to enhance young people’s wellbeing and their wider learning, is huge. This exciting and pioneering partnership will enable many more schools and young people to enjoy the benefits of orienteering.”

“IOF is pleased to enter the new partnership with Enrich Education as we see it as an important step in our mission to promote the global growth of orienteering” said International Orienteering Federation CEO, Henrik Eliasson “Through initiatives such as World Orienteering Day, we have received great feedback from schools, teachers and students around the world who have tried their hand at orienteering. The unique abilities of orienteering to combine movement and learning is tailor-made for schools and we are convinced that Enrich Education’s experience from the UK is the right one to unlock this potential on a larger scale. IOF’s main goal is to become a global and sustainable sport and we look forward to taking a step on the road in close cooperation with Enrich Education and our member federations.”

For more information on this new partnership and find out how it could support your school enjoy the benefits of orienteering, please contact us and one of the team will be more than happy to support you.

The Enrich Education ‘How to support an Active Recovery Curriculum and Physical Literacy with School Orienteering and Outdoor Learning’ webinar provided participants with advice on:

Below you will find a recording of the webinar, along with free lesson plans/resources as discussed during the session.

Download your recording and resources here:

Physical literacy has been around since the 1990s. However, due to the ongoing challenges of inactivity and obesity, combined with the effect of Covid on children’s physical and mental health, physical literacy has become increasingly important in current policy around health and education.

The International Physical Literacy Association gives the following definition for physical literacy:

“Physical literacy can be described as the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life.” (IPLA, 2017)

Physical literacy is therefore a ‘lifelong journey’, unique to the child. It enables a child to develop a lifelong love of movement and harvest all the benefits that physical learning can bring.

So how does school orienteering and outdoor learning contribute to the physical literacy journey for our young people?

Motivation – Orienteering can be positive and rewarding for all children. It involves a very inclusive type of physical activity, in which all children can participate, including those who have difficulty engaging in traditional sports. Courses can be adapted to be inclusive for all abilities and ages, which will contribute to the varied range of physical challenges and experiences which should be included within a school’s curriculum.

Confidence – Because orienteering is so inclusive, all children can make progress from their own level, experience success and gain confidence in their physical abilities, and problem-solving skills. Through teamwork, children develop their own leadership skills as well as confidence in others.

Physical Competence – Providing a purpose and incentive for running, orienteering is uniquely well-placed to motivate children to develop physical attributes such as stamina, speed and agility.

Knowledge and Understanding – Orienteering can support children’s wider cognitive development, such as problem-solving-, planning and evaluating their performance, as well as helping children to develop an understanding of basic map reading and navigation.

Physical Activity for Life – Orienteering can be used to deliver learning across the whole curriculum. It helps to extend children’s physical activity beyond PE and games lessons and encourages children to see it as an essential part of everyday life. The fitness and stamina that orienteering develops, together with map reading and navigational skills, create the foundation for children to take part in a wide range of physical activities later in their lives.

Physical literacy focuses on ensuring activity is purposeful, engaging, relevant and rewarding. School orienteering and outdoor learning through Enrich Education has the potential to create a wide variety of physical challenges in which all children are motivated to take part and enjoy, developing new skills, knowledge and understanding. It can therefore help schools ensure that all children get off to successful first steps along their physical literacy journeys.

Emma McKenzie-Hogg is the Development Manager for Primary at the Youth Sport Trust had these thoughts:

‘Given the impact of the pandemic on children’s attitudes towards, and related decline in physical activity levels, embracing all that outdoor learning and orienteering offers in providing purposeful, engaging  relevant and rewarding experiences, will only enhance the physical literacy journey for all’

For further information about physical literacy, visit the International Physical Literacy Association website https://www.physical-literacy.org.uk/

To find out about the school orienteering and cross-curricular outdoor learning packages available through Enrich Education contact us now.

In the webinar, Enrich Education provide guidance and advice on how schools can effectively incorporate Quidditch into the PE National curriculum.

Providing information on Quiddicth’s role in the PE curriculum, the equipment required, playing positions and sample sessions for each playing position.

To watch the full session simply click the video below:

To download the resources and presentation as a PDF please click the link below:

As the use of Quidditch in schools and Physical Education lessons is becoming more and more prominent throughout the United Kingdom, we thought it would be relevant to create a blog surrounding the benefits of facilitating P.E lessons with sports such as Quidditch.

Physical Education in school is one of the most powerful ways to assist with present and future health issues for your pupils – both mentally and physically. Here are just a few benefits:

Improved Physical Fitness

As the most prominent and obvious benefit – the use of physical activities throughout the curriculum help to improve your student’s overall current physical fitness. Ensuring that children are physically fit from a young age can help prevent future health issues such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma and high blood pressure – so it is important to create healthy habits early on within your pupil’s lives.

Teaches Self Discipline

Most people see PE as a way to ensure that students are kept physically healthy – but it also teaches them many lessons which can be converted into real-life scenarios when they grow up. Self-discipline is one of the most important skills to have – especially when revising for exams and working full time as an adult. Physical Education helps to teach this.

Improves leadership skills and goal setting

Alike to self-discipline, it is extremely important to teach your pupils good leadership skills to prepare them for their future in the world of work. Allocating team captains for sports such as Quidditch can help pupils learn to work with small groups and assist them to complete a common task (for example, score a goal). This is the same for other important skills such as communication, goal setting and working as a team.

Stress Reduction

Everyone knows that education, lessons and exams can cause mass amounts of the stress of students of a certain age – especially in high school. Encouraging fun in sports-related environments can help to give them a break from the school-related stress that they may be feeling throughout the day and give them a fun and healthy outlet for this.

Respect

Finally, one of the most important benefits of Physical Education is teaching your students respect. This includes respect for their personal physical and mental health – as well as respect for your classmates/teammates which can be reciprocated in other social and working environments.

At Enrich Education we encourage children to achieve through learning, to gain recognition for their achievements and to raise their aspirations to succeed in the future. We believe children should be involved in learning in its broadest sense, both inside and outside the classroom if they are to achieve their potential.

For more information on you can involve your school and help increase the level of education for your pupils contact us today at www.enricheducationuk.com or contact us directly at 0151 489 1123.

The Enrich Education ‘Physical Phonics’ webinars provided the participants with guidance and practical ideas on how to use physical activity to enhance their school’s delivery of phonics.

The webinar recordings covers a number of sessions that can be adapted to support and enhance a variety of phonics areas within school. The resources contain sample sessions from the ‘Physical Phonics Resource Pack’ and details on how to deliver fun, engaging, safe sessions..

We hope that you can utilise the session ideas and resources and that it can be easily adapted to your setting. Below are links to the webinar recording and also the presentation containing resources.

Enrich EducatioEnrich Education has created a FREE Quidditch Activity Pack that can be used in school or at home. The pack is filled with a variety of different fun and engaging cross-curricular sessions for children from KS1 through to KS3

The activity pack features individual and team-based Quidditch challenges, (Active stories) take out? P.E session plans that are linked to passages in the novels, and also some art-based activities.

To download the free World Book Day activity pack please click the link below