A Douglas school has created its own ’outback’, writes Paul Speller.

Henry Bloom Noble Primary School, on Westmoreland Roadin the middle of a built-up area of Douglas, has developed an area of land behind its all-weather sports facilities, to give children the opportunity to learn from the great outdoors.

Each week children from year two (aged six) upwards are spending time in the area, dubbed the HBN Outback.

While the lessons are not strictly part of the National Curriculum, they tick the boxes of the ’6 Rs’ used in island schools and are designed to improve children’s learning potential across subjects.

Year three teacher Chrissie Johnston is the driving force behind the scheme and is keen to see things grow - in all senses of the word.

Chrissie Johnston, the school’s curriculum co-ordinator for science, explained that, even in its infancy, the scheme was showing results, whether it be normally quiet children finding a way to express themselves, classmates building relationships or the knock-on effect back in the classroom.

’It is allowing the children to have a positive experience outside in whatever weather in all seasons,’ Miss Johnston said.

’It gives them that wellbeing and if they are happy that filters through back along all the curriculum.’

She added: ’We are getting the children to use their imagination and to get their hands dirty!’

What was initially a stretch of unused land, backing onto gardens in the adjoining housing estate, is now something very different.

There is a willow dome, a log circle for groups to gather around and a growing variety of bushes.

A new feature of logs of varying sizes protruding from the ground has earned the nickname of the ’buried dinosaur’ and creates a challenging route for children to travel along without touching the ground.

Miss Johnston is happy to use any appropriate resources - from a former electric cable wheel minus the cable to rubble supplied from building works - to develop features in the area.

The aim is to encourage children to enjoy and learn from being outdoors, whether it be studying insects, trying new challenges or learning the joys of rolling down a hill!

The scheme has already received support from Barclays, Tesco and the Friends of HBN, while the Co-op funded the new waterproof overalls for the key stage two children (ages seven to 11)).

Head teacher Ian Walmsley said: ’Our job is to build the whole child and to provide them with as many different learning experiences as possible.

’If this was measured as a test of the 6 Rs - readiness, relationships, resourcefulness, resilience, remembering and reflectiveness - it would get 10 out of 10.’