On this page you will find latest evidence and research to demonstrate the impacts of taking learning beyond the classroom.
Different Journeys: Regional variations in English school residential visits and changes over time
A new evidence report from the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom highlights regional differences in school residential visits in England. This important report also confirms that there have been fundamental changes in residential provision since the pandemic and financial crisis.
Drawing on EVOLVE data, which captures data from more than 25,000 educational settings in England, Different Journeys: Regional variations in English school residential visits and changes over time is a large-scale quantitative analysis of residential provision across English regions.
Evidence Report created by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, in partnership with eduFOCUS. Published December 2025.
Waterways, Wildlife and Wellbeing School Impact Report
An impact report from the Waterways, Wildlife and Wellbeing project that was designed collaboratively by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom (CLOtC) and the Canal & River Trust, with advice from University of Derby’s Nature Connectedness Research Group.
Over an 18 month period, CLOtC and Canal & River Trust supported schools in the West Midlands to help students connect with the natural environment, enhance wellbeing, and embed learning beyond the classroom across the curriculum (LOtC).
This project was funded through the Green Recovery Challenge Fund (by Defra, Environmental Agency, Natural England and National Lottery Heritage Fund).
Impact Report created by Canal & River Trust with input from CLOtC. Published June 2024.
Learning Outside the Classroom: in natural environments
Two new (2022) reports published by Natural England confirm that high quality learning
outside the classroom in natural environments can deliver a wide range of positive
health and learning outcomes.
Summary created by CLOtC. Published November 2022
Learning Away
The Learning Away project (2009 – 2015) showed that a residential learning experience provides opportunities and benefits that cannot be achieved in any other educational context or setting. This impact is greater when residentials are fully integrated with a school’s curriculum and ethos.
Natural Connections Demonstration Project
Natural Connections, a 4 year demonstration project (2012 – April 2016) funded by Defra, Natural England and Historic England and delivered by Plymouth University, was developed in response to research and insight studies into the barriers and benefits of outdoor learning in schools.
