How do we help our children grow up to be able to navigate the challenges of today's society? How do we begin to the solve the problems of 'lost childhood' for primary school children and the fact that last year a Unicef report found children in the UK were the unhappiest in the Western world? These are burning questions facing our society with an urgent need to be solved now. The successful Sensory Trust Ask Conference held this spring took participants a step nearer to finding some of the answers. Connecting children to the outdoors and all the benefits that learning outside brings is central to this. The Ask Conference showcased the Coombes School at Arborfield Reading where the opportunities for teaching and learning outside the classroom are at the very heart of its policy.

At Coombes a key aim is to develop and use the outdoor environment as a teaching and learning resource and as well as providing a wonderful setting for the school. Since the school opened in 1971, a dedicated teaching team has worked to transform a windy, exposed site on poor soil into a wonderful, nurturing space.

Presenting at the Ask Conference Susan Humphries, Governor-in-Charge-Of-The Environment at Coombes and the original driving force behind the school's development told the conference:

'Children speak in code - a wood is in fact a place to hide. To communicate effectively we need to decode. As teachers we need to form intellectual adventures for children - children crave novelty'.

Young students at Coombes can experience the thrill of growing vegetables, interacting with wildlife, following the cycle of the seasons and develop a sense of adventurous play with their peers, all at the same time as fulfilling their more conventional educational needs.

Children can begin attending in their pre-school year and stay on the same site until they are ready to go on to secondary school. From the Geology Trail, through Coombeshenge (a faux Neolithic stone circle built with the help of nearby Arborfield garrison) to ponds, a small flock of sheep and outdoor classrooms, there is a wealth of textures, environments and elements to experience and explore. The outdoors is used as a matter of routine and outdoor elements are incorporated into mainstream lessons, for example, counting, classifying, art, stories and music.

A highlight of the conference was a guided tour of the school by some of the pupils - we were struck by the confidence and pride that our seven year old hosts had as they showed us around (at a run!). Obviously a key part of the philosophy underlying the Coombes School is the conviction that children who are able to relate to nature, landscape and the cycle of life will be better equipped to navigate the social world and will grow up to be more rounded, contented people.

Thankfully, Learning Through Landscapes, Learning Outside the Classroom and Growing Schools, (all government backed initiatives to get children and young people benefiting from the outdoors), are carrying the torch for the ideas that crystallised in that Berkshire village all those years ago. The question is - what more can be done?

Watch this space for more...