Juliet Robertson
Outdoor Learning - EYFS - Courage and Resilience
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When it comes to taking your brain for a walk, Juliet is very much an expert. And by taking your brain for a walk, we mean literally taking it out of the classroom and into the woods, the fields, the parks, the gardens, the school grounds, the playground or even simply the car park.
In this way, former Scottish primary headteacher Juliet proves to teachers the world over that the classroom is pretty much simply the place that you put your boots on before entering the space where the real learning happens – outside.
Like much in Scottish educational innovation, Juliet draws heavily on the wonderful work being carried out in the name of education in the Scandinavian countries, especially when it comes to tapping into our natural affinity with nature and with the great outdoors.
This international outlook and experience has made Juliet highly sought-after when it comes to working on national policies and strategies. She has been instrumental in bringing her expertise to initiatives such as the Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence, the Scottish Government's working group that produced the country's play strategy and the Loose Parts Play: A Toolkit project, recently adopted by the Welsh government. She is also advising the Forestry Commission on the very first national Forestry Kindergarten qualification as well as working behind the scenes on the forthcoming Outdoor Handbook for Early Years which will be a joint Care Inspectorate/Inspiring Scotland publication.
"It’s not so much thinking outside the box as losing the box and just thinking outside."
Juliet Robertson
Recent titles include:
- Dirty Teaching - Teaching Beyond the Classroom
- Messy Maths and Taking Numeracy Outside
- Defying the Odds and Making Each Moment Count
At a time when children across the UK are spending less and less time interacting with nature and being outside, despite the many proven benefits of doing so, Juliet is showing how to get children outside for literacy, numeracy and practically every other lesson on the curriculum.
Whether it’s going for the full Forest School approach or simply taking a bundle of twigs and a bag of stones for a maths lesson on the nearest safe stretch of tarmac, the many thousands of teachers who have enjoyed Juliet’s expertise know the power of outdoors learning.
Something that is even more apparent with some of our least motivated and hard-to-reach children who seem to come to life when they are outside the confines of the traditional classroom.
Juliet’s first book, the wonderfully titled Dirty Teaching has proven hugely popular with teachers from EYFS onwards looking for practical ideas - and no small amount of reassurance - when it comes to taking the plunge and leading their classes outside. Her follow-up book, also containing beautiful photographs by Independent Thinking Associate Jane Hewitt, looks specifically at numeracy outdoors and is titled Messy Maths. Within weeks of being published it was one of our top-selling books, won a handful of awards and has remained hugely popular ever since.
To understand the power and potential of outdoor learning, then Juliet is the person you need to work with. Just remember the old Scandinavian adage, there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.
Juliet Robertson In Her own Words
“OFTEN, IT IS THE CHILDREN WHO EXHIBIT THE MOST CHALLENGING
BEHAVIOUR INSIDE WHO BENEFIT MOST FROM SPENDING TIME LEARNING
OUTSIDE” - DIRTY TEACHING
- Juliet has been with Independent Thinking since 2011. Not long enough
- You'll find her in our Teaching and Learning topic section
- You can watch Juliet in conversation with Ian Gilbert in 2020 here
- You might also like to consider Ian Gilbert or Will Ryan
Enjoy a free no-obligation chat.
Make a booking. Haggle a bit.
Give us a call on +44 (0)1267 211432 or drop us a line at learn@independentthinking.co.uk.
We promise to get back to you reassuringly quickly.