At a glance

The Field Studies Council, an environmental education charity, is urging MPs to support the Outdoor Education Bill, which would mandate daily outdoor time and weekly outdoor lessons for schoolchildren to address the youth mental health crisis. The bill, backed by South Devon MP Caroline Voaden, aims to counteract the decline in outdoor activity among children, which has been linked to rising mental health issues. The charity emphasises the benefits of outdoor learning for children's confidence, social skills, and engagement, and highlights the need for consistent policy and funding to support these initiatives.

Environmental education charity Field Studies Council says time outdoors must be part of the answer to the youth mental health crisis and is urging MPs to back a bill which would guarantee schoolchildren time outside every day. The call from the charity, one of the UK’s longest-running outdoor education organisations, comes ahead of the Outdoor Education Bill making its way back to parliament this Friday (October 16). The Field Studies Council, which has delivered outdoor learning to young people for more than 80 years, first backed the bill when South Devon MP Caroline Voaden presented it to Parliament in July. If passed, the bill would require primary and secondary schools to give pupils at least 30 minutes outdoors every school day and to teach at least one lesson a week outside. Every child would also be offered at least one outdoor education experience at primary school and another at secondary school. The charity runs a network of outdoor education centres across the UK, including Slapton Ley field centre in Caroline’s constituency.

Jo Harris, education manager at the charity, said: “We see every week what happens when young people learn outside the classroom. They grow in confidence, make friends and go back to school calmer, more engaged and ready to learn. “Caroline is right that outdoor education has a really big and valuable part to play in helping with the mental health crisis among children and young people. We believe it should also be at the heart of any plan to tackle the UK’s NEET crisis, with more than a million young people not in education, employment or training. “What can’t continue is piecemeal funding and a lack of joined up thinking in policy. This bill gives MPs the chance to put that right and we’re asking them to support it.”

Children are spending less time outside than ever. A study by the Raising the Nation Play Commission last year found the time children spend outdoors has fallen by 50 per cent in a generation. In the most deprived parts of the country, 18 per cent of children never visit the natural environment or spend meaningful time outdoors. At the same time, the Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, has warned that young people’s mental health is in crisis. Roughly one in 10 children in England were referred for mental health treatment in the 12 months to March 2025, almost double the number recorded in 2018/19.

Scotland has already passed legislation guaranteeing every pupil at least one residential outdoor trip. The Field Studies Council, which runs a centre at Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae, is working with local authorities and partners in Scotland to help deliver those experiences.

More than 290 MPs and outdoor education providers have also written to the Education Secretary about the difference outdoor education could make to young people’s mental health.

Caroline Voaden, MP for South Devon, said: “We’ve got a whole generation of kids who have spent so much time shut indoors, thinking the only way they can communicate with one another is through a screen. It’s what they’ve got used to, but it’s making them ill; the record mental health referrals among young people demonstrate this, and it’s no surprise this is occurring as the time they spend outside reaches unprecedented lows.”

Editorial insight

The renewed push for legislative backing of outdoor education comes at a time when concerns over youth mental health and wellbeing are at the forefront of public debate. With the Outdoor Education Bill returning to parliament, campaigners are highlighting the potential for structured time outdoors to address issues ranging from social development to the rising number of mental health referrals among children and young people.

For schools, the proposed requirements could mean significant adjustments to daily routines and curriculum planning, especially in areas where outdoor provision is currently limited. The bill’s supporters point to evidence of falling outdoor activity among children, alongside calls from sector leaders and policymakers for more joined-up approaches to youth wellbeing. If adopted, the legislation would bring England in line with measures already introduced in Scotland, where guaranteed outdoor experiences are now part of the educational offer.

The timing of this debate is shaped by recent data showing a sharp rise in mental health referrals and a marked decline in time spent outdoors, particularly in deprived communities. With cross-party interest and support from a broad coalition of education providers, the outcome of Friday’s parliamentary session will be closely watched by those advocating for a more holistic approach to education and child health.

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