Yorkshire Businesswomen bring the curriculum to life through alfresco learning

Primary school children from St John’s Church of England Primary School in Wakefield, West Yorkshire welcomed Wakefield and Rothwell MP Simon Lightwood to an outdoor learning workshop they were hosting being delivered by Alfresco Learning - a Yorkshire-founded education company dedicated to taking the National Curriculum outside all year round.

Alfresco Learning was founded in 2019 by former primary school teachers Hollie Hindle and Jenny Wood, who wanted to make outdoor learning accessible, practical, and fully integrated into the curriculum – not just a seasonal or specialist activity.

After meeting MP Simon Lightwood at an event last year, Wakefield-based co-founder Hollie invited him to see one of their hugely successful workshops for himself. Last month, he joined the Year 1 children at St John’s Primary School, who were taking their maths, history and science lessons outside, bringing Neil Armstrong’s moon landing to life with an exciting, fully-resourced innovative space hands-on workshop

Co-founder of Alfresco Learning, Hollie Hindle said; “We were thrilled to have MP Simon Lightwood join us for a workshop, he saw how the Alfresco Learning team supported pupils to design, build, and launch their own rockets, which they then launched on the school field. Throughout the workshop, pupils were so engaged and continually applied key maths and science skills in a meaningful, memorable way.”

Wakefield and Rothwell Simon Lightwood MP said: “I’d like to thank Hollie for inviting me to see Alfresco Learning in action at St John's Primary in my constituency to learn more about the work they do to support children in our community and beyond. It was great to see outdoor learning being used to bring different subjects together, with pupils taking part in activities that combined maths, history and science in an engaging way. The enthusiasm, curiosity and confidence shown by the children throughout the session was wonderful to see. Alfresco Learning is providing valuable experiences that help make learning accessible and enjoyable for children of all backgrounds.”

The Founders of Alfresco Learning are passionate about transforming primary education through the power of outdoor learning. Hollie explains: “We work with schools across the region and beyond to support teachers in delivering the National Curriculum outside of the classroom - using nature and physical activity to spark curiosity, boost engagement, and foster a love of learning. We emphasise that outdoor lessons need not be limited to ‘forest schools’ or ‘mud kitchens’ – curriculum topics from history, science, English, and maths can all be taught outside effectively.”

Hollie continues; “For me, my passion started when I was a teacher and took phonics outdoors, and my class achieved a 94% pass rate in the phonics screening test – something that had never happened at the school before. That success sparked my passion for taking learning outside, and I soon began delivering science, English, maths, and history lessons outdoors. When children spend all day indoors, it isn’t engaging – our bodies are naturally wired for movement, daylight, and fresh air. Even a short 10-minute outdoor activity can have a lasting impact on focus, wellbeing, and engagement when they return to the classroom. Our outdoor learning workshops have transformed how pupils engage with the curriculum, they’re genuinely enjoying their learning more than ever.”

Both Founders have experience teaching in schools with high levels of socio-economic and special educational needs, where they ignited their passion for outdoor learning, both seeing it improve engagement, academic progress, and wellbeing.

Co-founder of Alfresco Learning, Jenny Wood added: “When I was teaching, I had a class with many behavioural challenges, and outdoor learning completely transformed the way I could connect with the children. I remember one boy with special needs had a deep passion for spiders, and by building on his interests outdoors, he re-engaged in learning. I saw a real improvement in behaviour and wellbeing – for both the pupils and myself. By the end of the year, Hollie and I met and realised there were very few resources combining the curriculum with outdoor learning. That’s when we decided to create The Alfresco Hub.”

During the pandemic, in 2020, they initially created an online Planning Hub, which is still accessed by nearly 1,000 educators worldwide, offering curriculum-based outdoor lesson plans and resources from Reception to Year 6 and then moved onto training staff team and also going into schools to directly deliver workshops - over the past seven years, the team have now delivered workshops in over 400 schools across Yorkshire, the Midlands and the North West, reaching over 12,000 primary-aged children, and this year they have expanded into the North East.