Devon’s ‘forest’ school Outdoors Group moves to larger base

A Devon organisation which runs outdoor schools in woodland has moved to larger premises after outgrowing its former base.

The Outdoors Group, which offers alternative educational provision based entirely outdoors, is moving from Exeter’s Basepoint Business Centre after buying a former health centre called Western Lodge, in Crediton.

The property is a single-storey building which provides 2,840sq ft of internal space. The site was deemed ideal partly because of the grounds that came with the building, with 1.126 acres available for a new venture.

The Outdoors Group, which is celebrating 10 years in business, has seen turnover hit £2m and its workforce grow to more than 100 people.

Shevek Pring, founder and director, said: “Basepoint was a brilliant option for us but with our rapid growth it was apparent that we needed a larger, more permanent home. Western Lodge became available at exactly the right time, and we were able to refurbish it as offices just in time for the new school year.

“We feel it’s a really positive use of the disused health centre, bringing new life with a business that works to give young people access to the many benefits of learning outdoors.”

The new location houses the group’s core services, with 30 office-based team members working from a larger open plan area plus meeting rooms and a separate directors office.

The company said it is ideal for the “preferred collaborative way of working” whilst providing some quiet break out areas when needed.

One of the big draws for the Outdoors Group were the grounds which include woodland, ideal for a new kindergarten to be opened in April 2022.

This will open to pre-schoolers aged one to five, and in keeping with the ethos of the group, will provide plenty of opportunities for outdoor play and learning.

Co-founder Tom Lowday said: “It also sits well with our environmental ethos, as purchasing rather than renting means we can sensibly undertake eco-renovations and make improvements to the building, which will ultimately help us to meet our goal of The Outdoors Group becoming carbon negative by 2030.”

The Outdoors Group 2021 offers a variety of outdoor-based activities across Devon including forest schools, special schools, a specialist learning programme for those struggling in mainstream education, training for teachers, forest school leaders and school volunteers; toddler groups and holiday clubs, plus yoga and rewilding experience weekends.

Founded in 2011 with the opening of a forest school in Exmouth, The Outdoors Group is now the largest provider of “forest school” services in the UK and employs more than five times as many people as it did just two years ago. During that time the group has become the largest outfit of its kind in the country in terms of services offered.

The latest investment and expansion has been made possible by an increase in turnover during the past three years from £385,930 in 2018-19 to the current year-end turnover of about £2m.

Influenced by the Scandinavian forest schools of the 1950s, The Outdoors Group’s services are centred around using natural facilities in the open air, primarily in woodland, giving young people the chance to explore and enjoy nature and the environment. While the emphasis is always on fun, the group has a serious long-term goal.

The group continues its search for woodlands in Devon to rent or buy that meet its site criteria. There are also longer-term plans to implement a franchise system working with like-minded people around the UK to take the concept and provision to an even wider demographic.