In partnership with Canal & River Trust, and funded by Sport England, we are embarking on an exciting pilot project to support primary schools in Greater Manchester who want to adapt their after-school clubs to incorporate more active play and learning in their school grounds and local area.
About the project
Promoting active learning and play in natural environments during after school clubs (ASC) will encourage students to engage in more movement, have fun, and connect with their environment, which is known to improve health and wellbeing outcomes.
We are looking to recruit 10 primary schools in the Greater Manchester area who want to use their school grounds and local area to get more active during their ASCs but don’t have the resources, the training or the confidence to do so.
This project comes with a minimum of £1,500 grant to spend on developing your grounds and ASC activities.
What's involved?
From September 2025 to March 2026 each ASC will be involved in the following Wild Experiences delivered on your school site by a dedicated project officer:
- Wild Teams – team building activities, environmental games.
- Wild Workouts – green gyms, obstacle courses.
- Wild Wonders – nature connectedness activities, nature walks, exploring the outdoors, natural art, gardening and creative activities.
- Wild Heroes – activities or projects that encourage biodiversity, re-wilding, support wildlife and protect the natural environment.
As part of this project, ASC staff and students will receive training on how to use the local area safely and keeping safe around water.
With support from the project officer, ASC staff and students together will be encouraged to:
- Create and try out their own ‘Wild’ activity ideas that will be collated into a final project resource pack to share with others.
- Visit their local area weekly to develop activity and learning trails.
- Create a plan to develop their choice of activities and receive a grant of at least £1500 plus extra materials to support their club to be more active in nature.
ASCs involved will also receive free CLOtC membership for their school to access free online events and resources to support you to take learning beyond the classroom.
This project is now underway
10 schools have now been recruited to be part of this project. ALPINE Project Officers will start to visit the schools in September and the after school club will embark on the Wild Experiences mentioned above.
Updates and news will be added as the project commences.
