Steps 2 Summit

The benefits of being outdoors, and specifically in the countryside and remote areas, are widely acknowledged.

Not only does being outside improve your physical health, the mental health benefits are increasingly important in today’s society. None more so than in Primary Schools.

Many people overlook the positive impact that the natural environment has on mental health. Your surroundings can vastly affect the way you think and feel – and regular exposure to nature has been shown to be healthy for the mind, body and soul.

"It's an opportunity for social development as well because we found that as the children are going along the long trek with their class teacher, we are finding the children are happier to talk about general things." Zoe Buxton, Headteacher

A key part of the Steps 2 Summit program is connecting children with the world around them and some of the inspirational people who have tackled different challenges around the globe. Additionally, the program introduces children to some of the skills required to attempt, and succeed, not only at mountaineering challenges, but more importantly challenges that they will face in their day to day life.

Specifically, this is covered in 5 key areas:

Summiteer Skills

Mountaineers and adventurers develop a mind-set that allows them to firstly attempt and subsequently conquer some of the most difficult challenges imaginable. These skills such as perseverance, resilience, honesty and curiosity also play an important role in the development of children at primary school age.

Through summiteer skills lessons and reward packs, teachers have a unique resource to teach these key skills seamlessly as part of the Steps 2 Summit program. Each lesson is fully resourced and planned, providing minimal work for the teachers who deliver them.

Assemblies & Displays

Alongside the summiteer lessons, the Steps 2 Summit program includes a suite of assemblies and accompanying displays for schools to deliver. Used each half term, the assemblies and displays cover important topics such as organisation, charity and learning from failure.

The displays are an excellent visual reminder of the project and allow children to maintain motivation and interest in the project.

Curriculum Lessons

With each year group exploring a different area of the world, the opportunities to develop an exciting and inspiring curriculum through the Steps 2 Summit program are not to be missed.

Each mountain is accompanied by a suite of lessons focussed on subjects such as Geography, Art, PSHE and Music. Each lesson includes all the required resources and is colour coded to show the preparation work required prior to delivering the lesson.

Social Connections

Social Connection is important for your mental health and overall well-being. Getting outside forces you to unplug from technology and connect with the people around you.

Whole class walks are a great way for children and teachers to connect in a different environment to the classroom.

Including parents in the Steps 2 Summit project, especially by including them in the physical activity element has excellent benefits on the relationship between parent, child and school and can help parents understand the benefits of being active with their children.

Reducing Carbon Footprint

Many schools are beginning to explore how they can reduce the carbon footprint of their school. Turning off lights, minimising water wastage and reducing the traffic around schools can all help to have a positive impact on the environment.

Through Steps 2 Summit, pupils are encouraged to walk to and from school as part of the Steps 2 School initiative. Each childs distance from home to school can be loaded into the system and when that child walks to school, the distance walked is transferred into progress towards their summit. The more a child walks to school, the further up the mountain they will progress and the safer and less polluted the environment around school will become.

To see the incredible power of the Steps 2 Summit program in a number of primary schools, visit the media page where you will find films and case studies highlighting the impact.

See the Proof

"One morning we invited parents to come out with us. It was fantastic, they absolutely loved it they loved using the scanners but lots of them also did the laps with the children which was really nice." Chloe Mills, PE Lead

Steps 2 Summit is available to schools on an annual licence. Teacher can get their classes active for FREE by signing up for a Steps 2 Summit Trek Account. The Steps 2 Summit Trek Account allows teachers to add their class names to the program and record physical activity via an IPad/phone, mountain hut training videos and whole class activity. Start your class trek now

To experience the full Steps 2 Summit program, click on the button below and get started. Your adventure is waiting! Buy now