Crowdfunder aims to provide thousands of deprived children with waterproofs and wellies

The Outdoor Classroom Day movement, led in the UK and Ireland by Learning through Landscapes, with Semble, has launched a crowdfunder on social media to end child clothing poverty and make sure that every child gets outdoors, whatever the weather.

Research undertaken by Outdoor Classroom Day has shown that schools would go outdoors more if children had appropriate clothing. But, with 4.2 million children living in poverty and tight school budgets, parents and schools often cannot afford high-quality clothing to keep children warm and dry.  

Carley Sefton, CEO at Learning through Landscapes, who leads the Outdoor Classroom Day movement in the UK and Ireland, said, ‘The only consistent thing about the British weather is its inconsistency. We are actually luckier than some when it comes to our climate – it’s pretty much safe to go outdoors all year round if we have the right clothing.

'But in our work with schools, we hear time and again that wet weather gear is out of reach for some parents. That’s why we’ve launched the Outdoor Classroom Day crowdfunder – to get at least 1,000 sets of wet weather gear into primary schools and to start the wider conversation about how we make high quality clothing accessible to all children.’

The aim of the crowdfunder is to help schools set up a clothing library so that the 1,000 sets of high-quality waterproof jackets, trousers and wellies can be used for as many as 5,000 children over five years.