Key Stage 2 PE · Outdoor and adventurous activities

KS2 outdoor and adventurous activities: individual challenges

Outdoor and adventurous activities are a strand of Key Stage 2 PE in which children take on challenges both on their own and in a team. This page looks at the individual side: tackling a course, trail or map task by themselves, making decisions, coping when it is hard, and judging how they did. It builds independence and resilience as well as fitness.

Outdoor challenges: individual, explained

The National Curriculum asks that pupils take part in outdoor and adventurous activity challenges both individually and within a team. It does not name particular activities, so schools choose what fits their grounds, staff and budget. The most common choice for individual challenges is orienteering-style navigation: using a map of the playground, field or a nearby park to find marked points. Others include trails and obstacle courses that children tackle one at a time, balance and climbing challenges on school equipment, and, on a residential trip, activities that take them out of their comfort zone.

In an individual challenge the child is the one making the decisions. They read the map or the instructions, choose a route, judge how fast to go, and cope if they make a wrong turn. Teachers usually introduce the skills first in a simple setting. For a map task that might mean turning the map so it matches the ground in front of you, recognising symbols for buildings, paths and trees, following a path with a finger, and, in upper Key Stage 2, using the scale to estimate distances. Some children use a compass, which has a needle that points to north.

The challenge is personal. A quick child and a cautious child are not expected to finish in the same time, and often the point is to complete a course accurately, or to try something a little harder than last time. The curriculum links this to a broader aim: that pupils learn how to improve in different activities and learn to evaluate and recognise their own success. After a challenge, children are asked questions such as what went well, where they lost time, what they would do differently and how they felt when it got difficult.

Safety is part of the learning. Children are taught to follow boundaries, check in with the adults, move carefully over uneven ground, dress for the weather and tell someone if they are lost or hurt. Because the activity is outdoors, the teacher usually checks the area beforehand, and children learn to spot and manage risks themselves, such as slippery grass or low branches. Taking part also develops perseverance, which is useful well beyond PE.

Words your child will hear

Orienteering: Finding your way around a course using a map, visiting marked points in order or in a route you choose.
Control point: A marked place on a course that you have to find, often with a number, letter or a marker to record.
Key: The list on a map that shows what each symbol or colour means.
Scale: How distances on the map relate to real distances, for example 1 centimetre on the map for 10 metres on the ground.
Route: The path you choose to get from one place to the next.
Compass: A tool with a magnetic needle that points to north, used to work out direction.
Evaluate: To think about how well something went and decide what could be better.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 2 says:

Pupils should be taught to take part in outdoor and adventurous activity challenges both individually and within a team
Pupils should develop an understanding of how to improve in different physical activities and sports and learn how to evaluate and recognise their own success.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: an individual map challenge on the school field

Your child is given a simple map of the school field with five control points and must visit all of them, working alone. How should they tackle it?

Orient the map. Stand at the start and turn the map until the things on it, such as the fence, the hut and the goalposts, line up with the ground in front of you. Now left on the map is left in real life.
Read the key and the control points. Find the five numbered circles on the map and look for what is near each one: a tree, a corner of the building, a bench. Those are the features that will confirm you are in the right place.
Plan a route. If the order is free, choose the points that make a sensible loop rather than zig-zagging. If the map has a scale of 1 centimetre for 5 metres and control 1 is 4 centimetres from the start, it is about 20 metres away: a short walk, so it makes a good first.
Move and check. Walk to the first point while keeping your thumb on the map where you are. At each stage, match what you see with what the map shows. If the things do not match, stop, turn the map and look again rather than running on.
Record and review. At each control point note its code, then finish and think: which point was hardest to find, where did you lose time, and what would you do differently next time? Compare it with your own earlier attempt rather than with other children.

A successful challenge means every control point found and a clear explanation of how. A child might say: “I turned the map first, picked the nearest points first, and used the bench to check I was in the right spot. I lost time at number four because I was holding the map the wrong way round.”

Common mistakes and how to help

Holding the map with north at the top whichever way you are facing

Maps in books and on screens are usually shown with north at the top, so children assume this is how a map is always held.

What helps: Practise turning the map to line it up with landmarks. In a safe garden or school field, ask which way the fence or hedge is on the map and which way it is in front of you.

Running and not looking at the map

Speed feels like success, and children want to keep up with friends or beat a time.

What helps: Explain that in navigation, accuracy comes first and speed second. Praise a careful walk to every point over a fast, lost run, and compare their own completion over time.

Giving up as soon as they feel lost

Being lost for the first time can feel frightening, and children have not learned that there is a calm way to work it out.

What helps: Teach a routine: stop, breathe, look for a feature you know, find it on the map, and ask an adult if you still cannot work it out. Knowing there is a plan helps confidence.

Thinking the challenge is only about finishing first

School sport often highlights winners, so children measure themselves against others.

What helps: Ask your child to set a personal goal before starting, such as finding every point or trying the harder route, and to judge their own success against it afterwards.

How to help at home

Draw a map of your garden or room. Make a simple map together with a key for the shed, the tree and the washing line. Hide a few objects, mark them on the map, and let your child find them alone, turning the map to match the space.
Treasure trail. Make a trail of picture clues or arrows around the house or garden for your child to follow by themselves. Each clue shows the next landmark rather than the whole route.
Explore a familiar place with an adult. In a park or woodland with an adult close by, give your child the map or the route plan to follow and a job to do, such as finding three different kinds of leaf. Stay together and avoid roads and water. Let them make the decisions at the junctions.
Talk about the challenge afterwards. Ask three questions: what went well, what was tricky, and what would you do differently? Listening to the answers builds the skill of judging your own success.
Try something a little harder. Set a personal challenge, such as crossing the park’s balance trail without touching the ground while you stay nearby, or completing a home trail without help. Aim for a task that is slightly out of reach, then celebrate the effort.

Leads on to

Key Stage 3: Outdoor and adventurous activities