Whole-class wellbeing through nature play.
Thrive Outside is a whole-class wellbeing program delivered outdoors on school grounds.
Through meaningful play, supported challenge and connection to place, students practise the social and emotional skills they need to thrive
regulation, resilience, relationships, agency and belonging.
5 weeks
5 × 3-hour sessions
Whole class
School grounds
Wellbeing, practised through real experience.
Children are regularly asked to regulate, cooperate, communicate, persist, make choices and navigate challenge.
Thrive Outside creates meaningful opportunities to practise these skills for real — through play, relationships, challenge, choice and reflection.
Across five weeks, children step outside the classroom into a different kind of learning environment: one where they can make, build, explore, play, take supported risks, connect with others and discover what they are capable of.
Less telling children about wellbeing.
More opportunities to experience it.
WHAT DOES THRIVE OUTSIDE LOOK LIKE?
Children choose where to spend their time, following curiosity, challenge and connection. Each space offers a different pathway into play, learning and wellbeing.
NATURE PLAY
An invitation to notice, wander, investigate and connect with the living world. Nature participates and curiosity leads the way.
FIRE MAKING
A practice in patience, skill and persistence. Children work with flint and steel, learning to stay with challenge and build confidence.
SWORDPLAY
A space for big energy, physical challenge and playful risk. Children practise boundaries, consent, self-regulation and reading and respecting one another.
CAMPFIRE COOKING
Preparing food together creates connection and contribution. Children cooperate, take responsibility and share the joy of cooking over fire.
IMAGINATIVE PLAY
A space for stories, worlds and possibilities to unfold. Children create together, negotiate ideas and follow play wherever it leads.
MAKER SPACE
Real tools, real materials and the freedom to create. Children build skills, persistence and confidence as their ideas take shape.
Children are free to engage in ways that suit their interests, strengths and readiness.
WHY THRIVE OUTSIDE?
MORE REGULATED
Build emotional regulation & resilience.
MORE CONNECTED
Strengthen relationships & classroom belonging.
MORE CONFIDENT
Grow through challenge & supported risk.
MORE CAPABLE
Build agency, independence & responsibility.
MORE GROUNDED
Deepen connection to self, others & place.
MORE ENGAGED
Rediscover curiosity, play & joy in learning.
Thrive Outside intentionally supports social and emotional learning through play, relationship, challenge and reflection, aligned with the Victorian Curriculum Personal and Social Capability Curriculum.
WHAT WE’RE SEEING
Early evidence from our pilot
5
WEEKS
15
HOURS
23
CHILDREN
Ardeer South Primary School · 2026
In 2026, Firekeepers partnered with Ardeer South Primary School to pilot Thrive Outside with a Grade 3/4 class.
Across student reflections, teacher observations, mentor notes and school leadership feedback, consistent themes emerged.
CONNECTION GREW THROUGH DOING THINGS TOGETHER.
Students became more willing to work collaboratively with different peers, support one another and engage positively in group activities.
CHALLENGE BECAME A PLACE TO PRACTISE REGULATION.
When children described experiences such as fire-making, hammering and swordplay as hard, risky or scary, they also described the strategies they used: breathing, focusing, getting support, trying again and not giving up. Those same experiences were often the things they felt most proud to have achieved.
THERE WAS SOMETHING FOR EVERY CHILD.
Teachers reported high engagement, including among students who were not easily engaged in classroom learning, with children able to participate according to their interests and strengths.
“
We also noticed a greater sense of calm and wellbeing among students following each session, with positive effects often carrying through into the days that followed.”
Grant Mussel
Vice Principal, Ardeer South Primary School
HOW IT WORKS
Thrive Outside at your school
5 WEEKS
Five 3-hour sessions that allow relationships, confidence and skills to build over time.
ONE WHOLE CLASS
Up to 30 students.
HIGH MENTOR SUPPORT
Approximately 1:8 mentor ratio, allowing children to be genuinely known, supported and challenged.
ON YOUR SCHOOL GROUNDS
Thrive comes to you. Children build connection with the natural spaces within their own school.
EVERYTHING PROVIDED
Our team brings the specialist equipment, loose parts, tools and materials.
SAFETY BUILT IN
Risk-benefit analysis, safety procedures and careful planning are part of the program.
CURRICULUM ALIGNED
Supports Victorian Curriculum Personal and Social Capability through real, embodied experiences.
REFLECTION & EVALUATION
Student reflection and program evaluation help make learning visible and may inform future wellbeing planning.
What comes back inside?
Thrive Outside gives teachers an opportunity to see their students in a different context — noticing strengths, needs and capabilities that may not always be visible in the classroom.
Teachers also experience practical approaches including connection circles, co-regulation, playful transitions, choice and agency, and supporting children through challenge.
These simple, relational practices can travel back into classrooms and playgrounds long after Thrive Outside finishes.
INVESTMENT
Five weeks. One whole class.
A different way to grow wellbeing.
$9,990
A COMPLETE 5 WEEK NATURE-BASED WELLBEING PROGRAM
For students
15 hours of immersive wellbeing experiences, five rich play environments and high mentor support.
Approximately $65 per student, per 3-hour session.
For teachers
Opportunities to observe children differently, experience practical wellbeing approaches and take relational practices back into school life.
For the school
Planning, resources, specialist equipment, curriculum alignment, risk-benefit planning, reflection and evaluation are included.
LET’S THRIVE OUTSIDE!
Interested in bringing Thrive Outside to your school?
We’d love to talk about your students, your school and what a Thrive Outside program could look like in your community.