South Devon MP Caroline Voaden has vowed to continue campaigning for more outdoor education in schools after her proposed Bill was postponed in Parliament.

The Outdoor Education Bill was due to receive its second reading in the House of Commons on Friday, October 16, but was rescheduled to January 29, 2027, because of limited parliamentary time.

The Bill proposes requiring primary and secondary school pupils to spend at least 30 minutes outdoors during the school day, have at least one lesson outside each week, and be offered an outdoor education experience during both their primary and secondary school years.

Ms Voaden said the proposals were intended to help reconnect children with nature amid concerns about young people’s mental health.

She said: “For years, successive governments have sat idly by while children retreat from nature, spending hours glued to their screens inside.

“The consequences of this are clear to see and it is incumbent on the government to tackle the spiralling youth mental health crisis.”

The Liberal Democrat MP said she would continue making the case for outdoor education, despite the delay.

The Bill has received backing from outdoor education organisations, including the Institute for Outdoor Learning and the Field Studies Council.

Richard Retallick, Business and Operations Manager at the Institute for Outdoor Learning, said outdoor education could help build confidence and resilience, while acknowledging it was “not a cure for all the world’s ills”.

Jo Harris, Education Manager at the Field Studies Council, said outdoor learning could play a valuable role in supporting young people’s wellbeing and development.

"Caroline is right that outdoor education has a really big and valuable part to play in helping with the mental health crisis among children and young people. We believe it should also be at the heart of any plan to tackle the UK's NEET crisis, with more than a million young people not in education, employment or training,” she said.

"What can't continue is piecemeal funding and a lack of joined up thinking in policy. This bill gives MPs the chance to put that right and we're asking them to support it.”

Children are spending less time outside than ever. A study by the Raising the Nation Play Commission last year found the time children spend outdoors has fallen by 50 per cent in a generation. In the most deprived parts of the country, 18 per cent of children never visit the natural environment or spend meaningful time outdoors.

At the same time, the Children's Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, has warned that young people's mental health is in crisis. Roughly one in 10 children in England were referred for mental health treatment in the 12 months to March 2025, almost double the number recorded in 2018/19.

The Bill’s second reading is now scheduled for January 29 and would need to progress through further parliamentary stages before it could become law.