We were deeply saddened to hear of the death of Juliette Robertson on Saturday 27th December 2025. Juliette’s name has long been synonymous with learning and play outdoors, and her influence has reached schools, educators, and play practitioners across the UK and internationally.
With a background in environmental science, Juliette went on to become a teacher and Headteacher before carving out a world-renowned role as an education consultant. She was widely respected for her playful approach, deep understanding of child development, and her unwavering belief in children’s right to play and learn outdoors in all weathers.
Through her work with Creative STAR Learning, Juliette consistently challenged risk-averse thinking, particularly around playing outside on rainy days, and inspired schools to be braver, more child-centred, and more confident in valuing play, wellbeing, and outdoor learning as essential, not optional, parts of childhood.
I am personally deeply grateful to Juliette for her generosity, leadership, and encouragement. A few years ago, she took time to connect with me to discuss my vision for 101 Wet Playtime Games and Activities 2nd Edition and for Positive Playtimes, and she kindly introduced me to Gayle Amus of Learning in Nature,
leading to invaluable learning and collaboration, including study visits to Finland.
Juliette’s courage, integrity, and determination, particularly her bravery in continuing her work while living with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia following her diagnosis in December 2020, remain a powerful inspiration. Her legacy will continue to influence schools, educators, and play practitioners for many years to come.
In her final years Juliette created a poetry collection, Blood Lines: Living with Cancer by Juliette Robertson, which is available here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-Lines-Living…/dp/1781354324. The final poem in the collection, Let Me Be a Goose, offers a deeply moving reflection on transformation, belonging, and return. Juliette imagined her own transformation at the point of death. The poem speaks of journey, belonging, and return, and feels like a fitting reflection of her deep connection to nature and the natural world:
“The other geese will tolerate my changing form
and welcome me, a short-term stray,
hitching a ride on the wildfowl turnpike,
knowing I am heading onwards, heading home
for this will be my one-more flight on my final day.”
Those close to Juliette have shared that, just minutes after her death, family and friends gathered outside her Aberdeenshire home and watched a long skein of pink-footed geese sweep across the pale early-morning sky, before turning north, as if carrying her with them on that final flight.
Juliette shared this poem in her own voice on BBC Sounds, including on the Christmas Day episode of Pick of the Year with Jeanette Winterson. It is a deeply moving reflection and a lasting gift to all who knew her through her writing, teaching, and friendship.
Juliette will be greatly missed and profoundly remembered.
Those wishing to explore Juliette’s work further can visit Creative STAR Learning:
👉 https://www.creativestarlearning.co.uk
