My World Outdoors

Know each child as individual. This means you can help enable them to  access an environment safely, so that most activities are within their capabilities but some will challenge them to develop their physical skills and confidence further.

Consider children’s potential to learn and benefit by taking risks. As children and young people develop they need to try new things and learn new skills. They need to work out risks for themselves as part of their learning process.

Involve children in the risk-benefit assessment process so they can develop their knowledge and self-awareness and contribute more of their ideas and learning. By including children in the risk assessment process, you can empower them to make safe decisions.

As a provider or practitioner, your role is to help children experience the highest standards of physical and mental health, and support them to make healthy, safe choices.

Playing and learning outdoors offers other benefits, such as development of the senses: hearing; vision; smell; and spatial awareness, as well as increasing capacity for learning.

All children’s services will have unique aims and premises that may or may not lend themselves easily to outdoor experiences. Imagination and creativity are important. Within everyone’s wider community there are environments where children’s health can benefit from playing and learning outdoors. For example, parks, woodland, beaches, farmland and allotments can all be used to help support better health outcomes.

It is important that you find ways to provide children with opportunities for outdoor learning. Any outdoor area whether it be beach, forest or well-resourced, adapted tarmac playground can provide a rich environment to excite exploration, investigation and open-ended play to help develop children’s thinking and creativity skills.

To help you reflect on your service’s outdoor practice, ask yourself:

• Have we planned for and provided resources for a range of rich outdoor learning experiences across the curriculum?

• Do we need advice from a specialist agency such as Grounds for Learning to help us develop our outdoor play area or programme of activities?

• Do we have high expectations of what children might learn outdoors?

• What is the best way to ask children what they want to do or learn outdoors?

You can create opportunities for babies, children and young people to connect with nature and the outdoors. Children who are dealing with negative issues in their lives often express themselves in behaviours that may cause disruption indoors: running and shouting; boisterous play; climbing and jumping. These types of behaviours can be expressed in the space and freedom of the outdoors with much less negative reactions from adults and less impact on the children’s peers. Children may need the time and space of the outdoors to be alone, to work through scenarios in play, or to vent anger and frustration. The outdoors offers children the chance to come together with others in their own time, to play in parallel, to learn the rules of negotiation from the sidelines and gradually join in and become part of the team. Being able to make choices about where and how they spend their time can support children to develop self-regulation skills. With the right environment and equipment emotions can be expressed in positive skills and achievements; supporting children’s resilience, self-esteem, health and wellbeing.

Responsive care giving from interested and engaged adults will enable children to get the best out of their outdoor experiences. For example:

• Being sensitive to children’s emotional wellbeing

• Respecting children’s interests and choices

• Role modelling a positive attitude towards the outdoors in all weathers

• Interacting to support children’s enjoyment and learning

• Ensuring that children are dressed appropriately for the weather

You should ensure that children have appropriate opportunities to enjoy a range of suitable physical activities, including some vigorous activity.

When planning the programme of activities, you could ask the following questions of staff, children and parents:

• How much time and opportunities do children in your settings have for vigorous physical activity?

• What outdoor activities could you introduce to help meet the physical activity guidelines?

Using the Early Years Collaborative Model for Improvement could help you to plan and improve children’s opportunities and experiences outdoors.

Most children generally love to be outdoors and they have a right to access nature. As discussed in previous sections the benefits of outdoor play and learning to children’s development, health and wellbeing are many. We can respect children by developing our skills as enablers; helping children to have access and take part, taking account of what we know from our relationship with the child, our observations of them and what they tell us about their individual preferences, views and ideas.

For example, you might reflect on children’s personalities and ask yourself questions such as:

• Who in our setting would enjoy and benefit from risky, energetic, physical activity?

• Do we have quieter, creative children who would prefer sitting on the grass exploring transient art with flower petals and leaves?

• Is this child a water baby who wants to splash in puddles or dam a stream?

• What can an individual child be successful in achieving that will boost their self-esteem?

• How can we collaborate and role-model while letting children and young people take the lead?

• Are we reinforcing this child’s achievements with positive feedback and praise?

You respect children using care services when you ensure all of them are:

• Listened to

• Able to influence the service you provide

• Included

• Not discriminated against on any basis

• Given equal opportunities and can participate fully

• Able to reflect on their experiences and contribute to improving the service.

Giving children opportunities to engage with their local environment can help develop their responsibility within their own community. Topics include: waste management, habitat or wildlife protection; or exploring sustainability in the key areas of Scotland’s fishing, farming, energy, tourism and forestry. Projects for young children should be relevant, understandable real-life experiences that extend their natural interest and enquiry. For example, growing and eating their own produce or sharing produce with another group in the community have become commonplace. Many settings have worked towards the Eco-school Scotland Award. For older children, perhaps in out-of-school care or residential settings, they might enjoy discovering, exploring and conserving a local wild place and sharing their learning while working toward the John Muir Award, run by the John Muir Trust.

Cultural Inclusion:

• In Getting it Right for Every Child, ensuring children are included means examining each child as an individual and ensuring they can take part, feel included and accepted. Children’s self-esteem relies on their culture and diversity being valued and celebrated and feeling they can contribute equally.

• Encouraging children to engage with the local community in local outdoor projects helps all children to feel included in the sense of the New Zealand early years guidance ‘iki’; to have a sense of place, belonging and identity, to have two-way engagement with the community. These aspects are important in building all children’s self-confidence and self-esteem.

Physical Inclusion and Disability:

• For each child, think about accessibility, their stage of development and physical ability. For example, this could mean thinking about creating safe spaces for babies to crawl, explore and develop their senses. If any child has mobility or sight impairment, sensory considerations are crucial. You should plan thoughtfully so that everyone is included, rather than taking separate measures to meet the needs of an excluded group. You should consider accessible pathways and manageable gradients for your service’s grounds. However, your areas need not be sterile – think about adding interest and sensory experience, with varying materials, for example. The public areas you visit should already be accessible but may pose challenges that need creative solutions.

Social Inclusion:

• Services can play an important role in ensuring that outdoor play is seen as something that can be enjoyed by girls and boys alike. Social attitudes and values can mean not all parents and carers see outdoor play as an equal opportunity for both girls and boys. Economic barriers may need to be overcome if payments are required for ‘extra-curricular’ activities.

• There are close links in ensuring children are included by respecting their views and interests, and involving them in planning and risk assessments of their own abilities.

• For most children, the outdoors can be a great leveller, offering an environment where they can be free to participate in their own way – an environment where all differences are respected and can play on common ground.

• You can promote equality and ensure that children are not excluded, for example because they don’t have the right clothing or footwear or attend part-time.

• The outdoors should offer opportunities for children to play in wider age groups and with siblings in the same setting, or in the community. The outdoors experience can support children to build friendships, familial relationships and a have wider sense of community that helps them to feel included.

Play Map - A Resource for Community Planning Partnerships

Out to Play - creating outdoor play experiences for children: practical guidance

Scotland's Play Ranger Toolkit

The Play Return: A review of the wider impact of play initiatives

Managing Risk in Play Provision: An Implementation Guide

Play Strategy for Scotland: Our Action Plan

Play Strategy for Scotland: Our Vision

Playing It Safe? A study of the regulation of outdoor play for children and young people in residential care

Infection prevention and control in childcare settings

Building the Ambition: National Practice Guidance on Early Learning and Childcare

Play Scotland Play Types Toolkit

Creative STAR Learning provides support, training, advice and resources on all aspects of outdoor play. 

Using local greenspace as part of your approach to re-opening: Aberdeen ELC guidance

Experiencing Music Outside

Stepping Out: Valuing the Outdoors

Lawson Foundation Outdoor Play Strategy Final Report (Outdoor Play Sector)

Children are outside every day, in the playground or in the nearby forest, which is a five-minute walk away. Here are some of the benefits for children being outside that the service identifies:

“In our experience, children benefit enormously by being outdoors – a different mood comes over the whole group and each individual child seems to instantaneously relax. The contact with natural materials and textures feeds the sensory being of the child and brings them to instinctively experiment, investigate and elaborate. The children spontaneously share their experiences, and the imagination and creativity are given free rein. Social skills and language can be greatly improved in these situations. “The learning that happens outdoors touches all areas of child development and deeply nourishes the growing child. It is interesting to see how shy and withdrawn children can gradually open up when playing outside and come to feel more confident and strong.

“An important aspect of outdoor time is the possibility to observe the changes in nature, the transformation of the elements and the interdependence of all living beings. Besides the obvious element of ‘scientific’ learning, these experiences, in my opinion, give the child a deep sense of belonging, allowing them to feel part of a wonderful, ever-changing world. Ultimately, these are the seeds of resilience.

“One such magic moment happened a few years ago on a crisp, cold, winter morning. We were walking on the road to go back to the kindergarten when the sun came out and it was warm and strong. After a while, from the roofs and from the meadow, a thin film of mist started to rise. We were singing and from our mouths, the same was happening. The children started to laugh and were excited that they could do the same and make mist, just like the Earth. And not in a million years, as a teacher, could I have hoped to teach them that; that we are all part of the world and we belong together.”

“Our nursery is an Old Church Manse and we are really fortunate to have a large mature garden for our children. Last year we decided to focus on creating an outdoor learning space with what we already had. The idea came from wanting to offer something different from our existing provision in the garden, so it was a bit of an experiment in creating something that was going to get the children involved in playing with different items and ultimately creating their own play resources. It’s been a great project for staff, and it’s been wonderful to watch the children enjoy this space so much too. 

"The chalet was originally an empty playhouse which, as with most unused spaces at nursery, slowly became a storage area. Our staff used their imaginations and developed this unused empty space from items that were around nursery, their homes and the garden. They brought in unused items and recycled lots of tyres, logs and other natural resources. Watching the area develop was very enjoyable for staff and watching the children enjoy the space encouraged staff to experiment with lots of different products. “Oh, look, I found this in my garage, wouldn’t it be great for the chalet!” is a typical comment.

"Cost is minimal if you have a shed or area already in your outdoor space. The chalet is made from wood and we have tried to keep the majority of the resources natural or recycled: pots of moss, clay, sticks, stones, logs, leaves, shells, acorns, and so on. The children make their own resources and enjoy den-building, making bows and arrows, feeding birds, clay-making activities, hanging mobiles, bird-watching and lots and lots of inventing!

"We watched a group of children make a hammock for the treehouse with bark and string. They then added a pulley so the hammock moved upstairs and downstairs. We have a tough tray full of sawdust on the floor, the children added tubes for the sawdust to be poured into. They then attached string to the tube and added a stone for weight at the other end and wow! A child made a weighing device! The children have learned so much from this natural play and it is wonderful to see them extending and taking ownership of their own environment."

“We contacted our local factor at Drummond Estate to ask about having our forest school in Thomas Wood. They were delighted to say yes – our next move was to contact the people who manage the woodland and they were very helpful in helping us to organise a three-year woodland management plan and to ensure that our working area was safe for the children to use.

"The children became involved with this, supporting their knowledge and understanding of the importance of putting something back and not taking away the habitat that is a vital resource for many living creatures, as well as the importance of trees in their world. This turned them into eco warriors as they became aware of the importance of protecting the woodlands for their future and future generations, learning about sustainability. Three members of staff completed different levels of forest school training – an amazing opportunity that has enhanced the experiences of all stakeholders.

"The different experiences on offer look at how the children can use the resources within the woodlands; recognising that we only use dead wood for fairy dens, dens and shelters, transient art and fires. The group understand that we would never simply cut a tree down to make a den. They recognise that if we were going to make our own tools from wood we would need to use green wood and look for a tree that was at the end of its life, or perhaps one that was not growing as it should. We would only use natural wastage – our ‘gifts’ from the woodlands – and an opportunity to clear the woodland floor to allow regrowth.

"They are continually building on their skills through working co-operatively, as they grow in selfesteem and confidence. Children are empowered to realise the importance of protecting living things as they develop a sense of wonder and awe about their planet and the natural beauty that surrounds them. The empathy that has grown in the children has been a joy to observe as they become familiar with, and grow in, what could only be described as ‘immense love’ for Thomas Wood and an appreciation of what they can learn from this environment."

“It was felt that it was imperative as a family centre that The Cottage provides a space for a Dad’s Group. This idea came from dads after a comment from a dad that was dropping off his partner and child to a mother and baby group at the centre. A local health visitor who was at the time completing a dissertation on young dads as part of her master’s degree at college was then contacted for her evidence and thoughts on dad provision. The Cottage felt that this group would need to function differently from other groups as we did not think that getting them to sit around a table doing activities would be a successful way for them to bond as a group as well as feel that they were achieving anything positive that would make them want to come back week after week.

"Our first group of seven dads wanted to do something that would give them both physical activity and emotional support and therefore we agreed to do the children’s garden with the support of local businesses and achieved this. One day one of the dads asked about a piece of wasteland that was directly adjacent to our children’s garden and said that would be great for growing fruit and vegetables that could be used for groups provided in the centre. After contacting the local council, we secured this land and the dads developed into a beautiful woodland area with beds for the children and parents to plant and grow. This garden also allowed families to have fun together and is used for one to one sessions with our family support service, supervised contact sessions, family fun day events as well as by our children’s support service to give children the opportunity to play, grow and explore.

"Our Dads project has been ongoing since 2010 and operates four days per week. It has given the dads in the group a purpose that has benefited the community as well as allowing them to learn new skills, gain support from one another, form friendships and has given them a sense of feeling that they are part of something again. This is huge for our Dads Group as they all suffered from low self-esteem and a lack of confidence which was due to a number of reasons which included job losses, lack of being able to gain employment, addiction, poverty and mental health issues. The dads in this project have told staff that it has given them a sense of fulfilment and they have all benefited by feeling included and with a real purpose.

"Staff working with the dads have noticed tremendous change within their general wellbeing and have said that the project has given them a focus and made them feel that they are able to be more involved in their children’s lives as they have a greater understanding of their needs. It has also allowed staff involved in this project to get to know them and access appropriate services such as counselling and educational opportunities.”

“We have found that the imaginative games that evolve from the beach are continued on the children’s return to the playroom. The children direct their own play; they have a respected voice in their learning. One example of this was when a couple of the boys started acting out the Peter and Paul birdie rhyme as they played on the beach. They were singing the rhyme and using the space to run along the shoreline to fly away and come back. On our return to playgroup, the boys wanted to make Peter and Paul puppets. They rummaged in the junk box and raided the art table and found all the materials they needed to make their puppets. As they were doing this one or two of the other children decided they would like to make bird puppets too. With only a little (very little) direction from the play leaders, three or four puppets were created. Then, as a whole group, they decided they would like to put on a puppet show, so they all decorated the climbing frame, sorted out their roles, put out chairs for an audience and put on a show for all the children and adults in the playroom.

"As practitioners, we just stood back, observed, admired the creativity, problem solving, choice making and confidence they all showed. As a demonstration of the curriculum in action, we need look no further. The beach provided the catalyst, the rest evolved.”