Let this be the year of the 'Outdoor Area!'

Do you know what tends to happen when I go into schools and childcare settings and we talk about your learning environments? I get shown the indoor area extensively, all the details, beautiful examples of practitioners following ideas such as the Curiosity Approach with real life authentic materials and aesthetically it looks lovely. Enchanting even! The children use the resources really well

Then, often, I get taken almost as a second thought to an outdoor area and a hand is waved about and I'm told.... 'and this is the outdoor area.'

And then we go back inside.

Can you see where I'm going with this?

Have a quick look at the graph below and look at the lessons (term time) bit...

Also consider that once or twice is still very low and this makes up a large proportion of data in the graph.

The Children’s People and Nature Survey for England: 2022 update (Gov.uk)

Ask yourself now....

When did you last start a session outside?

When you think of free flow do you work from inside with the intention of then going outside.... or vice versa?

I'm going to guess most of you reading are thinking 'oh I do always start inside....'

Of course you do - it's cold most of the time and more unstructured outside but I'm going to try to convince you to reflect and think, what if I was to start outside..... I know wild right?!

I am a huge outdoor area advocate. Even though we live in the UK and actually, I live in the North East of England and it's cold for what often feels like 364 days of the year with that maybe that one hot day when eveyone has a BBQ and buys suncream.... so it's cold BUT I still make sure that me and my family get outside every single day.

Why should we all (but especially children) spend more time outside? - you probably already actually know why but here's some reasons written down that make them seem more real.

1. It relieves stress - spending time outdoors in nature is proven to lower our cortisol levels

2. It strengthens your immunity - your white blood cells stay elevated for longer

3. It keeps you active and encourages you to exercise more... when was the last time you went outside and sat down in a chair for an hour? You don't really do you... it makes you move more.

4. It reduces blood pressure and lowers heart rate - it makes us feel calm. With so many more recorded cases of children experiencing anxiety recently this is an especially important reason.

5. Sharpens focus - it actually gives our bodies a bit of a reset.

(Information taken from askthescientists.com)

Ok, so this is all lovely stuff but we need the children to learn, we need to meet the requirements of the curriculum.

Yes you do but if you plan your outdoor area really effectively there are so many ways that you can.

(Which is why my job exists really)

Ask yourself what holds you back from spending more time using your outdoor area? Is it having to get the children ready? The space? The adults required? That you don't have enough for the children to do?

Evaluate what it is..... and then really think about how you can overcome these obstacles.

Sometimes it can be the vision and seeing the potential but the secret is just having some really creative thinking. I once turned a space that was originally described as an 'outdoor prison' that had high concrete walls and two massive sheds in it into a wonderful outdoor space.

It's also thinking about the weather and how you can use the right clothing and canopies, screens or shelters to help with this. There is no point in denying that the weather makes it really challenging, but instead of just accepting it and staying inside if we think of solutions, instead we can create spaces that make the children's experiences not hindered by the weather.

When I was teaching THE WORST circumstance for me was 'WET PLAY' if we all had to stay indoors, especially across lunchtime... I'd just dread it.

I was very well known for answering to people who would ask, 'Shall we just keep them in?'

'Nope, get them out.' Often followed by a little pretend kick for emphasis...

It might seem like I was being heartless, but the real reason in fact and what I was really thinking about was just how dysregulated they would all be for the afternoon sessions. Remember the expression '..climbing the walls?' It's not just 'Oh they should be outside' I honestly believe it is an absolute necessity.

I also really love the idea that when children are outside of the 'classroom,' the 'troublemaker' becomes a leader. Yes I know, it's not true all of the time but it is a lot of the time and that really says something about our classrooms and the whole idea of education doesn't it? Who is it suited to and for?

Another idea that you may want to consider is what is it that you'd like to improve in your setting or the cohort that you have? Work on mark making?

A school that I'm currently working with is situated in a area with a really high number of children that are classified as 'obese.' So we are working together on ideas on how that can adapt their outdoor area to increase more opportunities for Physical Development.

Pulley systems provide a brilliant upper body workout and crosses the midline!

Hopefully you are now feeling reflective and thinking about your outdoor area in a new way.

Make this the year that you embrace your outdoor area and if you are stuck, get in touch!

I love supporting settings to develop their outdoor areas so if you'd like some advice please contact me.

Remember for site visits I'm primarily based in the North East but I'm happy to take video/phone calls.

There's also a couple of mash up clips from the Marvellous Mud Kitchen's course below, just to give you some more ideas.

Take care,

Emma x