policies...

Outdoor Play

Statement of Intent

The importance of outdoor play is well recognised. It is seen as an integral part of early years provision that must be always available to children. The outdoor environment is a special place for all children and offers the type of learning most appropriate to young children, space to be active and learn by moving and doing, using a combination of experiences and play opportunities drawn from and building on the child's own personal world.

Outdoor play offers the following:

A chance to develop large and fine motor skills and cardiovascular endurance this helps keep children healthy.
It provides the chance to explore and discover the natural world.
It offers the children the opportunity to explore space around them, to learn to share and negotiate space.
Stimulates the senses offering different sights, sounds, smells and touch/feel opportunities.

Aims

Outdoor play is an active form of learning that unites the mind; body, and spirit, children learn well when the whole self is stimulated.
Outdoor play reduces the tension that often comes with trying to achieve or needing to learn, outside children are more free and relaxed.
Children who learn to enjoy outdoor play are more likely to become adults who enjoy physical exercise and outdoor pursuits.
Outdoor play offers the chance to learn and cooperate with others building social skills.
Outside is a different learning environment which promotes creativity through new challenges and tasks.
Outside, children will learn to be aware of risks and hazards, learning safety as they play.

Methods

Adults will observe the children outdoors to see how they play what interests them and how to support their play.
Children need to be encouraged to engage in self paced play, unstructured outdoor play and be free to use their imagination.
Different kinds of outdoor play will be encouraged using rides, construction with boxes or crates, crawling, climbing, balancing, using parachute etc. Good use of small equipment will be encouraged e.g. balls, bats, beanbags, scoops, etc.
Children will be encouraged to look after the garden plants and creatures in the garden. Where possible the outdoor play should complement the indoor play e.g. such as rebuilding the home corner outdoors.
Inside water play using tubes and bottles to move water can be paralleled outside using guttering, drainpipes and buckets.
An outside activity can be contrasted with an activity indoors, small-scale painting inside can be contrasted with the use of large sheets of paper and decorating brushes outside.
Provision inside can be enhanced and developed further by well thought-out outside activities, for instance, a travel agent's shop could extend children's outside play about going on holiday.
If free flow outdoor play is offered 2 adults will be outside in the garden and 2 adults inside the playroom. If the whole group goes outside 3 adults will be in the garden and 1 in the playroom.

Children's rules for outdoor play

These rules are formed on a positive note as advised by the behaviour support worker and worded exactly as the staff will reinforce them with the children. In brackets they are explained for the preschool adults.