Outdoor Play and Learning

Going Outdoors

Daily outdoor physical activity is essential to developing a healthy body and mind.  We are committed to ensuring all children have daily access to the outdoors regardless of their age and stage of development.  

We understand the vital role that play and learning outdoors has in developing children’s large and fine motor skills, life-skills and language.   Regular access to outdoor play and learning helps children understand the need to keep fit and healthy, and gives them a range of experiences to develop different muscle groups, balance and coordination.

Experiencing learning in a natural environment, supports children's understanding of climate change, sustainable living and recycling.

and access sunlight in order to absorb vitamin D more effectively. 

Children have access to a range of outdoor areas allowing them to explore different resources and different environments. 

We provide an inclusive outdoor environment with areas for non-mobile and physically supported children to freely explore. We make reasonable adjustments where required, in line with the Equality Act 2010.  

We go outdoors with all children in all weathers (unless it is deemed unsafe). 

We give consideration to the following when assessing the safety of weather conditions:

• Winter snowfall (cold temperatures, snowfall, ice, wet clothes)
• Windspeed (moving objects, visibility)
• Rainfall (slipping, wet clothes)
• Sunshine (UV-light exposure, heat exposure, dehydration)

We also refer to The Chief Medical Office guidance on physical activity. [1]

The outdoor areas, both within the nursery grounds and in the local community have a wealth of experiences and resources, which help children to learn and develop in a variety of ways, including independence, exploration and investigative skills, risk taking and self-esteem, all of which support children to develop skills now and for the future. 

We take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of children through risk assessments whilst balancing the benefits to learning through providing an element of ‘risky play’. This type of play allows children to explore and find their own boundaries in a safe environment with supportive practitioners. Staff are informed of the importance of safety procedures and are trained appropriately to ensure these procedures are followed effectively.

We ensure outdoor play is adequately supervised and we have robust safety checks in place, including regular head counts. 

We obtain parental permission before any child leaves the nursery during the day. This includes short outings into the local community. There is more information in the outings policy. 

We plan all outdoor play opportunities and outings to complement the early years curriculum, this includes providing children with purposeful activities and quality resources that support and follow their individual interests and the seven areas of learning and development. We plan both adult-led and child-initiated opportunities to enable children to learn and practice new skills, knowledge and behaviours. Where possible and in line with the children’s needs we will also often have snacks and meals outdoors and some children will sleep outdoors (see sleep policy). 

Where activities take place away from the setting (e.g. in the local wood) then a nursery mobile phone and first aid kit will be taken to ensure the safety of children at all times. A trained paediatric first aider will be present when away from the main setting. 

We use this policy alongside the following policies to ensure the safety and welfare of children throughout their time outside:

• Health and Safety
• Sun Care 
• Caring for Babies and Toddlers
• Lost Child Policy 
• Parents and Carers as Partners 
• Supervision of Children 
• Safeguarding and Child Protection
• Outings. 

Dated: 11 April 2023 Review: December 2023