Outdoor Play Project at Lark Hill Nursery School

Where we started ? We loved the outdoors but… Everything didn’t have a home We wanted to explore if all of the adults had the same approach We were due building work

What we did ? We decided we had four main aspects to develop 1. The way we discussed outdoor learning with families 2. Organisation of space 3. Storage (wellington boots, suits and the new collections) 4. Adult role

Our discussions with families OUR AIM We wanted our families to understand that learning in the outdoors is as important as in the indoors.

SO WHAT DID WE DO ? Created a new website on which the children have their own pages and we collected and shared positive images of outdoor play Rearranged the groups so Margaret is able to run drop ins at the beginning of the week

Organisation of space OUR AIM To create more space. We asked ourselves Do we need our climbing frame ? Do we need bikes ? Helle Nebelong "I am convinced that standardised playgrounds are dangerous, just in another way. When the distance between all the rings in a climbing net or a ladder is exactly the same, the child has no need to concentrate on where he puts his feet. Play becomes simplified and the child does not have to worry about his movements. This lesson cannot be carried over to all of the knobbly and asymmetrical forms with which one is confronted throughout life."

Organisation of space SO WHAT DID WE DO ? Removed the climbing frame Asked the builders to add an outside tap Decided to only have bikes out twice a week

Adult role OUR AIM To think about what the adults do outdoors To reflect on if we share the same attitude to risk To make sure all of the staff have the clothing they need

Adult role WHAT DID WE DO ? Met as a whole staff to discuss approaches and attitudes to risk Add images to promote outdoor play to our website Bought staff new boots Our new website

Storage OUR AIM To have a home for everything which is clearly labelled To develop the storage for our wellington boots and waterproof suits This will be our water play area We now have room for our construction collection after the removal of our climbing frame

Storage WHAT DID WE DO ? Decided on the areas for each of the collections Introduce a new welly stand Introduce a new unit for suits

Other developments inspired by our discussions Rope swing Climbing log

The future Establish each area when the building work is finished with clear labels and storage (construction, water and den collection) Challenging our children Margaret’s coffee mornings

Thank you to Kath and Early Excellence for helping us think and plan for the next steps in developing the way we use our outdoors.