Lack of outdoor space causing childcare providers problems
A survey carried out by Learning through Landscapes and the Early Childhood Forum found that many childcare providers are finding it difficult to offer high-quality learning with the amount of outdoor they have. It has also been highlighted that more practitioners need further training.
From this report Learning through Landscapes and the Early, Childhood Forum would like Government and Ofsted to strengthen the statutory requirement for children accessing outdoor play and make the guidance clearer.
As outdoor play is important for children’s learning and development, if childcare settings are failing to provide high-quality learning outdoors then how will this affect children’s development?
According to the survey, many participants said that health and safety concerns, inadequate quality of resources, lack of insufficient outdoor space and lack of training prevented them from going outside.
Also with the increase in the free childcare entitlement and the number of two-year-olds accessing childcare this is likely to put added pressure on outdoor space. Some children have limited access to outdoor play so when at nursery or with the childminder it is imperative they have daily access to outdoor play.
As there is clear evidence of the impact outdoor play has on children’s learning and development and how it can help prevent obesity, what can early years providers do to help rectify this issue of children not getting enough outdoor play?
Juno Hollyhock, Chief Executive of Learning through Landscapes said, ‘There is plenty of well-documented research about the benefits of play and learning outdoors for young children, including their physical development, which is an area of current concern for public health in the UK. So why are so many children in early years settings still not getting enough outdoor time?’
Melanie Pilcher, Policy & Standards Manager at the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said, ‘We welcome this report and the attention it brings to the importance of outdoor play in early years education. Every child should have the opportunity to enjoy high quality and meaningful outdoor experiences, no matter what kind of setting they attend.
‘It is unsurprising that some parents and practitioners have concerns over outside play, including bad weather, health and safety, and children getting dirty, so any resource that can be shared to increase their awareness of the value of learning outdoors is to be embraced.
There are many childcare settings up and down the country making best use of their outdoor area which offers high-quality outdoor play to all children. Practitioners need to use their skilful knowledge and ensure the outdoor space is used to its maximum and if this means further training for practitioners then this is what needs to happen.