Outdoor Play - What is it and why is it important?

What is Play?

Play is behaviour that is freely chosen, personally directed,
and intrinsically motivated. That is, children determine and control the content and intent of their play, by following their own instincts, ideas, and interests, in their own way and for their own reasons. 

 

Children have the freedom to choose how and when to play

 

Play is the universal language of childhood. It is an activity which exists for its own sake, but also has a fundamental role. All children should have the opportunity to play every day.

 

“Play creates a brain that has increased flexibility and improved potential for learning later in life”

(Lesser & Russel, 2008)

 

Play is innate behaviour that contributes to quality of life, sense of well-being, and is a key element in effective learning – developing physical, cognitive, social, and emotional skills. Play has a central role in developing strong attachments. Play encourages creativity, imagination, and problem solving.

 

Adults need to encourage and facilitate free play whilst not inhibiting children’s opportunity for freedom and choice. 

 

Why Is Play Important?

Children learn with their bodies before they learn with their brains and in this sense, movement is our first language. For young children, physical activity is about playing and having opportunities to move about and explore the world around them. 

 

The benefits of regular physical activity include improved learning and attainment as well as better mental health and physical fitness.

 

Scotland’s Play Strategy underpins the requirement for children to have the opportunity to play every day. We all have a role in realising Scotland’s vision for play by ensuring all children can access play opportunities in a range of different settings which offer variety, adventure, and challenge.

Child-led play, learning, and risky play is part of the core ethos of Forest School. With child-led play comes unpredictable moments, uncertainty, and potential hazards. However, risky play can also enhance a child’s mental and physical development. Forest School practitioners should offer the children deep learning opportunities through play with a wide variety of different situations that allow children to test their own limits of physical, intellectual, and social development. 

 

Why Outdoor Play?

It is widely recognised that being outdoors is healthy for children and adults alike however, there is growing research to show that regular access to the outdoors and the freedom to play and move is essential for children’s development. There is significant evidence that playing outdoors is more than just fun: it can contribute positively to child development, child health, and early learning.

 

“All children and young people enjoy high quality play opportunities, particularly outdoor free play in stimulating spaces with access to nature, on a daily basis in early learning and childcare, nursery and school.”

(Care Inspectorate, Play Statement)

 

“As a child I play outdoors every day and regularly explore a natural environment”

(Health and Social Care Standards, 1.32)

 

“Outdoor free play is crucial to children’s mental health and wellbeing”

(Play Scotland)

 

“Positive approaches to the benefits of risky play underpin effective outdoor and physical play and learning experiences”

(Care Inspectorate, Quality Framework 2.1)

 

“Access to active play in nature and outdoors, with its risks, is essential for healthy child development”

(Canadian Government, 2015)

 

A recent Swedish research study suggests that children at outdoor nurseries have twice the concentration capacity as children at normal nurseries. 

 

Increasingly, research shows that being outdoors supports a nurturing experience. Particularly, being outdoors has profound benefits for children in terms of psychological well-being; buffering life stresses and boosting resilience. The outdoors offers children an ideal environment for active, open-ended learning, exploration, and creativity. Playing outdoors offers other benefits such as development of the senses, hearing, vision, smell, and spacial awareness, as well as increasing capacity for learning.

 

Outdoor play:

-               Enhances learning,

-               Supports children to understand and respect nature,

-               Improves the physical health of children by increasing physical activity,

-               Promotes mental, social, and emotional wellbeing,

-               Supports wider learning by helping to boost creativity, imagination, and understanding,

-               Brings people together, connecting children with their local areas,

-               Importantly, It Is Fun!

 

Through play…children learn by doing; they

explore and experience the world around them;

experiment with new ideas, roles, and experiences.