Think back to when you were a child. Can you remember whether your parents went outside with you often, or not at all? Did you visit the park or nature reserves, go for walks in the woods, climb trees or go to the beach together? Or are your memories of times with your parents mainly about being indoors?
For many, childhood is becoming increasingly contained or restricted. Report after report raises alarm bells about how this may be affecting children's health and well-being, their ability to learn and to become self-reliant and resilient individuals.
Spending time outside makes a difference to physical health and well-being. Contact with nature can help people de-stress, improve their concentration and recover faster from illness, as well as learn about the natural environment. If we grow up without such experiences ourselves, we are less likely to take our own children out - or allow them to roam independently as they get older.
BEING TOGETHER
A group of people in Oxfordshire, supported by Learning through Landscapes, used the opportunity presented by the growth of children's centres to do something about their concerns through a project called Without Walls.
Project worker Stuart Turner explains, 'We wanted to support children's centres to work with families to create interesting outdoor spaces and to get outside more in their local community. Many mothers, fathers, grandparents and other caregivers are longing to have more time to enjoy being together with their children.
'Through Without Walls, they can get involved in their child's play and learning, feel healthier in the fresh air, enjoying the seasons, growing food and discovering local wildlife. Getting muddy, climbing trees and learning how to manage risks are important learning experiences which some children are not getting in our technological, wipe-down and "cotton wool" risk-averse lifestyle.'
When centres sign up to become part of the Without Walls project they discuss their ideas and plans with the landscape development worker. They might plan a range of things, from making physical changes to the outdoor environment - sandpits, dens, mounds, planting, beds for growing food, water play features, or somewhere for outdoor cooking.
They are then offered some 'supported sessions' inviting parents to come and get involved in doing something practical outside, such as water play, making bird feeders or cooking and storytelling around a camp fire.
This is an opportunity to find out parents' interests and get some excitement going about what happens in the outdoor space. Encouraging parents to observe their children outdoors and see how they react, what they like to do, how they behave, is important for knowing when to stand back and when to get involved with your children's play and learning.
When ideas, observations and suggestions have been gathered, and, where needed, some funding has been identified, the centres are ready to start making bigger physical changes to the outdoor area.
The children's centres who have been involved in Without Walls for many months report a range of great outcomes. Children and families have played together, learned together and transformed their outdoor space.
Staff enthusiasm and interest is essential. With the right attitude and some commitment, developing outdoor spaces with parents does not need to be an extra 'thing for the children's centre to do'. It can be a creative and fun environment to develop programmes and activities that support the whole children's centre agenda.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS
When developing outdoor work with families:
- - identify a link person - preferably a parent and a member of staff to champion family work outdoors
- - develop long-term plans for the use of the space - get photos and make visits to places that inspire you
- - raise expectations and be ambitious - this is meant to be about transformation
- - take little steps toward your bigger goals, so that people see things happening from the start
- - allocate a budget (however small), or be prepared to apply for grants and fundraise for development
- - ensure that the management and whole staff team are on board
- - consider how outdoors might be used to support programmes around child health, speech and language development, mental health and wellbeing and parenting
- - communicate - with words and picture noticeboards, at staff meetings and parents groups (Learning through Landscapes membership materials can help)
- - remember that food and celebration are important elements of working outdoors, whether it's hot drinks and campfires in the winter or a strawberry picnic in the summer, or simply making sure there is always an opportunity for a drink and snack
- - think about making your outside area comfortable for adults too, with good seating, shade and shelter.
CASE STUDY: The Leys Children's Centre - Cuddesdon Corner
Based in Blackbird Leys in Oxford, this vibrant centre offers a whole range of services and since 2007 has creche facilities with access to outdoor play.
Fathers' involvement in the centre is strong and they have helped with the construction work on site as well as attending organised events. Cooking and sharing food at events is particularly successful here and some of the physical changes have resulted in an outdoor cooking area.
Changes
Permanent changes completed since June 2008 are:
- a deep sand pit, cover and canopy
- a mound created from spoil from sandpit with wooden climbing feature constructed over it
- ropes and pulleys attached to various structures
- construction of fire pit and outdoor cooking
- den-making, water play.
The centre's involvement in Without Walls has resulted in significant changes, says manager Mikko Entknapp. 'We have been able to develop a clear vision of how we want to use the outdoor area as a community space, particularly for the very young children. Without Walls has offered a structure and impetus to "get us out there".
'The change of our focus to the outdoors, in terms of thinking and awareness of the requirement to be outside, has been as important as the actual physical improvements and developments that have taken place.
'Staff are more engaged and eager to go outside. They encourage the families, and the changes have had an effect on every Stay and Play session, with more families accessing the outdoors.'
EVERY CHILD MATTERS
Without Walls has also helped the centre achieve the outcomes set out in Every Child Matters.
Enjoy and achieve
- - Parents and carers have supported their children's learning outdoors.
- - Children have enjoyed play and learning using the outdoor resources, speaking and listening to each other, parents and staff, negotiating and problem-solving.
- - Particularly active children (including some with attention or behaviour difficulties, who need to move a lot) have especially benefited from the outdoor development.
Be healthy
- - Children have been able to climb, dig, slide and jump using the new equipment and learned how to be outdoors in all weathers.
Make a positive contribution
- - Children have been involved in deciding what they wanted to be able to do outdoors, helping to make the changes in the grounds, as well learning how to accept compromise.
PARENT ATTITUDES
- Four in five parents (85 per cent) would like their children to be able to play in natural spaces unsupervised, but fears of strangers and road safety prevent them from giving much freedom to their children
Natural England report on Childhood and Nature, March 2009
- Half of parents (50 per cent) say there aren't enough places where they live for children to play safely without an adult. This is particularly true among low-income families (67 per cent)
- Almost three quarters of parents (72 per cent) want more time to play with their children or to take them places to play
www.playday.org.uk/playday_campaigns/2009_make_time/2009_research.aspx
MORE INFORMATION
- 'Without Walls - Creative work with families outdoors' is available from Learning through Landscapes at www.ltl.org.uk
- 'PlayOut', a practical toolkit for transforming the use, design and management of early years outdoor spaces, is at www.ltl.org.uk
- Playing Outdoors: Spaces and Places, Risks and Challenge by Helen Tovey (Debating Play series, ed. Tina Bruce, OUP)
- Playing and Learning Outdoors: Making Provision for High Quality Experiences in the Outdoor Environment by Jan White (Nursery World/Routledge Essential Guides for Early Years Practitioners)
- Too Safe for Their Own Good? by Jennie Lindon (National Children's Bureau)
- No Fear - Growing Up in a Risk-Averse Society by Tim Gill (Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation)
