Outdoor CPD: Part 8 - Out and about

Traditional perceptions of outdoor learning can leave practitioners believing they need a repurposed nursery garden, or a den-filled, leafy woodland, to deliver such provision. But a setting’s local community can offer equally enriching learning opportunities.

Taking children out into the community can help foster in them ‘a sense of belonging to something bigger than the immediate family or setting’ which ‘lays foundations for living as a community’, writes educational consultant Claire Warden in Outdoor Provision in the Early Years, edited by Jan White. ‘A particular strength of outdoor provision is that it offers children many opportunities to experience the real world, to have first-hand experiences, do real tasks and do what adults do.’

But how can practitioners prepare for this style of outdoor education?

STAFF CONFIDENCE

At Kingsland Kindergarten in Stoke-on-Trent, manager Ceris Proctor realised children at her setting could benefit from more trips into the local community, after being offered training by a local initiative. In 2019, the Wider World project, delivered by Early Education and funded by the Stoke-on-Trent Opportunity Area, provided training to 64 private, voluntary and independent settings, encouraging them to make the most of outings.

One of the reasons Kingsland staff had been reluctant to go out was because they believed they had to double up on ratios. ‘We thought instead of a 1:4 ratio it would be a 1:2,’ says Ms Proctor. ‘When we did the training, we realised you didn’t need to. You need to risk-assess and it depends on what children you’ve got whether you’ll need an extra pair of hands.’ In order to make it easier to take out babies, the setting decided to invest in a quadruple buggy.

The training raised staff confidence, says Ms Proctor. They realised they didn’t need to go far from their setting for the children to benefit, nor spend a lot of money. They also recognised they already had all the skills they needed to deliver outdoor education.

‘The more we were doing it, the more the confidence just went up,’ she says. ‘If the children have got interests in certain areas then it’s about looking at how we can develop that outside. If they are interested in animals, we’ve got a pet shop down the road. We’ve got a hairdresser down the road, so if the children are into hairdressing, we can do that.’

Ms Proctor says outdoor learning has been successful at the setting because staff plan for an outing every week.

WHAT’S THE POINT?

Practitioners can be hesitant to go out into the community because they fail to see the educational value in everyday experiences, suggests early years outdoor learning trainer Jackie Slaughter. She suggests settings tie in trips into the community with significant dates, such as visiting a post office at Christmas. Children can post letters to Santa, or thank you letters after the holiday. In the past, Ms Slaughter has taken children to large Chinese supermarkets at Chinese New Year. ‘We always took loads and loads of pictures, printed them out, and the children used those as a stimulus for writing.’

She recommends that practitioners who might be nervous about teaching out and about consider how much more engaged children will be outdoors. Many studies have shown that the stimulating outdoor environment helps children to focus and improves behaviour, such as a study by Emily Marchant at the University of Swansea in 2019. It found ‘behaviour was better during outdoor learning than in classroom-based lessons’.

‘It’s that change of mindset,’ says Ms Slaughter. ‘Look at what the children are doing and how you can link that to the objectives you may need to deliver.’

NATURE CONNECTION

Settings can also get involved with community-based projects, such as helping at a community garden or litter-picking. Muddy Feet Training founder Alex Williams recommends practitioners start by researching what local groups exist and contacting them to see if children can get involved.

Ms Williams also recommends looking at what national citizen-science schemes are running, such as a butterfly count where children report the results of a local survey. Charities such as The National Trust and The Wildlife Trusts are good starting places for these.

When going into the community, Ms Williams urges practitioners to consider the ‘nature connection’ they can create between children and the outdoors, as well as the learning opportunities. ‘It’s not just about visiting a place for an educational benefit, but also creating some sort of connection while you’re there through your senses,’ she explains. ‘Instead of just going for a walk, you might go for a walk and sit by a tree and observe the tree. You might continue to do that over time, each season, so you’re creating that connection with nature, rather than just going and educating about what sort of tree it is.’

This approach can benefit children’s mental health, as well as encourage them to protect the environment when they are older. By visiting the same places repeatedly, children can also create connections with other people in their communities and build local relationships.