A special place

The outdoor environment is a special place for all children and contributes enormously from birth onwards to children's happiness, health, stimulation, and development in all areas. It is a favourite place and offers the type of learning most appropriate to young children - space to be active and learn by moving and doing; multi-sensory experiences involving the child's whole body; a combination of real experiences and play opportunities drawn from and building on the child's personal world.

The learning of babies, toddlers and children is strongly supported through good use of the outdoor environment. Frameworks for the care and education of young children from birth to five across the UK recognise the importance of providing a stimulating environment outside as well as indoors, and making the most of what these environments have to offer children.

For example, the Birth to Three Matters guidance for developing competent learners states that effective practice includes 'opportunities for creative physical experiences for babies such as bouncing, rolling and splashing both indoors and outdoors' (A Competent Learner: Being Creative).

Similarly, the Foundation Stage Curriculum Guidance for England states, 'Well-planned play, both indoors and outdoors, is a key way in which children learn with enjoyment and challenge' (p25) and that practitioners 'provide rich and stimulating experiences (when they) make good use of outdoor space so that children are enabled to learn by working on a larger, more active scale than is possible indoors' (p15).

The early years approach in the UK has traditionally been rooted in the outdoor learning environment - the child's garden. Margaret McMillan and Susan Isaacs, pioneers of this practice, both made much of the strong affinity children have with the outdoor world.

Last year, celebrating its 80th anniversary, Early Education raised the profile of the outdoors in early childhood education, just as Learning through Landscapes (LTL) was developing support for the early years sector in response to the high level of interest shown by providers.

The time was right for professionals within the early years sector to come together to discuss and agree just what good outdoor play should look and feel like for young children. Representatives of national early years organisations, Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships, and early years consultants who have a particular interest or expertise in outdoor play met up and found that a strong sense of a shared understanding emerged, with clear themes about what children are entitled to. Welsh, Scottish and English educational approaches were all represented, a shared vision statement was agreed and the identified themes were then developed into a set of core values that participants were invited to endorse.

It is hoped that this 'Shared Vision and Values' (available as a poster in this edition of Nursery World), which represents the experience, thinking and beliefs of so many individuals working directly in the field, will inform and guide the work of the early years sector, to make the kind of play and learning young children want and must have into a reality.

We hope that you will put this poster in a prominent place where staff and parents can see it and that you will photocopy and distribute the values.

Use the 'Shared Vision and Values' as a prompt to review your outdoor play and prepare your own vision for the children in your setting.

Learning through Landscapes

Originally established in 1990, LTL is an educational charity working to research and promote the value and benefits of good school grounds and outdoor spaces. It supports settings and schools to maximise the potential of their outdoor spaces for learning, development and community involvement. LTL carries out practical research to develop effective practice and approaches, sources funding and runs projects, shares successful practice, brings together settings with an interest in the outdoors, and campaigns and builds capacity across the country to provide direct support to practitioners.

The shared understanding about the best outdoor play for young children has formed the basis of our approach for our early years services. The Vision and Values underpin and drive our work to raise the quality of outdoor provision for children from birth to the end of the Foundation Stage years.

Early Years Outdoors

LTL is working with several early years organisations to strengthen support across the sector for providers in a range of settings and has developed a dedicated early years support programme, called Early Years Outdoors (EYO), tailored to meet the needs of private, voluntary, community and maintained providers.

Plenty of time outdoors must be considered a necessary part of an early years environment, but many providers face difficulties in offering the kind of outdoor play to which they aspire. Every setting is unique and has its own circumstances to work with, although the various types of provider tend to have strengths and difficulties particular to them.

Settings may have to share their space, with other people and with car parks. Maybe it is difficult for children to move between the indoor and outdoor areas. Perhaps there is no outdoor storage space or insufficient equipment. They may have limited budgets for any improvements. Staff may feel unsure of their role outdoors or feel that parents do not appreciate their efforts to broaden play opportunities outside.

With generous funding from the Sure Start Unit of the Department for Education and Skills, LTL has teamed up with the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) to give providers practical support to develop their outdoor provision, closing the gap between the vision and the reality for most settings. EYO is a package of support for settings across the sector working with children from birth to the end of the Foundation Stage.

Early years settings in Scotland and Wales will find the materials highly appropriate, as will childminder networks. EYO will be launched by Baroness Ashton at New River Green Early Years Centre in London next Tuesday (4 May).

Early Years Outdoors seeks to:

* Get you started in improving your outdoor provision and practice, and help all the way

* Inspire and motivate you with real examples and realistic advice

* Give you confidence, particularly by showing you what others have done and how they did it

* Put your children at the heart of what you do

* Help you develop your rationale, vision and approach for outdoor provision, so that all members of your team - including parents - agree and are on board, and help you reflect on how well your outdoor play works, identifying areas to improve

* Develop outdoor play that reflects best early years practice and gets the most out of the special nature of the outdoor environment

* Help you identify and overcome your own barriers and difficulties, giving you effective ideas and successful ways of working

* Guide you to resources and people who can help

* Build support within the sector for outdoor play development.

How it will work

The EYO team are experienced early years practitioners working in LTL and NDNA who have a passion about the importance of outdoor play, coupled with experience of how to make high quality outdoor provision possible and an understanding of the sector.

The service will consist of a combination of telephone support, web-based information and half-termly written materials by post to your setting (see box). The structure is based on LTL's successful schools' membership service, but derives entirely from an early years perspective, drawing on sound early years philosophy and practice and an understanding of providers and provision across the early years sector.

Developing outdoor play is a long-term process, with lots of small achievable steps. Our aim is to provide you with the support you need as you gradually work to provide children with the outdoor provision that we know they should have.

Jan White is senior early years development officer for Learning through Landscapes

WHAT EYO CAN DO FOR YOUR SETTING

Settings can subscribe annually to receive:

* Access to an advice line during office hours where you will be able to discuss your query; we will find information for you or put you in touch with the right organisation or person to help

* A friendly, members-only website with up-to-date information such as funding currently available and events on outdoor play around the country, downloadable materials previously mailed out and extended case studies

* A welcome pack with materials to get you started and to help you make the most of your membership

* An EYO newsletter with topical and informative news, case studies showing what settings have done and how they got there, good practice ideas and reviews of books and resources

* EYO groundnotes giving technical support for making physical changes, from storage and resources to shade and surfaces, together with general curriculum support for managing effective outdoor play, appropriate for birth to five provision

* EYO playnotes providing guidance on resourcing and supporting areas of provision outdoors. Each aims to help you develop your approach and to deliver outdoor play. Materials focus on birth to three-year-olds, drawing from the B-3 framework, and on three- to five-year-olds, drawing from the Foundation Stage curriculum guidance.

To find out more or register for subscription contact EYO at eyo@ltl.org.uk. DfES funding has made it possible to offer the first 3,000 registrations at the subsidised rate of 25 for the first year (normally 55).