Healthy, Active and Outside!

Running an Outdoors Programme in the Early Years

Janice Filer

• Publisher: David Fulton Publishers
• Year: 2008
• ISBN:
  9781134076055
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Pedagogía
• Subtopic: Educación general

'There's a growing awareness that for the good of their health, children need to be out and about more, with their friends, exploring the outdoor world in their own way.' - Nicola Butler, Director of the Free Play Network

It is widely acknowledged that children today do not get outdoors often enough and there are serious concerns about children's activity levels and rising associated behavioural, mental and health problems. With such structured and technology-driven lives, it is easy for young children to stay indoors, play on computers and not socialise with other children in a healthy and active way.

This book not only supports 'playing out' as an integral part of children's natural growth and development, but also provides early years workers with a full programme of outdoor physical activities to promote physical, social and behavioural skills.

This book is a guidebook to setting up an outdoor physical activity programme in any early years setting. The book focuses on how getting outdoors and taking part in physical activities will provide children with positive fun experiences to enhance their general learning and development. The programme can be adapted to suit any timescale - from a whole term to one or two days.

Key features include showing practitioners:

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• how to make the most of their outdoor area for all children

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• step by step explanations to the outdoor activities

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• how to engage participants (including parents)

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• how to set up and plan activities

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• ideas for group and individual assessment

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• how to carry out risk assessments

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• how an outdoors programme can change children's lives for the better.

1 Introduction

The emphasis on physical expression in this programme gives children the opportunity to learn and succeed in a holistic child-centred way. The Healthy, Active and Outside (HAO) programme is unique and distinctive and presents exciting opportunities to stimulate decision making with regard to developing the outdoor environment into a space to improve knowledge and understanding of outdoor education. It has the potential to contribute towards the development of the whole child, including social interaction, communication and relationship building for all children, whatever their ability, at the same time as interpreting the curriculum guidance creatively to engage all children. However, this cannot be achieved without some understanding about play itself. Equally important is the need to develop a shared understanding of the outside area’s potential use for all outdoor play and the need to create opportunities for risk taking at the same time as offering children opportunities to be alone or to be with others, to be active or to be still, and much more. Throughout the book the terms ‘setting’ or ‘school’ are used to denote any education establishment for young children and the term ‘parent’ is used to denote parents, carers and guardians. In case studies all names have been changed to protect the children’s identities.

It is hoped this book will inspire practitioners to assess the potential of their outdoor space and the feasibility of making the necessary improvements to implement the programme explained in it. Following the advice in this book will help unlock the potential of your grounds by increasing awareness among staff of the potential of outdoor learning and give them the confidence and knowledge to exploit the full value of the outdoors for all children in their setting.

The first chapter of this book gives background information about the author and the history of the outdoor programme. It describes the reasons for writing the book and gives a brief overview of the themes running throughout it. In addition, it examines the importance for young children of being active and getting outdoors and includes information about young children’s mental health in relation to the need for being active and getting outside to experience fresh air, daylight and the natural outdoor space. Finally, there is a section on how to use this book.

There is a growing awareness that children need to get outdoors more as there are serious concerns about children’s activity levels and rising associated behavioural, mental and physical health problems. With structured, technology-driven lives it is easier for children to stay indoors playing on computers or at PlayStation games, or watching DVDs, videos and television, than to socialise with other children in a healthy, active way outdoors in the fresh air. With childhood obesity at the top of the political agenda, much emphasis is placed on getting children healthy by encouraging them to be more active. Children are entitled to learn in the way that best suits them, and as playing outdoors is an integral part of their natural growth and development, that often means taking the curriculum outdoors with them. Bronowski (1975) describes the experiential approach to learning:

We see it every time a child learns to couple hand and tool together...to fly a kite or play a penny whistle. With the practical action there goes another, namely finding pleasure in the action for its own sake in the skill that one perfects, and perfects by being pleased with it. This at the bottom is responsible for every work of art and science too: our poetic delight in what human beings do because they can do it. The most exciting thing about that is that the poetic use in the end has truly profound results.

(Bronowski, 1975: 116)

This book provides a guide on how to set up a physically active outdoor programme in any early years setting that can be adapted to suit any timescale from one or two days to a whole term or year’s work. The programme presents many opportunities for engaging and motivating children, young people and staff in considering a whole site and whole organisation approach to teaching and learning outdoors. The main focus is to convince practitioners of the value of outdoor play – to show them how to get young children outside to take part in healthy, outdoor physical activities that provide them with positive fun experiences which will enhance their general learning and development; and in addition, to encourage children to become healthier by improving their fitness alongside feeling the sheer joy of just being outside. At last there is government investment and corporate involvement and support for school grounds. Today, supporting the health and full development of every child and providing opportunities for enjoyment and personal learning have become a concern for many businesses, including ones not directly involved in producing sports or play equipment.

Background information about the author

The author, Dr Janice Filer, is an early years specialist currently working for the Bristol Behaviour Support Service. This book is the result of over 30 years’ continual experience in the field of outdoor physical education and movement for children from 0 to 18 years of age which began long before it became fashionable once again to focus on outdoor learning. It draws upon the findings of a research project that focuses on running an outdoor activity programme for children in the Foundation Stage of education from 2000 until the present day. As a result of the programme’s efficacy and success in a multi-agency project called ‘Bridging the Gap’, the author was commissioned by the Children’s Fund to continue the work. The programme continues to include an element of research which focuses on listening to young children’s views and experiences of the outdoor space.

History of the outdoor programme

The outdoor programme is the central focus of an action research study which began as a pilot study in a Bristol nursery school in 1991. It was originally set up to make a case to the local authority for learning outside the classroom and to provide an understanding of the unique contribution that outdoor experiences can make to young children’s lives. The programme was developed by the teacher in the project, who held the post of coordinator for the environment and outdoor play in the nursery school from 1989 to 1999. The outdoor environment created there enabled children to learn and develop through outdoor experiential activities and was the pilot for the longer-term project. This programme evolved over time and is now known as the ‘Healthy, Active and Outside (HAO) programme’, developed as an early intervention for the multidisciplinary project Bridging the Gap from 1999. The programme was taken on by On Track in 2002 and is funded by the Children’s Fund until 2008. In 2005 the outdoor programme was runner-up in a national challenge to find the best outdoor project in a competition organised by Learning Through Landscape and the early years journal Nursery World.

In addition, this book sets out to demonstrate good practice which will inspire other settings and motivate them to develop their own outdoor play. It is aimed at the diverse workforce that now exists in the Early Years Foundation Stage of education and childcare and takes into consideration the four overarching themes of the framework:

1. the unique child
2. positive relationships
3. the environment
4. learning and development.

It provides an example of an active outdoor programme to help settings develop accessible and affordable solutions to using the outside space that will enable them to take on board the strategy for children ‘Choice for parents, the best start for children’ and the 2006 Children Act, and meet many of the ‘Standards for Learning Development and Care for Children from Birth to Five’ set out in the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) (DfES, 2007; formerly the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage, National Standards for Under Eights Day Care and Childminding, Every Child Matters and Change for Children documents).

The activities in the programme are designed for children from approximately 3 to 5 years of age but with a little imagination, they can be adapted for any age! All activities in this book are designed to include children at every stage, from the initial audit of the existing site through to making surveys, planning, designing and creating the environment, flyers, invitations, planting, digging, growing and cooking, playing and demonstrating to others what has been achieved through all the stages of the programme, to reflection and full engagement in the final celebrations. The activities are designed to include as many or as few of the other adults involved in the setting as necessary, from parents, staff, other children to volunteers and visitors from the local community, depending on how individual settings decide to use them.

This practical book will guide you through the process of changing and developing the outdoor environment of your setting to maximise its learning potential and to get children outside in the fresh air to enjoy experiential physical activities. It is full of ideas and strategies to enhance the area outside the setting in order to make the most of the grounds and will enable you to recognise the true value that the outdoors can have on a child’s life and educational development.

The content includes real-life examples, case studies and examples from the programme that illustrate the process of setting up an outdoor programme. It also includes explanations of the core values that highlight the importance and benefits of outdoor play and step-by-step photocopiable activity sheets that guide you through each stage of the activity to encourage the participation of the children taking part.

Once children start formal education they can spend as much as 25 per cent of their time outside in the grounds, making friends, playing games, meeting challenges, taking risks, facing new experiences and learning about their own abilities and the world around them. The grounds around a setting are the one space that all children have access to, and, as such, are a valuable resource for teaching all aspects of the early years curriculum. The programme demonstrates how practitioners can promote and enhance the development of those grounds in order to use and value the outdoor play area in diverse and innovative ways.

Outdoor play in the early years

Outdoor play is no longer just about physical development; it is now given the equal status to indoor play it deserves in terms of the planned experiences that are provided for young children. The outside area offers a rich, multi-sensory environment that is meaningful and stimulating for all young children, providing them with ‘real’ experiences that help embed their early learning, at the same time fulfilling the requirements of the EYFS curriculum framework. Young children are by nature experiential learners and playing out is an integral part of their growth and development. Most children find the outdoors exciting, engaging and fun and are eager to be outside and ready to learn from the ‘real’ play experiences they have outdoors. The outdoors offers young children the essential experiences that are vital to all areas of their well-being, health and development. Outdoors is where most children would rather be and there is no excuse for them not to be there because any indoor learning can be supported and extended by applying it to the ‘real’ situations that children encounter when they play outdoors.

Being outside gives children first-hand contact with weather, seasons and the natural world and it encourages all aspects of children’s development because it has such a positive impact on their mental health and sense of well-being. Playing outside in open spaces offers children opportunities for doing things in different ways and on different scales to indoors. Outdoor environments give children freedom to explore and use all their senses, and encourage them to be physically active and exuberant and to let off steam.

Why outdoors?

It is still sometimes assumed that outdoor education requires some form of ‘trip’ out of school and with increasing bureaucratic requirements for off-site visits it can seem daunting for practitioners to organise. The school grounds offer a comparable alternative for outdoor learning as this is the one place in a setting that can be used for any subject, at short notice and for little or no cost. Whether your grounds are large and varied or small and barren, they represent a rich resource that offers many educational benefits.

The outdoors should no longer just be thought of as a place for adventure activities or field work because it is widely accepted that all subjects can benefit from taking place outdoors, and this book includes some cross-curricular ideas for getting started. For those practitioners used to the comfort of their classrooms, even going into the outdoor grounds can seem daunting but if they listen to children and take the lead from them there is no alternative, as the outside is where the majority of children would rather be. Using the grounds for teaching and learning provides access to resources not available in a classroom. There are many more opportunities outdoors to use different teaching styles which enhance children’s self-esteem and self-confidence and develop stronger relationships between staff and pupils (Titman, 1999). Using the outdoors as a teaching and learning environment sits well with the current early years philosophy as at least 90 per cent of the learning outdoors is a hands-on experience. Studies have shown that the retention rate for learning by doing is 75 per cent – compared to 5 per cent for listening. It is hoped that this book will provide strong support for learning outside the classroom for all young children because giving them the opportunity to get outdoors to learn in the experiential way offered in this programme will make a significant contribution to raising their achievement.

The ‘Learning outside the Classroom’ manifesto

The ‘Learning outside the Classroom’ manifesto provides the foundation of the programme and it states:

We believe that every young person should experience the world beyond the classroom as an essential part of learning and personal development, whatever their age or ability or circumstance.

(DfES, 2006b)

The manifesto provides a powerful impetus for implementing the programme in any early years setting and highlights the importance of learning about real issues in real places amongst real people so there is no longer the excuse that children should be inside learning. Children will only value the world they live in if they can experience it first-hand. The programme impacts on children’s self-esteem, achievement and behaviour and raises their expectations and aspirations through innovative teaching and learning. Motivation is enhanced, impacting upon raising standards of achievement. By focusing on sustainable development of the grounds and the modelling of good practice found in the programme, settings that follow its guidelines will be able to promote positive behaviours which will transfer to the local community. Children who take part in the programme will grow and develop sound in the knowledge of how to make a positive contribution to society.

The programme is designed to take place in a range of outdoor environments depending on what space is available. The grounds of many schools and settings provide rich, multifaceted learning resources which offer opportunities for formal and informal learning and play. The programme can take place in the local environment (with permission) because in every community there is a wealth of opportunity for outdoor learning within walking distance of the setting which can be used to enrich all areas of the curriculum. The programme is designed to be used in a flexible way and can take place at any time that suits the individual setting – within the normal session times, before or after school, during weekends or the holidays, depending on need.

Anyone can be involved in the programme and by working together all young children can benefit from getting outside in the fresh air to take part. It is particularly beneficial for young children whose circumstances make it difficult for them to participate. All that is needed is an op...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• List of illustrations
• Acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations
• 1 Introduction
• 2 What the research tells us
• 3 Creating the outdoor environment
• 4 Safety for healthy outdoor learning
• 5 Moving outdoors
• 6 Theory into practice
• 7 Assessing children outdoors
• 8 Links with home
• 9 The planned activities
• 10 Final goodbyes
• References