By Juliet Robertson, Outdoor learning and play specialist, Creative STAR Learning
THE image of children splashing in muddy puddles or running, carefree through the woods, giggling in the way only happy children can, might seem like a nostalgic rural idyll to city dwellers in this age of social media and easy-access tech. But it doesn’t have to be.
John Swinney, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, has visited a new model of outdoor nursery that aims to make playing outside in nature part of the way children learn and develop from an early age, right in the heart of Glasgow. The project in Castlemilk is one of three providing outdoor childcare in the city set up by Glasgow City Council and the charity Inspiring Scotland.
They show that getting children outside to play is easy, no matter where you live. It is not just fun or nice to do. It is vital for children’s development.
There is a significant body of research and evidence from around the world that shows outdoor play in the natural environment allows children to thrive and grow in the best possible way.
There are obvious benefits such as increased physical activity which promotes better physical health and wellbeing, but outdoor play is so much more; it is the perfect learning environment.
When children are outside in nature they are exploring and discovering constantly; picking up leaves and twigs or gazing at a caterpillar or squirrel. This engenders a curiosity and willingness to learn that can last a lifetime.
It also helps children to connect with and understand their natural world in these times of accelerating climate change.
Outdoor play and learning can also promote wider mental development in children. Evidence points to outdoor play-based learning helping young children to focus and concentrate more, leading to better educational performance. Being outside in nature has an inherent freedom too; a freedom to run and splash and climb and roll around but also to imagine and create. When children are allowed the freedom to play outside they can turn a stick into a magic wand or a pile of leaves into a secret den.
Let’s not forget that playing outside is fun; children are happy when they play outside. Running and jumping, falling over and getting back up again helps children to build emotional and physical resilience and learn how to manage and assess risk as well as understand their capabilities.
Play is how children socialise, develop empathy and collaboration, simply by taking turns.
With so much green space available, even in the heart of our biggest city, Scotland is in a position to develop a world-leading outdoor learning environment, nurturing our children to become healthy, happy, curious and creative, well-rounded citizens and custodians of our natural world.
What’s more, outdoor play and learning need not be limited to nursery or school time, or even to weekends. There are so many opportunities for families to get out and play and explore their local places.
I am delighted to see Inspiring Scotland is also working with the Scottish Government in a campaign called #AwayandPlay to encourage more outdoor play for everyone.
Getting outside to play with our children (grandchildren, nieces, nephews, friends, neighbours) is easy and, with undeniable benefits, is it not our obligation too?
I am passionate about motivating people to get children outside. But we all have a responsibility, whether as parents or policymakers, to encourage our children to be healthy, free, rounded and grounded through play. So what are you waiting for? Away and play outside.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel