What are your plans for outdoor play in 2022?
Happy New Year to everyone from the Playforce team! We’re thrilled to be back and looking forward to the weather getting better and more children getting out into the great outdoors to play and learn.
Before Christmas we spoke to some of our school and nursery customers to find out what they have planned for the coming year, as well as how outdoor play and learning features in their daily activities.
Let’s start with the really great news… 100% of them told us that outdoor learning and play was important to them and at their school or nursery. We couldn’t agree more! With opportunities for both curriculum linked learning and bags of fun and play - whether active, imaginative, creative or just hanging out with friends and family - in your outdoor space, we think it is one of the most important parts of any school or nursery setting.
Taking this into account, of those we spoke to, it was interesting to see the variety of time actually spent outside. Although 29% of respondents spent more than three hours per day outside, a worrying 18% spent less than one hour outside. The majority of respondents said they spent between one and two hours outside each day. Needless to say, the weather was the biggest factor in how long people spent outdoors.
Respondents told us:
“We create our outdoors to be just like our indoors. We expect it to be just as accessible.”
“Our children enjoy playing outdoors in the mud kitchen and construction area. Ride on equipment is popular as is the natural area, with the obstacle course.”
“Our children enjoy both themed activities - like gardening or sports events - or just having free flow play time.”
“Learning through play is important - exploring nature and using different resources to capture different experiences.”
“They experience a variety of learning opportunities in different areas, to help their development in all areas of the EYFS, depending on their individual needs. They learn life skills in our garden, home corner and mud kitchen, teamwork in hunts and team games etc.”
“We work hard to try to offer the same opportunities outdoors as indoors, for all of our children.”
“Outdoor play and learning is really important. We encourage children to be as active and inquisitive as possible. That means running, playing with bicycles and scooters, planting and looking for minibeasts and just generally exploring their outdoor surroundings.”
Next we looked at the equipment available in outdoor spaces. We found it really interesting that fewer than half of the respondents - just 40% - had fixed or installed playground equipment. Of these, a concerning 21% said it was more than ten years old and 11% said it was aged between five and ten years old. Just five per cent said theirs was younger than a year old. In the majority of cases outdoor equipment was between one and four years old.
Our respondents said that favourite equipment included:
- Teepees and portable shelters
- Mud kitchens
- Construction areas
- Trikes, bicycles and scooters
- Sand play
- Water play
- Climbing equipment
- Active trails, including balance beams and obstacle courses
- Bug hotels and minibeast equipment
Finally we looked at development plans and funding. The vast majority of respondents - 60% - said they had no plans to develop their outdoor space in 2022. Only 15% said they definitely do have plans, with 25% saying “hopefully”.
Of those that were planning to develop their outdoor space 24% said they would be doing so using fundraising and general donations. 17% said they would be relying on private funds or operating budgets and 11% said they would be using their Pupil Premium.
However, a staggering 75% said that a lack of budget was the reason for not planning development projects, with just 25% saying they were happy with how their outdoor space was already.
If you would like to talk to one of our Outdoor Grounds Consultants about your outdoor space and how you can get it ready for Spring and Summer, you can contact us today, here.
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