Create a Purposeful Outdoor Play Environment

Outdoor Play Environments can significantly impact children’s development, helping them to flourish and grow, alongside their classroom learning. A well-designed play environment allows children to explore their interests, collaborate with other pupils and learn from experiences, consolidating their learning through play. 

Quality Outdoor Play spaces are designed to encourage relationships, foster communication and witness collaboration through play. Children need space both indoors and outdoors where they can be active or quiet, where natural or purchased resources should be accessible, well-organised, refreshed when needed and where children can make independent choices. Ensuring that the learning environment itself is well equipped with purposeful equipment and resources provides a good starting point for effective learning.

When planning your play environment, it is useful to view it through a child’s eyes. Can children use resources independently or creatively? Does the equipment stimulate interest? Are the needs of all children catered for?

Outdoor environments can be arranged into distinct activity zones including calm areas and spaces for sensory play. A variety of learning and play zones in your playground will ensure that children have the opportunity to access different areas of their development through play.

Here are just some of the fantastic areas that you could create in your outdoor space:

A Home Corner or Themed Role Play Space

Role play allows children to mirror images from daily life, exploring their ideas about the world in a safe space. Pupils build crucial skills in communication, problem solving and social-emotional awareness. Create an ideal role play zone with plenty of space and storage for: cooking utensils, food packaging, dolls, cots, baby equipment, laundry equipment and a range of multicultural fabrics and dressing- up clothes. This creates a versatile play space for children with differing interests. 

Sand and Water Zones

Sand and Water play can be deeply engaging areas of the EYFS classroom. 

A sand area should be freely accessible for children to use with resources readily available and clearly labelled. Playing and digging helps to develop shoulder stability, wrist control and grip strength needed for writing and drawing.

Water play can take on many different forms, promoting curiosity and observation. Water temperature can be explored, different scents can be added to water perhaps adding fruit pieces.

Music/Performance Zone

The addition of a music/performance zone brings pleasure, joy and opportunities for creative expression. Music and drama activities allow children to express their emotions and provides opportunities for personal and social development. 

In this area children may enjoy listening to music and sounds. They can be given opportunity to experiment with a range of different instruments from different cultures by selecting e.g., chime bars, bells, rainmakers, maracas and guitars from baskets or shelves.

If planned well an effective Outdoor Play Space gives children freedom to explore, discover and create for themselves allowing practitioners to observe, challenge and lead children to deeper understanding.