The Requirements of Current Frameworks for Outdoor Access

All children have to enjoy the outdoors, they should be allowed to play outside as it supports exercise. Exercising helps them in development, health and on their lifestyles. They will be able to live healthy lives and stay confident and intelligent as-well. When they have outdoor access they have space to do physical activities and socialize with friends at the same time. It encourages them to love being at the nursery/school as children love playing outdoors. When they are playing outside they feel in-control and responsible for themselves, they feel they have freedom and that makes them happy and excited.

Outdoor access promotes physical development which is part of the three prime areas of EYFS. When children are outside they have opportunity to exercise and keep their bodies active, they play games that help them to improve their coordination skills and learn how to move properly and safe around the place, as-well as to balance themselves while playing. Playing outdoors also helps the children to be interactive whilst they play together.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child strongly support that every child deserves and should be educated, education supports their physical development and by being outdoors with children of the same age they actually benefit a lot.

According to the current framework it is recommended that children below the age of 60 months have the right to outdoor access for about 3 hours of a day. This time should not be given to them at once but should be divided throughout the day.

Children below the age of five learn more by playing. They need to be active not only to keep healthy but also to promote their mental well-being, emotional and developmental. This is why they should not be made to always sit for most of their time. They should be allowed to move around and explore, be active and also interactive.

Whilst children are playing they should also be educated on the goodness of exercise/outdoor play and how it helps their health also including its relation to how they eat and what they eat.

The national curriculum expects that when children go to key stage 1 they should be fully equipped with the skills to jump, catch, run, throw, as well as know how to balance. At their settings they learn these skills through P.E that helps them to exercise more regularly and explore the outdoors. When they get to key stage 2 they should be given activities that will encourage them to use the skills they acquired at key stage 1 and they should also improve these skills.

In some settings there is free flow access and this enables children to be independent as they explore different activities freely. However some settings are based in flats thus cannot support free flow. Children are different and they develop differently at different rates, free flow helps them to develop each at his/her own pace as it is their decision to decide whether they want to have outdoor play or indoor messy play. Having free flow access helps the children to distinguish between inside and outside as they are exploring.

When children are exposed to outdoors they manage to experience nature, they learn about seasons whilst exploring them on their own. They learn about nature on their own, exploring in every chance that they get.