Early years specialists fear that well-designed outdoor environments are being overlooked in the rush to expand provision to meet the Government's target of 2,500 children's centres by 2008.
Although the centres are intended to be the standard bearers for the sector, focusing on young children's education, health and inclusion, there is already anecdotal evidence of settings seeking to join the programme with minimal outdoor areas.
'We worry that outdoor provision is not on the top of people's agendas when they are developing children's centres,' says Jan White, senior early years development officer for Learning Through Landscapes. 'If you think of all the services that children's centres offer, the outdoors has a vital role in each of them which can't be replicated indoors.'
'A lot of the children's centres that were first designated were already early excellence centres but I imagine as the programme rolls out, places might not be of that calibre,' says early years consultant Margaret Edgington. 'One of the problems is a lack of understanding among planners and developers.'
The regulation stipulating the provision of external areas around schools was dropped in the Conservative push to eradicate red tape, initiated by Margaret Thatcher.
'While the National Daycare Standards state how much space must be provided inside a setting for young children there is no such requirement for the outdoors,' says Ms White. 'In both the Foundation Stage guidance and Birth to Three Matters, there is an expectation that children will have access to the outdoors.'
The importance of outdoor areas is stressed in the design guide published by Sure Start, Building for Sure Start: Integrated Provision for Under-fives. It says, 'A well-designed outdoor environment will provide children with a range of opportunities and experiences which are essential to healthy growth and development and which can never be replicated inside a building, however well it is designed or resourced. As a result, while provision for children outdoors is not a requirement of the National Standards it is generally accepted as an essential element of a good early years setting and its importance should be reflected in the quality of the space provided and in the skills and training of staff.'
The guide suggests that 9m2 should be allowed per child, but Wendy Titman, who led the team developing the outdoors areas under the DfES Excellence Outdoors programme, says this is a minimum.
Professional expertise 'One of the problems we have is a gap in professional expertise. There are quite a few people around who are doing a good job of making existing outdoor spaces better but the business of designing environments from scratch is different,' she says.
'What has become obvious is that designing environments for children requires both pedagogical understanding of children as well as the technical expertise of the architect, designer, builder and surveyor.
'I know a number of people who are extremely good but it is something they have come to develop. It is not part of their initial training.'
Colin Jackson, the senior architect for Hampshire County Council demonstrates how it is possible for someone to take on an early years design project and excel. He designed the Lanterns Children's Centre in Winchester - and it now features as one of the case studies in the Sure Start guide. The centre has a stunning outdoor area.
'This is the first early years project I have done. It has taken a long time because we did eight feasibility studies on eight different sites - so by the time we found the right site I had become a bit of an expert.
'I have young children. This project came at the right time for me. I see them playing and I see what they need and I thought back to what I enjoyed doing as a child. I went and looked at other nurseries and centres with Olivia Peak (the head designate of Lanterns) and her staff.' But he concedes that an architect in a commercial firm would be unlikely to be able to devote so much time.
The origins of a children's centre influence its approach, according to Pauline Trudell, support headteacher to the Forum for Maintained Nursery Schools. 'It has not been our experience that the need for outside space is neglected when building new centres, rather the reverse, since the accessibility of Sure Start capital funding has allowed architects who were already interested in building play spaces, and who had studied European design, for example Reggio Emilia and Frankfurt kindergartens, to flourish.
'My experience is that the outdoor environment is very much a part of children's centres that are built from nursery schools.'
Budget constraints Claire Ward and her team at the Darnall Children's Centre, Sheffield are proof that settings do not need a massive area or budget to develop an effective learning environment outdoors.
'We are going to relocate and rebuild. It was the outdoor space that attracted us to the new site, but it is a dismal site. We have two areas of asphalt surrounded by a security fence but we have brought in as many natural materials as we can such as logs and tree stumps.
'It is a scrap heap challenge here. One of our grandparents is a farmer and he has given us old tractor tyres which we filled with soil and pebbles.'
The pressure on outdoor provision is compounded by practical problems, says Ms Titman. 'In the majority of cases, it is not practical to do anything to the externals until the interior has been finished. So that bit of the budget will always be vulnerable to rape and pillage because so often there are problems and overspends on earlier bits of the programme.'
'You can get a clash of different sets of regulations,' says Ms White. 'I know of nurseries which, in order to get registered, had to provide car parking, due to planning rules, but didn't have to provide outdoor space.
'Outdoors matters as much as indoors - I believe it matters more. I know of two settings where the children use the car park for their outdoor space. I don't think this will happen with children's centres, but in order to create high-quality outdoor environments the budget for the outdoor space should be ring-fenced.
'When we look at the children's centres that are going to be designated - whether they are new builds or refurbishment - what worries me is whether the architects and even whether the landscape architects understand the importance of outdoor space for children. Does the architect have any interest or understanding in the outdoor learning environment and its pedagogical impact? More important, does the brief highlight the importance of this part of the learning environment?'
Growing importance This squeeze on outdoor areas comes at a time when access to well-designed outdoor provision has never been more important due to the increasing lack of outdoor opportunities for children elsewhere.
'The pressure on land in this country is never going to reduce; there is only ever going to be less space and we must get this right,' says Ms Titman.
But what can be done to draw the line in the sandpit? Early Education passed a resolution at its annual meeting last year highlighting the importance of outdoor provision on which it is now campaigning.
'Ofsted inspectors should be encouraged to focus on the quality of outdoor learning as well as aspects of health and safety,' says Ms White.
'Good outdoors provision is a necessity,' says Ms Titman. 'It is not a luxury. Ask any architect if he or she would ever consider designing a centre for young children without toilets. Of course not. It should seem just as ridiculous to build a centre without an outdoor environment.
'There is a problem, of course, for existing facilities such as playgroups in church halls, but there is no reason why there should not be a requirement for new facilities to have outdoor provision.'
'Parents can play their part too by saying they only want their child to attend a centre with good outdoor provision,' says Ms Edgington.
While some observers believe that ministers could be persuaded to regulate outdoor provision, particularly in the light of concerns about childhood obesity, Ms Titman warns of the dangers of producing a list of features.
'I am wary. A list of this and that plays to the lowest common denominator and you end up with something boring like a council playground.' NW
Further information
* Building for Sure Start, Integrated Provision for Under-Fives, a client guide and design guide produced by the Sure Start Unit and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment is available online. Visit www.surestart.gov.uk
* Learning Through Landscapes Trust visit www.ltl.org.uk
