Budgeting for outdoors equipment is not something to be taken lightly, and large-scale items of kit don't come cheap – so can they really be considered a good investment? Especially during the present financial climate?
The Playtime Matters report (April 2019) brought together both previous research and new findings to make the case for outdoor play being a key part of a child's day, showing that in the formative years it helps to develop healthy, curious and active children who are better connected to their environment. It also underlined that time outdoors is particularly important for children's mental health – reducing stress, giving a sense of calm and simply making them happier.
The move towards learning and challenge outdoors has led to a fresh approach in play equipment. The plastics- and metal-based apparatus of the past have made way for more natural products, made from sustainable wood, bamboo and biodegradable materials, and the emphasis on play is now placed on child-centred exploration and discovery rather than the equipment providing the play value in its own right, with explorative play, especially ‘wild area’ play, being viewed as a natural, holistic way of encouraging a full and rewarding educational experience.
SUSTAINABILITY MATTERS
Play equipment suppliers such as Cosy are taking big strides in cutting environmental impact by employing a full-time sustainability manager to oversee carbon limiting practice, while a sustainability pledge made by Findel – parent company of play equipment suppliers including Hope and Davies Sports – includes a zero landfill waste commitment, plus a commitment that by 2030 it will be a carbon-neutral business.
EXPERT ADVICE
Supplier TTS has partnered with early years consultant Alistair Bryce-Clegg to help practitioners think about ways they can provide environments and play experiences through every area of the EYFS. Its website matches a selection of play equipment to individual areas of the curriculum, together with suggestions for ways to use the equipment for maximum play and learning potential, such as the Who's Speaking, Who's Listening Telephone set to encourage listening and communication skills.
The set consists of six telephone handsets and hollow tubes connected to a central hub, to promote conversations between children. It also includes blindfolds, so children can disguise their voices to play ‘guess who's talking’.
TTS has also introduced a wide range of STEAM resources for early years, bringing together experts from the world of education and science – including astronaut Tim Peake – to provide their insights. A recommended product here is its Water Bowl Cascade to encourage exploration of the natural properties of water, promoting discovery and experimentation.
CONTINUING DEVELOPMENT
Lorna Wigley is quality and training director at the Childbase Partnership, which runs 44 day nurseries throughout the South of England. Lorna explains that the group continually evaluates how its outdoor area is resourced.
She reports that in the financial year ending October 2022, its spend on gardens alone was nearly £450,000 to enhance current resources, introduce new opportunities and develop planting to encourage biodiversity, even where space is at a premium due to more urban locations.
Lorna says, ‘Throughout the group, staff are supported to view the environment as another teacher, and our gardens reflect the need to entice children outside for year-round exploration and learning, with a focus on large-scale equipment, such as climbing frames and mini assault courses which are exciting and challenging.
‘Exploring and using large equipment involves children in taking turns, sharing, co-operating, negotiating and talking to each other, which are essential skills and vital to the company's school-readiness programmes.’
She adds, ‘Gardens play host to a number of animal habitats, including bug hotels and bird feeders, and children plant and tend fruit, vegetables and herbs which they harvest for learning purposes or to give to nursery chefs.’
WORTHWHILE INVESTMENT
Investing over £16,000 in a single piece of garden play equipment may seem a bit extravagant, but according to Field House Day Nursery in Buckinghamshire, its bespoke, giant wooden tractor is worth its weight in gold.
The tractor, which also has a climbing wall and slide, quickly delivered on the extensive range of learning and development goals for which it was designed.
Field House manager Liz Hofman explains, ‘I have no doubts about the decision to opt for one large-scale piece of equipment, as the growth in confidence is significant among our pre-schoolers and the range of opportunities we can now offer is endless. We simply add resources to extend and theme play according to the children's interests.
‘During planting and harvest times when children are learning about lifecycles, nature and good nutrition, the tractor comes into its own, but it has also been a pirate ship, a castle and a mountain from which “to fly” using the slide.
‘None of us are immune to the magic of seeing a child become still in the midst of all the activity around them as they simply take in the view. The new perspective inspires so many different conversations.’
CONFIDENCE AND SELF-ESTEEM
Outdoor space is at a premium in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, home to the Ofsted-rated Outstanding Lime Grove Day Nursery, where every inch of the relatively large garden is utilised to promote fun and learning.
This ranges from an oversized reading chair and a wooden cabin hidden among planting to a grass-covered tunnel and a pirate ship – which cost more than £15,000.
Yasmin Diver, Lime Grove's deputy manager, says, ‘We have many children who live in flats and do not have a garden or easy access to green space so ours really sells the nursery to a lot of parents.
‘Confidence and good self-esteem are vital for children's wellbeing and ability to learn, and in our garden, they quickly learn they can be noisier and move in ways not always possible inside their homes.
‘Using the pirate ship and tunnel helps children develop gross motor and problem-solving skills by climbing up and pushing themselves down slides and through small spaces. They gain confidence and independence as they learn how to assess risks, which change with the seasons and the introduction of, for example, rain and ice.’
Diver says children learn to find their voice outside, where the scale of the equipment stimulates creativity and develops imagination. She adds that the benefits extend to staff, enabling them to develop their creativity in keeping the spaces fresh and inviting by adding resources in response to child interests and needs.
Lime Grove's approach was fully endorsed by Ofsted, which said in its 2018 report, ‘Children are developing the skills they need for school, especially around forming friendships, positive behaviour and being independent. They thoroughly enjoy playing outdoors every day. This has a very positive impact on children's health and wellbeing. Children are physically independent and enjoy high levels of self-esteem’.
From left to right: Early Years Resources Climbing A Frame; Cosy's Book Barge; Hope's Water Pump Station; Outdoor Calypso Chimes from TTS
Recommended product round-up
TTS | £479.99
Mud kitchens are a hive of activity, with enormous possibilities for extending language skills, social development and creative play, as well as early maths and science skills through experimentation with weight and volume, mixing wet and dry materials, etc. Encourage children to collect small objects such as garden pebbles to drop into containers of water, demonstrating how this raises the water level – asking children why they think this might happen.
Outdoor Water Chute & Play Tray Table
Hope | £1,595.99
This innovative design incorporates little islands placed as obstacles along the chute to separate water flow, providing lots of opportunities for combining water play with science activities, such as watching how floating objects follow the path of flow. Encourage learning by suggesting some ideas for simple experiments, such as racing small objects placed in the chute – which will make it to the play tray first?
Cosy | £954
Cleverly designed as three sections that can be used separately, or as one big boat, that works well as both a cosy area for book sharing and as a platform for child-centred role play. Encourage social interaction, language and communication, and creative thinking by bringing children together in group games, or get everyone together for a fishing expedition, with children pretending to fish – watching out for sharks!
Indoor/Outdoor Wooden Folding Den
TTS | £395.99
This portable den is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use and comes with a pure cotton fabric cover. When not in use, the den can be folded up for storage, making it suitable for smaller or pack-away settings. The simple structure makes it great for creating a whole range of play activities, such as a bear's cave, or a secret hide-out. Suggest some scenarios for games which children can build on using their own ideas, by asking questions such as, ‘I think this little house looks like the home of the three bears, do you?’
Outdoor Calypso Chimes Instrument 6pk
TTS | £1,980 (also available as 8pk: £2,640)
Encourage musical experimentation here by making music together, going on to create some simple music games such as copying a sound sequence. Extend vocabulary by asking children to describe the sounds, giving some suggestions such as: twinkly, magical, like a bell, and just sing-along with some favourite songs as you play.
Hope | £779.99
This double-sided waterplay station allows groups of children to explore water play together. Children can use the pump to develop gross motor skills, and there are lots of opportunities for them to participate in co-operative play, take turns to pump the water, or fetch water for plants. Incorporate some counting practice by encouraging children to count the number of pumps, or ask them which container they think will take the most pumps to fill.
Cosy | £418.80
Suitable for both indoors and out, this playhouse is specifically designed for children at the crawling stage, with its open structure allowing younger ones to enter and exit easily. The design also incorporates lots of window space, making it perfect for a game of peek-a-boo. Extend toddlers’ play and encourage interaction, independence and curiosity, by hiding tactile objects or musical toys in the house for children to find and explore.
Get Set, Go! Blocks – The Mendips Set
Pentagon Play | £4,134
This advanced play block set comprises 12 movable components which combine to create a grassy hillside effect. Lots of mileage here for both organised courses and open-ended play. Encourage confidence in gross motor skills by starting with a simple course for children to navigate, before increasing the number of obstacles and blocks as confidence grows, or simply use as a child-centred play-landscape, with children free to create their own games.
Early Years Direct | £741.60
This free-standing minibeast hotel has three levels with a variety of materials in each, to encourage different types of creatures. Encourage language skills by asking open-ended questions, such as, ‘Why do you think a bug would like to live inside these leaves?’
Early Years Resources | £1,040.40
Sturdy, freestanding toddler climbing frame with a ladder on one end and brightly coloured rock holds on the other. Build confidence in first steps to climbing by holding a child's hand while climbing the ladder before having a go at scrambling up the rock holds.
All prices include VAT and were correct at the time of going to press
FURTHER INFORMATION
