Our outdoor space development

September 2019

IntroductionThe development of our outdoor learning space came about due to staff evaluation and reflection on the experiences we

were providing to children. Through this process staff identified a lack of stimulation within our outdoor learning space and not enough defined areas of learning. Adult/child interactions are key in the early level and we felt that interactions outside did

not have the same quality as in our indoor rooms.This is how our outdoor space looked prior to this development:

The Development Process‘’There is a growing body of research that shows that young

children’s access to nature and outdoor play is positively associated with improved self-esteem, physical health,

development of language skills and disposition to learning.’ (Davy, 2009, My World Outdoors)

In order to enhance the quality of our outdoor environment, staff researched the different ways we could create defined areas of learning and formed focus groups to tackle these

areas. We wrote to businesses in the local community to ask for their help and the response was overwhelming. The following pages show the areas within the outdoor space currently and

acknowledge the kindness shown to us from our local community.

The mud kitchen

The mud kitchen is an area where children can role play baking, potion making, measuring and comparing amounts, counting

and learning about capacity.Thank you to Mr Willie McNeill for creating our lovely blue mud kitchen and to Deirdre Sutherland and Suzanne Ferguson for

donating many pans and other containers.

The construction area

The construction area is where children can work together to build and measure structures, investigate the shape, number and size of the items they are building with, sort and classify items and create natural patterns.Thank you to Bert Bremner who donated our piping, some wood and other loose parts. Thank you to RJ McLeod (and especially Audrey John) who donated hard hats, cones, yellow jackets and even made us our own construction signs. Thanks also to B & M who donated the bark, paint and pebbles and Poundland who donated the paintbrushes and breadbaskets for storage and play. Thank you to Robert Sutherland from the wood yard for donating wooden blocks. Thank you to the Co-op for donating bark and compost. Thank you to Alec Martin for donating the sleepers which section off this area.

The small world area

Through small world play children develop imagination, language skills and new vocabulary. They can also re-enact situations from favourite stories or rhymes. This helps them to understand sequencing.Thank you to Sam’s Furniture who donated the lovely houses and huts for our fairytale creatures. Thank you to McAllan & Co who donated several tins of paint which we have used here and also to re-paint our shed and train. Thank you to William Mackay Precast who donated the slabs for the road and thank you to JGC who donated the reels.

The creative areas – music, art and performance

In our creative areas children are developing gross and motor skills, learning about colour, counting beats and creating

patterns with sound.Thank you to Sutherland and Son, Timber merchants for

donating several wooden pallets which you can see used here.

The storytelling and rhyme area

In our storytelling and rhyme areas children can select stories to read or be read to (we bring these out each day). They can also choose from nursery rhymes which are pegged up in the story area. This is a crucial element in their pre-reading skills development.Thank you to Alec Martin for donating several pallets which you can see has created a cosy space.

Of course our biggest thank you goes to our wonderful team of Early Years Practitioners and Nursery Graduates. Without their vision, teamwork and determination this development would not have come to fruition. Thank you for your commitment to the children in your care.