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Final in-person training event looking at the Dundee Standard for Early Level and the new Padlet resource.

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Final in-person training event looking at the Dundee Standard for Early Level and the new Padlet resource.

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This will be the final session for all staff, looking at the Dundee Standard and the new "Learning through Play" Padlet resource.

This session will take place on the 21st of August 4pm-5:30pm at St Andrews Primary School. Please sign up on My Learn with the code 10180.

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Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum at Early Level - Dundee Standard (1)

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The Dundee Standard for delivering a developmentally appropriate curriculum at Early Level in school

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The Dundee Standard for delivering a developmentally appropriate curriculum at Early Level in school

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Realising the Ambition: Being Me builds upon the original principles and philosophy of Pre-Birth to 3 and Building the Ambition. The new guidance retains the relevant content from the previous guidance which it replaces, extending and strengthening it in line with current research and evidence about how children develop and learn.

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Education Scotland - Play Pedagogy Toolkit

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Education Scotland - Play Pedagogy Toolkit

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Self-directed CLPL toolkit on Play Pedagogy in Early Level.

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The action plan supports the earlier play strategy by setting out the steps needed to realise Scotland's vision for play.

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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MZSjhoDAL0pl7tm_ZFHTwy6X-niWBtS7Uwm90W7xr8I/edit?usp=sharing

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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1D-vVrbO4Ob6d4TlLUgSPfVvwsEoC4DW3SN7v4kCC8u0/edit?usp=sharing

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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kVHQPoViga2U-7XJmWgEHm9zihCo5VwWv7Yg_l6NPCY/edit?usp=sharing

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Resources should be well organised and labelled with photographs and words.

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Reduce clutter to promote independence when the children are organising and tidying away resources.

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Out to play - Creating outdoor play experiences for children: practical guidance

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Out to play - Creating outdoor play experiences for children: practical guidance

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Section 01: Forewords
Ministerial Foreword
The Scottish Government knows the importance of the early years of life for a child's development. That is why we have committed to expanding entitlement to funded early learning and childcare to 1140 hours/year by August 2020.

This expansion is rooted in delivering a high quality experience for our children and both our indoor and outdoor environments are key to that. We know the benefits outdoor play and learning can bring for young children in terms of their health and wellbeing, and physical and cognitive development. An important part of this is ensuring that our children have the daily, active outdoor play experience that we know is fundamental.

We recognise that one of the barriers to increased outdoor learning and play is a perceived difficulty in setting up or accessing an outdoor space. Within the Expansion of Early Learning and Childcare in Scotland: Quality Action Plan we committed to help remove this barrier by producing this guide which supplies practical advice and support for Early Learning and Childcare settings and practitioners as well as the wider childcare sector.

This guide builds on a number of resources which promote outdoor learning within the education and childcare sectors. In 2016, the Care Inspectorate published the guidance My World Outdoors, which encourages further development of high quality outdoor play, and in 2017 Space to Grow was published as guidance for the Early Learning and Childcare 2020 expansion. This How to Guide complements these publications and also provides the important step-by-step, practical advice that we know will promote more use of the outdoors. As well as nursery settings, the guide is designed to be used by childminders, schools and out of school care settings who are looking to utilise local greenspace to enhance children's learning.

I would like to thank the Care Inspectorate and Inspiring Scotland for their work this year in shaping this guide. I commend its publication as an important step towards increased outdoor play and learning as part of the expansion of early learning and childcare by 2020 and beyond. I'm in no doubt of the impact this will have on nurseries, schools, after school and holiday clubs looking for guidance on how to utilise their local greenspace, whether that's in rural settings or right in the heart of our cities. I hope it assists in making it easier to get children outdoors, and to ensure that we create safe, nurturing and inspiring outdoor learning experiences which will no doubt help foster a true love of the outdoors in our young people that stays with them for a lifetime.

Maree Todd
Minister for Children and Young People
Chief Executive Foreword - Inspiring Scotland
Playing and learning outdoors is life-enhancing. Jumping in puddles, playing hopscotch in the street, exploring your local wood and throwing snowballs with friends is not just the stuff of fond childhood memories. It is how children grow, learn and discover.

Playing outdoors is good for children's health and wellbeing, it develops their social skills and it helps with cognitive development, preparing them for a lifetime of learning. Research from around the world shows the huge benefits of playing outdoors. At Inspiring Scotland, we want all Scotland's children to have the best possible start in life. And we passionately believe that having fun outdoors from an early age is the best way we can help our children to thrive.

Embedding outdoor play into the fabric of young people's lives will require us all to work together. Nurseries, schools, councils, community groups and families all have a role to play in supporting our children to get outside but we recognise that many people don't know where to start.

In producing this how-to-guide, we hope to equip you with the skills and knowledge that you need to make playing and learning outdoors an everyday experience for our children.

I would like to thank Scottish Government for their consistent and passionate support for outdoor play and learning, and to acknowledge their commitment to making Scotland the best place to grow up.

And I would like to thank Care Inspectorate and many other partners for producing this guide alongside us and their commitment to increasing outdoor play and learning. We believe this will be an invaluable publication that can support us all to do the best for our children, and to reengage us all with our beautiful environment, making Scotland an even more wonderful place to live for generations to come.

Celia Tennant
Chief Executive - Inspiring Scotland
Chief Executive Foreword - Care Inspectorate
This new guide is a result of partnership working between the Care Inspectorate and Inspiring Scotland.

The resource is important as it helps support the Scottish Government's A Blueprint for 2020: the Expansion of Early Learning and Childcare in Scotland. In particular, this resource links to the Quality Action Plan (action 10), namely to, '...promote greater use of outdoor learning and physical activity by producing a 'how-to-guide on finding access to suitable outdoor areas and making the most of the opportunities that these offer to promote children's development.'

It provides practical advice on how to access local outdoor spaces and how outdoor nursery experiences can be developed, and takes into account Scotland's new Health and Social Care Standards.

The expansion of early learning and childcare in Scotland brings challenge and opportunity. There are exciting new opportunities to invest in and transform the way in which early learning and childcare is shaped and delivered. As part of this, we also have an important and timely opportunity to ensure that all children are offered high quality experiences as part of their provision.

We all know the benefits of outdoor learning, exercise and play for children. Playing, learning and having fun outdoors helps to improve wellbeing and resilience, as well as physical and mental health and also provides children with the opportunity to develop a life-long appreciation of the natural world. A growing body of research also shows a positive impact on educational attainment. The expansion of funded early learning and childcare provides an opportunity to define the type of experience we offer children during their early years.

I am pleased the Care Inspectorate and Inspiring Scotland have been able to support the development of this guide to setting up outdoor play-based childcare provision. It has been a welcome opportunity to support Inspiring Scotland's work with a number of local authorities, and their progress to deliver outdoor natural learning opportunities that will increase capacity in line with expansion, as well as to support quality outcomes. The benefits of outdoor play are highlighted and celebrated in the popular My World Outdoors resource and the Space to Grow publication. I hope you will find this 'how to' guide to be an equally practical and helpful resource.

Peter Macleod
Chief Executive - Care Inspectorate

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Out to Play - creating outdoor play experiences for children: practical guidance

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Scottish Government guidance and advice for early learning and childcare settings and practitioners on how to access outdoor spaces to create safe, nurturing and inspiring outdoor learning experiences.

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Developing mathematical concepts through play - Session 1

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Developing mathematical concepts through play - Session 1

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Developing Mathematical concepts through play session 1 .pptx

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Developing mathematical concepts through play - Session 2

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Developing mathematical concepts through play - Session 2

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Developing mathematical concepts through play session 2 

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A book that guides you to reflect in your own practice and leads you to consider how you can make learning more effective for the children in your care.

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Available from the Pedagogy team library

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Available from the Pedagogy team library

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Easy to read book with useful and timely prompts for all practitioners who work with Early Years children.

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Available from the Pedagogy team library

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Available from the Pedagogy team library

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This book provides knowledge, inspiration and a compelling rationale for practical, playful and enjoyable mathematical learning with young children.

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Available from the Pedagogy team library

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Available from the Pedagogy team library

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School and the Magic of Children is an exploration of the very soul of childhood, leading us on an adventure into the world of Story via Drawing Club and then into a new lens to look through at play itself with the concept of Play Projects.

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Available from the Pedagogy team library

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Available from the Pedagogy team library

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This book embraces the concept of planning "in the moment" and emphasises the critical role of the adult in promoting child-led learning, giving early years practitioners the confidence and insight to work and plan in the moment, and enabling the children in their care to live, learn, play and develop in the here and now.

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Available from the Pedagogy team library

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Available from the Pedagogy team library

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High quality interactions are recognised as fundamental to the achievement of outstanding teaching and learning in the early years. If you are working with children from six months to six years this authoritative new book from leading author Julie Fisher encourages you to reflect deeply on the quality and impact of interactions in your setting.

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In this persuasive book, understand the fundamental principles that underpin Early Years practice to smooth transition into the primary school.

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Available from the Pedagogy team library

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Available from the Pedagogy team library

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A month-by-month guide to taking Early Years pedagogy into KS1

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West partnership principles of effective learning through play and enquiry

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West partnership principles of effective learning through play and enquiry

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Effective Learning - The West Partnership

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We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking "Accept All", you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Skip to content

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Available from the Pedagogy team library

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Available from the Pedagogy team library

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A Playful, Outdoor Approach for Early Years, Juliet Robertson offers a rich resource of ideas that will inspire you to tap into the endless supply of patterns, textures, colours and quantities of the outdoors and deepen children s understanding of maths through hands-on experience.

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When planning your environment, consider all of the learning opportunities. Resources earn their place based on all of the different ways they can be used. For example, an area like this could be used as a home corner, a restaurant, a shop, etc. The resources within the area are not overly themed and therefore the children can turn the area into whichever context they choose.

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Play provides an abundance of opportunities to develop mathematical concepts. Simply introducing loose parts will encourage patterning, counting, etc. As shown in this photo, you can choose to add resources based on the children's next steps. If you have given a direct teaching input on money and its uses, then have resources available in the environment for pupils to use when they are leading their own learning. You will be able to observe, address misconceptions and allow opportunities to consolidate and further learning.

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Loose parts can lead to an abundance of learning opportunities such as: sorting, classifying, constructing, comparing, patterning, counting, etc.

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Neutral backing paper is beneficial as it provides low levels of visual arousal. We aim to make our classrooms engaging instead of distracting.

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Transporting resources to different areas allows learners to make connections and should be encouraged. See the picture above as an example of this. The learners have taken measuring tapes into the construction area to measure the bricks and plan their models.

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Where possible, display resources at pupil height so they are accessible for the learners.

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Choose open ended resources that can be used in lots of different ways and tidied independently.

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Example observation template with comments

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Example observation template with comments

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Please note, this is an example of one way you may choose to record your observations and consider next steps in learning and teaching. There is no expectation to use this. You may choose to use a floorbook, photographs with comments, digital profiles, etc instead.

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In addition to having writing resources placed around your provision, it is also helpful to have a "message centre" or "communication station" with a variety of different materials for writing such as notebooks, envelopes, labels, post-it notes, etc. Ensure you also have a range of differentiated writing utensils to meet your learner's needs.

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If you have a question that has not been answered in the FAQ document, please contact:

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If you have a question that has not been answered in the FAQ document, please contact:

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Lesley-Anne Weir - HT of Tayview PS laweir587@dundeeschools.scot

Shonagh Anderson - Education Phycologist

shonagh.anderson@dundeecity.gov.uk

Audrey White - Educational Support Officer

audrey.white@dundeecity.gov.uk

Chelsea Nicol - Teacher

cnicol844@dundeeschools.scot

Rachel Smeaton - Teacher

rsmeaton890@dundeeschools.scot

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This video presentation gives an introduction to the Dundee Standard for delivering a developmentally appropriate curriculum at Early Level in school.

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Introduction the the Dundee Standard presentation.mp4

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Implementation of the Dundee Standard for Early Level

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Implementation of the Dundee Standard for Early Level

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Chelsea Nicol and Rachel Smeaton discuss the implementation of the Dundee Standard for Early Level.

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Education Scotland - The Pedagogy Podcast

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Education Scotland - The Pedagogy Podcast

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Ollie Bray and Dr. Ben Mardell discuss Play Pedagogy.

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Episode 1 The Pedagogy Podcast Ollie Bray in conversation with Dr Ben Mardell

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What if everything you knew about education was wrong? David Didau

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How learning happens : Seminal works in educational psychology and what they mean in practice by Paul Kirshner and Carl Hendrick

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Blog | Alistair Bryce-Clegg at ABC Does

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Highland Council - Getting Started with Play Pedagogy in P1

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Highland Council - Getting Started with Play Pedagogy in P1

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Getting Started with Play Pedagogy in P1 - Play Scotland

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2022 08 11 Play Based Learning - Early Years

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Education Scotland

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The role of the adult - play pedagogy in practice

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The role of the adult - play pedagogy in practice

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Education Scotland

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The role of the adult  - play pedagogy in practice