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Links to all #PlayInverclyde resources can be found via the play pedagogy drop-down menu.

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Welcome to the PASE (Pedagogy and Support for Equity) Web blog.

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What are these?

The learning environment should feel and look similar to the one experienced in the pre-school setting to ensure the child has a fluid and successful transition. The experiences should build on previous knowledge and skills, with practitioners facilitating a balance of intentional and responsive learning.

Realising the Ambition (Education Scotland, 2020) describes child-centred pedagogy across the Early Level and promotes the role of the learning spaces, adult-child interactions and experiences in facilitating learning.
"Achieving a consistent pedagogical approach across the ELC sector and the early stages of primary should be a key aspiration." (p. 47)
"The focus of our collaborative work should be to build on what the child already knows and can do, avoiding completely the 'fresh start approach'." (p. 92)
"After nursery education children continue to learn by playing. They do not stop learning through interactive processes and direct experience just because they change classes."
(Fabian, 2002)

The transition from the setting to P1 should ensure continuity without sameness and change without shock. The concept of 'Early Level' was introduced through the Curriculum for Excellence which set out to,
"... describe experiences and outcomes for children's learning in ways which will support a more active approach to learning and teaching in early primary school and encourage better continuity and progression for all children across all settings."
( Building the Curriculum 2, Scottish Executive, 2007, p. 1)

Key messages:
Moving into P1 - Transitions

Throughout the year, well-planned transition processes enable sharing of knowledge and expertise between the setting and P1.

Transition experience offers an opportunity for practitioners and children to swap environments, share knowledge and expertise of Early Level and of the children, and plan 'shared' experiences to build relationships.

Practitioners focus on building relationships and establishing routines at the start of the P1 year.

Practitioners need to consider the everyday transitions which may interrupt play opportunities within the day. The children need to have extended amounts of uninterrupted play opportunities. This is required to develop skills, understanding and learning linked to their individual interests and needs. This must be thought through in advance of the children arriving in the setting or school by practitioners.

Practitioners should understand the role of play in children's development, the different types of play that children engage in and ways to support, deepen and extend learning through play.

Learning environments and experiences "Every learning environment, in terms of interactions, experiences and spaces - both outside and indoors - tells a story about how play is valued. The learning environment in the early stages of primary school should not look or feel starkly different from a motivating ELC environment. The level of provocation might be greater, the interaction might be more challenging, and the experiences on offer might be different, but the school environment should be conducive to learning through play."
(Realising the Ambition, Education Scotland, 2020, p. 90)
Indoor spaces
(Realising the Ambition, Education Scotland, 2020, p. 46)
Outdoor spaces

Continuous provision: Learning environments are carefully planned to take account of all children's stages of development where children can learn independently in the absence of a practitioner.

Learning environments should act as the 'third adult'. This means that:

Children can self-resource for activities they wish to explore.

They can tidy away resources in the correct areas.

They can use images or signs to know what happens next in the day.

They can leave "feedback" after engaging in an activity using a tick sheet, traffic light or facial images system of how they found the experience.

A playful, well-resourced, and flexible learning environment (indoors and outdoors) supports learning in different ways.

Well organised learning space that promotes independence, creativity and imaginative use of natural and open-ended resources.

Numeracy and Literacy are embedded throughout the physical learning environment and in the opportunities through day to day routines and interactions with practitioners.

Indoor spaces are also carefully planned to ensure children access the broader curriculum, e.g. digital technology, expressive arts, science and technology.

Adult role

Practitioners are aware of the significant benefits of learning outdoors to children's health and wellbeing and engagement in learning.

Practitioners are aware that outdoor learning is one of the three pillars of Learning for Sustainability. Therefore, children are entitled to regular and progressive outdoor learning experiences in the school grounds and beyond.

Easily accessible, safe spaces with resources to develop imaginative, creative play and gross motor play, e.g. loose parts.

Outdoor spaces are planned, and experiences support Literacy, Numeracy and the broader curriculum.

Documentation and Making Learning Visible

Practitioners take part in professional learning and discussion to develop knowledge of play pedagogy and how this should underpin their practice in P1.

Practitioners use observations regularly to plan responsively to meet the needs and interests of children.

Practitioners knowledge of curriculum and child development supports the planning of learning whilst being responsive to group and individual interests, where possible.

Balance of adult-led and child-led learning.

Practitioners awareness and understanding of their many roles in 'teaching', e.g. observing, modelling, facilitating, supporting, encouraging, directing, giving feedback, documenting, discussing.

Practitioners allow pupils to be engaged in self-directed, deep and meaningful experiences independently or with peers.

Parental involvement and engagement

Practitioners record intentional planning of experiences and outcomes (forward planning).

Practitioners observe and respond to pupil interests and needs through responsive planning.

Responsive planning is evidenced through methods used in the setting, e.g. learning journeys, Floorbooks, learning walls and pupils are actively involved in this process.

Practitioners monitor and respond to levels of pupil engagement.

Developmental overviews (see tabs at the bottom of the Emerging Literacy page) are used by practitioners to understand the pattern of developmental needs across the whole class. This helps with early planning for the entire class or individual pupils.

Practitioners use the trackers from the setting to help them understand where children are in their learning and plan for appropriate support or challenge.

Practitioners support pupils to articulate their knowledge and skills through different playful experiences.

Practitioners involve pupils in evidencing their learning in different ways, e.g. using photos, giving verbal feedback, personal planning.

Families are given lots of opportunities to engage in their child's learning.

Open door policy where parents are welcomed, valued, respected and included in their child's learning journey.

Ways we can do this:

Transitions - Moving into P1: Settings have a shared, planned, annual transitions calendar for the setting and P1, (including Private and Voluntary settings and Childminders).

Senior leaders facilitating flexibility of practitioners working between the setting and P1. For example, some practitioners move from the setting to P1 with children to support the transition process, share knowledge of spaces and children with adults in P1. The adults in P1 spend time in the setting developing an understanding of Early Level pedagogy.

Opportunities to educate parents on playful learning in P1 through information evenings, photos, open days, virtual tours of the environment, sharing reasons why P1 may appear less structured and formal than their own school experience.

Practitioners need to consider the following:

Is it necessary for P1 to be in all assemblies?

When is PE fitted into the timetable?

When is other teacher non-contact time planned? These should be designed to allow children the maximum time to have uninterrupted play throughout the day and over the "working" week.

Building relationships and establishing expectations and routines: Use the first few weeks of term to establish routines and expectations, build relationships, and support independence in developing the effective use of spaces and resources. This will help children familiarise themselves with the new learning environment.

Practitioners use this time effectively to observe and interact with children during the play to understand the child's interests and needs as a learner. This is crucial in developing positive relationships with the children.

Recognition that children need more than an hour to become deeply involved in their play; consider: How we can minimise interruptions to their play as much as possible?

The continuation of learner independence in P1, e.g. having self-serve milk or snack at a designated space (Does this have to be confined to break time only?)

If possible, free flow access to outdoors for extended periods of time throughout the day.

Develop responsibility of children through the use of the health and wellbeing indicators to enable them to make choices and decisions which promote independent thinking, e.g. Is this safe? Is this tidy?

At transition points, consider whether everything needs to be tidied away if children are deeply engaged in that particular area. Make use of 'work in progress' signs.

Learning environment and experiences - Learning spaces - indoors: Practitioners understand the purposes and potential of each learning space. Continuous provision plans can help identify how the experiences and outcomes across the curricular areas can be targeted through the learning spaces.

Practitioners ensure that children are challenged through the differentiation of resources and use provocations and invitations to motivate and inspire curiosity in children. Invitations to learn invite the children to explore something new and originate from the practitioner's thinking. Provocations provoke thinking and originate from the child's interests or thinking.

Less fixed furniture and versatile tables can be easily rearranged into different configurations. This facilitates playful learning and the ability to respond to the needs and interests of the children. Practitioners should aim to have flexible seating as the children should be actively moving around or using the space most of the time. Most formal learning will be done in small groups.

Possible areas for continuous provision could include areas of open floor space for loose parts and construction play. Other areas may include sand, water, malleable, arts and crafts, role play, a story corner, and puzzles and games.

Partitions can be used to create separate quiet areas.

Neutral colours create a calm environment, creating an atmosphere free of fuss and distractions or cognitive overload for many children.

Natural open-ended multi-purpose resources.

Well organised and labelled resources which children can access and tidy themselves.

Learning environment and experiences - Learning spaces - outdoors: Identify the possibilities of your outdoor space in supporting learning across the curriculum.

When planning learning, always consider how to use the outdoor space to enhance the children's learning.

Make use of outdoor learning websites.

Use of photos, floor books, pupil voice to evidence outdoor learning

Adult role: Practitioners engage in continuous professional learning to support their practice, e.g. SBC Early Years training, professional reading of texts such as Realising The Ambition and HGIOELC, membership of online and discussion groups to share best practice.

Self-evaluation of practice, e.g. using PDSA for small tests of change with support from the leadership team or EYTT to manage the process of change and recognise progress on this development journey.

Teachers, Early Years Officers, and practitioners allocated a leadership role for Early Years work together to create a set of 'shared values' around play pedagogy and the learning space in P1.

P1 teachers are not 'timetabled' to direct teaching all day. Instead, a balance of intentional pre-planned learning with the whole group, small groups and individuals or time to observe and respond to children's needs and interests as they engage with the spaces and resources.

The focus of direct teaching time in P1 is Literacy, Numeracy and Health and Wellbeing with other curricular areas delivered through the provision and responsive planning to pupil interests and motivations.

The pace of direct teaching is manageable to allow time to consolidate and engage in deep learning, building secure foundations for future learning.

Provocations and enhanced provision show how spaces reflect the children's current interests and motivations.

Practitioners skilled in sustained shared thinking, e.g. using strategies such as commenting or pondering to engage in learning alongside the child.

Pupils have autonomy and are actively involved in making decisions about what they want to learn about and how they might do this ( child voice + UNCRC).

Documentation and Making Learning Visible: Documentation is manageable and proportionate in showing pre-planned (intentional) and responsive planning. Responsive planning is documented and actioned with the children in the moment, where possible. The continuation of evidencing learning from the setting to P1 involves the child and continues unchanged, e.g. Floorbooks or learning journeys.

Practitioners model and teach children about learning dispositions, e.g. concentration, co-operation, imagination, resilience, why these are important, what they look like, and why they are essential as life skills.

Children can articulate the skills and learning dispositions gained through playful learning, e.g. in the plenary, through discussions of the models made, using photos shared on interactive boards, using the learning journey or Floorbook.

Use developmental overviews to identify strengths and common gaps and inform initial planning in Primary 1. Use Literacy and Numeracy trackers as a starting point in identifying common next steps to inform planning (see tabs at the bottom of the Emerging Literacy & Mathematics & Numeracy pages).

Use of Leuven scale of involvement and wellbeing used to observe children's engagement in spaces and learning.

Parental involvement and engagement: Workshops for parents to share the open-ended potential of each learning space to get the children involved.

Using social media to keep parents informed of daily or weekly learning, e.g. daily tweets or blogs, highlights the children's skills.

Using innovative ways of sharing learning with parents through photos, social media, open days, learning journeys.

(Additional resources can be accessed through the Play Pedagogy Padlet and information on play types can be found here Sharing the Ambition).

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The learning environment should feel and look similar to the one experienced in the pre-school setting to ensure the child has a fluid and successful transition. The experiences should build on previous knowledge and skills, with practitioners facilitating a balance of intentional and responsive learning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What are these?

The learning environment should feel and look similar to the one experienced in the pre-school setting to ensure the child has a fluid and successful transition. The experiences should build on previous knowledge and skills, with practitioners facilitating a balance of intentional and responsive learning.

Realising the Ambition (Education Scotland, 2020) describes child-centred pedagogy across the Early Level and promotes the role of the learning spaces, adult-child interactions and experiences in facilitating learning.
"Achieving a consistent pedagogical approach across the ELC sector and the early stages of primary should be a key aspiration." (p. 47)
"The focus of our collaborative work should be to build on what the child already knows and can do, avoiding completely the 'fresh start approach'." (p. 92)
"After nursery education children continue to learn by playing. They do not stop learning through interactive processes and direct experience just because they change classes."
(Fabian, 2002)

The transition from the setting to P1 should ensure continuity without sameness and change without shock. The concept of 'Early Level' was introduced through the Curriculum for Excellence which set out to,
"... describe experiences and outcomes for children's learning in ways which will support a more active approach to learning and teaching in early primary school and encourage better continuity and progression for all children across all settings."
( Building the Curriculum 2, Scottish Executive, 2007, p. 1)

Key messages:
Moving into P1 - Transitions

Throughout the year, well-planned transition processes enable sharing of knowledge and expertise between the setting and P1.

Transition experience offers an opportunity for practitioners and children to swap environments, share knowledge and expertise of Early Level and of the children, and plan 'shared' experiences to build relationships.

Practitioners focus on building relationships and establishing routines at the start of the P1 year.

Practitioners need to consider the everyday transitions which may interrupt play opportunities within the day. The children need to have extended amounts of uninterrupted play opportunities. This is required to develop skills, understanding and learning linked to their individual interests and needs. This must be thought through in advance of the children arriving in the setting or school by practitioners.

Practitioners should understand the role of play in children's development, the different types of play that children engage in and ways to support, deepen and extend learning through play.

Learning environments and experiences "Every learning environment, in terms of interactions, experiences and spaces - both outside and indoors - tells a story about how play is valued. The learning environment in the early stages of primary school should not look or feel starkly different from a motivating ELC environment. The level of provocation might be greater, the interaction might be more challenging, and the experiences on offer might be different, but the school environment should be conducive to learning through play."
(Realising the Ambition, Education Scotland, 2020, p. 90)
Indoor spaces
(Realising the Ambition, Education Scotland, 2020, p. 46)
Outdoor spaces

Continuous provision: Learning environments are carefully planned to take account of all children's stages of development where children can learn independently in the absence of a practitioner.

Learning environments should act as the 'third adult'. This means that:

Children can self-resource for activities they wish to explore.

They can tidy away resources in the correct areas.

They can use images or signs to know what happens next in the day.

They can leave "feedback" after engaging in an activity using a tick sheet, traffic light or facial images system of how they found the experience.

A playful, well-resourced, and flexible learning environment (indoors and outdoors) supports learning in different ways.

Well organised learning space that promotes independence, creativity and imaginative use of natural and open-ended resources.

Numeracy and Literacy are embedded throughout the physical learning environment and in the opportunities through day to day routines and interactions with practitioners.

Indoor spaces are also carefully planned to ensure children access the broader curriculum, e.g. digital technology, expressive arts, science and technology.

Adult role

Practitioners are aware of the significant benefits of learning outdoors to children's health and wellbeing and engagement in learning.

Practitioners are aware that outdoor learning is one of the three pillars of Learning for Sustainability. Therefore, children are entitled to regular and progressive outdoor learning experiences in the school grounds and beyond.

Easily accessible, safe spaces with resources to develop imaginative, creative play and gross motor play, e.g. loose parts.

Outdoor spaces are planned, and experiences support Literacy, Numeracy and the broader curriculum.

Documentation and Making Learning Visible

Practitioners take part in professional learning and discussion to develop knowledge of play pedagogy and how this should underpin their practice in P1.

Practitioners use observations regularly to plan responsively to meet the needs and interests of children.

Practitioners knowledge of curriculum and child development supports the planning of learning whilst being responsive to group and individual interests, where possible.

Balance of adult-led and child-led learning.

Practitioners awareness and understanding of their many roles in 'teaching', e.g. observing, modelling, facilitating, supporting, encouraging, directing, giving feedback, documenting, discussing.

Practitioners allow pupils to be engaged in self-directed, deep and meaningful experiences independently or with peers.

Parental involvement and engagement

Practitioners record intentional planning of experiences and outcomes (forward planning).

Practitioners observe and respond to pupil interests and needs through responsive planning.

Responsive planning is evidenced through methods used in the setting, e.g. learning journeys, Floorbooks, learning walls and pupils are actively involved in this process.

Practitioners monitor and respond to levels of pupil engagement.

Developmental overviews (see tabs at the bottom of the Emerging Literacy page) are used by practitioners to understand the pattern of developmental needs across the whole class. This helps with early planning for the entire class or individual pupils.

Practitioners use the trackers from the setting to help them understand where children are in their learning and plan for appropriate support or challenge.

Practitioners support pupils to articulate their knowledge and skills through different playful experiences.

Practitioners involve pupils in evidencing their learning in different ways, e.g. using photos, giving verbal feedback, personal planning.

Families are given lots of opportunities to engage in their child's learning.

Open door policy where parents are welcomed, valued, respected and included in their child's learning journey.

Ways we can do this:

Transitions - Moving into P1: Settings have a shared, planned, annual transitions calendar for the setting and P1, (including Private and Voluntary settings and Childminders).

Senior leaders facilitating flexibility of practitioners working between the setting and P1. For example, some practitioners move from the setting to P1 with children to support the transition process, share knowledge of spaces and children with adults in P1. The adults in P1 spend time in the setting developing an understanding of Early Level pedagogy.

Opportunities to educate parents on playful learning in P1 through information evenings, photos, open days, virtual tours of the environment, sharing reasons why P1 may appear less structured and formal than their own school experience.

Practitioners need to consider the following:

Is it necessary for P1 to be in all assemblies?

When is PE fitted into the timetable?

When is other teacher non-contact time planned? These should be designed to allow children the maximum time to have uninterrupted play throughout the day and over the "working" week.

Building relationships and establishing expectations and routines: Use the first few weeks of term to establish routines and expectations, build relationships, and support independence in developing the effective use of spaces and resources. This will help children familiarise themselves with the new learning environment.

Practitioners use this time effectively to observe and interact with children during the play to understand the child's interests and needs as a learner. This is crucial in developing positive relationships with the children.

Recognition that children need more than an hour to become deeply involved in their play; consider: How we can minimise interruptions to their play as much as possible?

The continuation of learner independence in P1, e.g. having self-serve milk or snack at a designated space (Does this have to be confined to break time only?)

If possible, free flow access to outdoors for extended periods of time throughout the day.

Develop responsibility of children through the use of the health and wellbeing indicators to enable them to make choices and decisions which promote independent thinking, e.g. Is this safe? Is this tidy?

At transition points, consider whether everything needs to be tidied away if children are deeply engaged in that particular area. Make use of 'work in progress' signs.

Learning environment and experiences - Learning spaces - indoors: Practitioners understand the purposes and potential of each learning space. Continuous provision plans can help identify how the experiences and outcomes across the curricular areas can be targeted through the learning spaces.

Practitioners ensure that children are challenged through the differentiation of resources and use provocations and invitations to motivate and inspire curiosity in children. Invitations to learn invite the children to explore something new and originate from the practitioner's thinking. Provocations provoke thinking and originate from the child's interests or thinking.

Less fixed furniture and versatile tables can be easily rearranged into different configurations. This facilitates playful learning and the ability to respond to the needs and interests of the children. Practitioners should aim to have flexible seating as the children should be actively moving around or using the space most of the time. Most formal learning will be done in small groups.

Possible areas for continuous provision could include areas of open floor space for loose parts and construction play. Other areas may include sand, water, malleable, arts and crafts, role play, a story corner, and puzzles and games.

Partitions can be used to create separate quiet areas.

Neutral colours create a calm environment, creating an atmosphere free of fuss and distractions or cognitive overload for many children.

Natural open-ended multi-purpose resources.

Well organised and labelled resources which children can access and tidy themselves.

Learning environment and experiences - Learning spaces - outdoors: Identify the possibilities of your outdoor space in supporting learning across the curriculum.

When planning learning, always consider how to use the outdoor space to enhance the children's learning.

Make use of outdoor learning websites.

Use of photos, floor books, pupil voice to evidence outdoor learning

Adult role: Practitioners engage in continuous professional learning to support their practice, e.g. SBC Early Years training, professional reading of texts such as Realising The Ambition and HGIOELC, membership of online and discussion groups to share best practice.

Self-evaluation of practice, e.g. using PDSA for small tests of change with support from the leadership team or EYTT to manage the process of change and recognise progress on this development journey.

Teachers, Early Years Officers, and practitioners allocated a leadership role for Early Years work together to create a set of 'shared values' around play pedagogy and the learning space in P1.

P1 teachers are not 'timetabled' to direct teaching all day. Instead, a balance of intentional pre-planned learning with the whole group, small groups and individuals or time to observe and respond to children's needs and interests as they engage with the spaces and resources.

The focus of direct teaching time in P1 is Literacy, Numeracy and Health and Wellbeing with other curricular areas delivered through the provision and responsive planning to pupil interests and motivations.

The pace of direct teaching is manageable to allow time to consolidate and engage in deep learning, building secure foundations for future learning.

Provocations and enhanced provision show how spaces reflect the children's current interests and motivations.

Practitioners skilled in sustained shared thinking, e.g. using strategies such as commenting or pondering to engage in learning alongside the child.

Pupils have autonomy and are actively involved in making decisions about what they want to learn about and how they might do this ( child voice + UNCRC).

Documentation and Making Learning Visible: Documentation is manageable and proportionate in showing pre-planned (intentional) and responsive planning. Responsive planning is documented and actioned with the children in the moment, where possible. The continuation of evidencing learning from the setting to P1 involves the child and continues unchanged, e.g. Floorbooks or learning journeys.

Practitioners model and teach children about learning dispositions, e.g. concentration, co-operation, imagination, resilience, why these are important, what they look like, and why they are essential as life skills.

Children can articulate the skills and learning dispositions gained through playful learning, e.g. in the plenary, through discussions of the models made, using photos shared on interactive boards, using the learning journey or Floorbook.

Use developmental overviews to identify strengths and common gaps and inform initial planning in Primary 1. Use Literacy and Numeracy trackers as a starting point in identifying common next steps to inform planning (see tabs at the bottom of the Emerging Literacy & Mathematics & Numeracy pages).

Use of Leuven scale of involvement and wellbeing used to observe children's engagement in spaces and learning.

Parental involvement and engagement: Workshops for parents to share the open-ended potential of each learning space to get the children involved.

Using social media to keep parents informed of daily or weekly learning, e.g. daily tweets or blogs, highlights the children's skills.

Using innovative ways of sharing learning with parents through photos, social media, open days, learning journeys.

(Additional resources can be accessed through the Play Pedagogy Padlet and information on play types can be found here Sharing the Ambition).

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The learning environment should feel and look similar to the one experienced in the pre-school setting to ensure the child has a fluid and successful transition. The experiences should build on previous knowledge and skills, with practitioners facilitating a balance of intentional and responsive learning.

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Significant Scottish Outdoor Learning and Play Documents

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Creative STAR Learning | I'm a teacher, get me OUTSIDE here!

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Advice note for hard-working educators and partner providers of outdoor learning and play: This list can appear overwhelming. Not every document is relevant for your day-to-day work with children and young people. I put this list together so that it is quick to access key information, extract quotes for research and presentations and to demonstrate the national commitment to outdoor learning and play. Despite a lot of positive commentary, the amount of investment and support for outdoor learning and play is a matter of debate and seems to vary within and between sectors. Also questions have to be asked in light of recent research funded by NatureScot and led by Dr Greg Mannion in 2023 whether we need to think beyond documents to other forms of support for frontline staff.

The Scottish Government and other national organisations have produced a wide range of publications which can help schools and early years and childcare settings develop their outdoor learning and play provision. Below is the collection I have gathered in an approximate timeline.
Notes:

Many other documents exist prior to 2007 that refer to outdoor learning in various guises. I feel that Taking Learning Outdoors is a defining point within Curriculum for Excellence. It was the catalyst of what has emerged since there. It is also rare in that it provides a definition of outdoor learning.

There may be other documents which are also worthy of inclusion in the list below which I have forgotten about. Please let me know of any inadvertent omissions

Nationally in Scotland, outdoor learning is one component of Learning for Sustainability. I've only included some links to key documents as otherwise it's all overwhelming. For a more comprehensive selection, have a look at Learning through Landscapes Scotland collection. This includes their own publications and those of other third sector organisations beyond Education Scotland, the Scottish Government and the Care Inspectorate which have been my specific focus.

Education Scotland have a summary outdoor learning resources. They also have a Learning for Sustainability summary list. As outdoor play is not really a focus in the Education Scotland link, the best place to check on these publications is the fantastic Play Scotland website. If you want to access some outdoor learning webinars from Education Scotland - have a look at the collection I've put together.

The links are provided in good faith. If they no longer work, please let me know.

Taking Learning Outdoors makes the connections between Curriculum for Excellence and outdoor learning explicit and provides the rationale for many of the publications in years to come.

There are two documents within the Early Years Framework. This is the 10-year strategy published by the Scottish Government in early 2009. This is the first reference to Forest Schools and nature kindergartens in a national document that I can find.

Curriculum for Excellence through Outdoor Learning is the statement of expectations about outdoor learning. It takes a marked step forward because it advocates:

Frequent, regular and progressive outdoor experiences

That outdoor learning is the responsibility of all staff, not an outdoor learning coordinator or keen individual

That partnership working is necessary to provide the breadth and depth of outdoor experiences

Back in 2010 I blogged in more detail about this document.

CfE Factfile - Outdoor Learning. This was produced by Learning and Teaching Scotland in May 2011. Aside from the links and references, it's commentary remains valid. Originally it was aimed at parents and carers.

Education Scotland (2010) Support for Professional Development in Outdoor Learning

This is a series of documents, one for each curriculum area which suggests which experiences and outcomes must be taught outside and which are flexible about where they can be achieved. They are now dated especially in regard to digital technologies as they were written prior to iPads coming on the market. This was my first national piece of work!

Outdoor Learning - Practical Guidance for teachers and practitioners in Scotland (2011): This is the "how" document that was written to provide Scottish educators with suggestions and advice about learning outdoors. It provides research snippets and training activities as well. It is the first time free play is specifically referred to within education and recognition that outdoor play is an integral part of any school's approach to learning outside.

North Lanark have adapted and refreshed one section relating outdoor learning to Getting It Right for Every Child into a poster. which can be accessed here.

Building your Curriculum: Outside and In (2011). This is an annex to the practical guidance document. It was created to help schools and centres think about where they are in terms of embedding outdoor learning and where they need to be. On the second page there's a useful reflection tool.

One Planet Working Group (2012) Learning for Sustainability Report

This is the original document which makes recommendations about Learning for Sustainability. These were accepted by the Scottish Government almost in full. It unites global citizenship, outdoor learning and education for sustainable development into one coherent, whole school approach. All GTCS registered teachers must actively embrace and promote the principles and practices of sustainability in all aspects of their work.

Scottish Government (2103) The Play Strategy. There are two parts to the Play Strategy - Our Vision and Our Action Plan. Both documents cite the need for children and young people to be able to have daily free play opportunities in natural spaces. It is currently in the process of being updated.

Education Scotland (2015) How Good is Our School (4th Ed)? Whilst not specific to outdoor learning and play, there are 15 references to these and learning for sustainability. The early years document is: How Good is Your Early Learning and Childcare?

Care Inspectorate (2016) My World Outdoors This document shares good practice and sets out the expectations of the Care Inspectorate with regard to play and learning wholly or partially outdoors.

Scottish Government (2016) Vision 2030+ is the report about progress made in implementing the recommendations around Learning for Sustainabilty. It's part celebration, part reflection, part forward thinking. In 2019, Education Scotland published a Learning for Sustainability Action Plan.

Inspiring Scotland (2016) Loose Parts Play: A Toolkit. Practical guide to developing loose parts play. This has since been revised in 2019.

The Scottish Government (2017) Space to Grow is timely design guidance for early learning and childcare settings and out of school care settings. It has a good emphasis and set of questions for consideration of outdoor as well as indoor environments.

The Scottish Government (2017) A Blueprint for 2020: The Expansion of Early Learning and Childcare in Scotland: Quality Action Plan. This document sets out a key aim to develop guidance for establishing outdoor nurseries.

Inspiring Scotland (2018) Scotland's National Outdoor Play and Learning Position Statement This document is ratified by many organisations within Scotland that recognise the need for all children to have the right to play and learn outdoors.

The Scottish Government (2018) Out to Play: Practical Guidance for Creating Outdoor Play Experiences in Early Learning and Childcare This is the outdoor guidance mentioned in the previous document. It is for a broader range of provision and applicable to all ELCs as it contains guidance on a range of matters, not least everyone's obligations under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. In 2021, three further sections were added:

Education Scotland (2020) Realising the Ambition: Being Me This is not specifically about outdoor provision. However, it is a significant document in that it is the first of its kind that truly integrates indoor and outdoor early years provision in a holistic way. There is clear recognition of the needs of children to spend significant amounts of time outside, particularly in nature and this is fantastic and welcoming sign of a real culture shift in early years education. It replaces Building the Ambition (2020).

Policy Scotland (2020) Outdoor Learning Briefing Paper was published just after the lifting of the first Covid Lockdown. Currently the site is being updated and the document is not available

Scottish Government (2020) Educational Outcomes of Learning for Sustainability: Literature Review This is a welcome summary which explores the impact of Learning for Sustainability. It frequently references the need for outdoor learning to be essential to the process.

The Scottish Government (2021) also produced another document A Systematic Review of Nature-based Early Learning and Childcare on Children's Health, Wellbeing and Development. This is interesting for a number of reasons, not least the small number of research documents covering this theme and the poor quality of many of the research.

The Scottish Government (2021) Going Out There. This is the national guidance about off-site excursions. Every local authority will have their own guidance which must be followed by local authority run settings. It does get updated via the website so keep checking on a regular basis. The Scottish Advisory Panel for Outdoor Education (SAPOE) and HSE also have input.

Care Inspectorate (2022) A Quality Framework for Daycare of Children, Childminding and School-Aged Childcare This document references the need to have quality outdoor experiences and environments where children can freely play and learn.

Education Scotland (2022) Successful Approaches to Learning Outdoors is a positive document that looks at schools and ELCs with inspections where outdoor learning was a positive contributor to an inspection.

Care Inspectorate (2022) Keeping Children Safe Practice Notes: At present there are two directly related to outdoor provision: Keeping Children Safe: Supporting Trips and Outings in Early Learning and Childcare Settings and Supporting Curiosity and Exploration in ELC. These a curious pieces of advice that I feel does not sit comfortably with all the documents that have been previously published owing to the negative assumptions, lack of positive examples of keeping safe and the risk averse tone about outdoor provision. After all children will and do leave provision when inside a building.

Scottish Government (2022) Putting Learners at the Centre: Towards a Future Vision for Scottish Education (The Muir Report). This is about educational reform. Whilst the recommendations do not include outdoor learning, play or Learning fir Sustainability, see pages 15, 18 and 19 for positive commentary about these aspects of education.

Children and Young People Improvement Collaborative (2022) Out to Play Improve A summary of how six ELC teams improved the quantity of outdoor play. Lots of encouraging advice, evaluation report and video.

Scottish Government (2023) Commission for Land-based Learning Review - Report to Scottish Ministers. Whilst not an education document per se the recommendations are almost entirely about outdoor learning.

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Significant Scottish Outdoor Learning and Play Documents

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Advice note for hard-working educators and partner providers of outdoor learning and play: This list can appear overwhelming. Not every document is relevant for your day-to-day work with children and young people. I put this list together so that it is quick to access key information, extract quotes for research and presentations and to demonstrate the national commitment to outdoor learning and play.

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Play is at the heart of childhood. Through play, children learn how to collaborate, how to negotiate rules and relationships, and how to imagine and create. They learn to find and solve problems, think flexibly and critically, and communicate effectively. This book, written by researchers at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, draws on cross-cultural, empirical research to explore what it means to embrace play as a core part of learning in school. The authors address three questions: Why do educators need a pedagogy of play? What does playful learning in schools look and feel like? and How can educators promote playful learning? The book includes practices and strategies from the classroom to the staffroom, eight pictures of classroom practice from four countries, and 18 tools for teachers, school leaders, and professional development providers to support playful learning across content areas and age groups.

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An introduction to play pedagogy

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10: Play & Autism - The Play Well Podcast

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10: Play & Autism - The Play Well Podcast

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In this episode, we will look at autism and play. To explore this our Learning & Development Officer Jenny Lester catches up with Dr Robert Grant. Dr.Grant is a licensed Professional Counselor, National Certified Counselor, and Registered Play Therapist Supervisor. He is the creator of AutPlay® Therapy which is an integrative family play therapy approach.

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SLF Online 2022 In Scotland, are we getting our approach right in early years

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📺 Are we getting our approach right, and who is responsible?

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📺 Are we getting our approach right, and who is responsible?

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SLF Online 2022 In Scotland, are we getting our approach right in early years

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Exploring the experience of autistic play

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Exploring the experience of autistic play

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Neurodiversity-informed & strengths-based approaches enable us to move away from simply understanding #Autism in terms of difficulties.

@EmmaPritchard95 uses this approach to understand adults' experiences of #AutisticPlay.

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Dr Helen Williams

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Being Me- What I Need to Grow and Develop

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Being Me- What I Need to Grow and Develop

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Allan Fleming's slides from our network meeting input on 3rd October 2022

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3: Play, Poverty & Social Justice - The Play Well Podcast

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3: Play, Poverty & Social Justice - The Play Well Podcast

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In this episode, we will look at poverty as a barrier to play, play as a social justice issue, and how play can be used to lead to better outcomes for all children. To explore this our Director Margu

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An enabling environment is key to getting play pedagogy right, however, the environment includes our interactions and the experiences provided as well as the physical spaces. This is a self-led learni

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Includes suggested resource list

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An enabling environment is key to getting play pedagogy right, however, the environment includes our interactions and the experiences provided as well as the physical spaces. This is a self-led learni

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Read this free ebook by Mrs Jalland. Find thousands of free educational ebooks for classroom use at read.bookcreator.com

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#PlayInverclyde on Film 🎥 7 (Play Therapy)

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Erin McQuillan talks to us about her role, how we can support children attending therapy, and how we can all be therapeutic when working with children.

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#PlayInverclyde on Film 🎥 7 (Play Therapy)

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In this film, you’ll see inside some of our Inverclyde nurture rooms. Louise Quigley takes us on a tour of Aileymill’s Rainbow Room, and we also sneak a peak into St Johns’ The Cove, Kings Oak’s Blossom Room and All Saints’ The Den.

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SPONTANEOUS 20PLANNING 20SHEET 20A4 20copy

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Inverclyde Attainment Challenge Nurture Models

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Inverclyde Attainment Challenge Nurture Models

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An A-Z of play pedagogy (Curiosity Approach)

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An A-Z of play pedagogy (Curiosity Approach)

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Twitter Question 2 How do we evidence children's progress

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5 minute video

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Twitter Question 2 How do we evidence children's progress

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101 ways to play campaign Archives - Play Scotland

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101 ways to play campaign Archives - Play Scotland

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Scotland's Play Charter describes our collective commitment to play for all children and young people. Supporters of the Charter know that children have the right to play and value play as an essential part of children's health and wellbeing as individuals and part of the community.

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Digital learning from Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar | e-Sgoil

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Our Programmes Covid-19 Support Study Support DYW Live Supply Input News Resources Tutorials Staff Vacancies Gaelic

Dug's Discovery Den

Discover With Dug - an interactive approach for our youngest learners

We know that the best online learning for young children encourages real-life play, movement, songs, stories, dance and interactions and experiences - especially outdoors. Dug's Discovery Den has been developed in partnership with Education Scotland to offer children across the early level of early learning and childcare and primary school an interactive collection of clicks to inspire further learning and exploration beyond the screen.

Dug's Discovery Den presents an outdoor interactive and continually evolving virtual learning space. The space reflects the young learner's world and interests by revealing different activities and new learning discoveries as we move through the seasons of the year.

As we explore and further develop this approach we would love to hear your feedback. Below you will find pilot sites in Gaelic and in English, and a form for you to add your comments and suggestions.

Please share your feedback

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Digital learning from Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar | e-Sgoil

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Our Programmes Covid-19 Support Study Support DYW Live Supply Input News Resources Tutorials Staff Vacancies Gaelic Discover With Dug - an interactive approach for our youngest learners We know that the best online learning for young children encourages real-life play, movement, songs, stories, dance and interactions and experiences - especially outdoors.

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Play needn't cost a fortune. Try these games you can play indoors or out - using everyday things you'll find at home. Use our filters to find the perfect activity or scroll through a few of our favourites.

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Play needn't cost a fortune. Try these games you can play indoors or out - using everyday things you'll find at home. Use our filters to find the perfect activity or scroll through a few of our favourites.

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For Inverclyde staff only*

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Includes suggested resource list

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An enabling environment is key to getting play pedagogy right, however, the environment includes our interactions and the experiences provided as well as the physical spaces. This is a self-led learni

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Allan Fleming’s second session on observations, looking at practical examples of Inverclyde children at play.

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Realising the Ambition: Being Me series - Whose Ambition?

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Realising the Ambition: Being Me series - Whose Ambition?

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Navigating the Sea of Talk - Developing language in Early Years

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Being a reflective teacher, we're often told, is the key to developing effective practice. Realistically though, within the busy school day with many demands on teachers' time, having the opportunity to stand back and consider our practice is a real rarity. The lockdown period was an anxious time, but it gave many teachers an opportunity to stand back from, and reflect on, their practice. The rise in demand for online CPD, blogs and other materials has shown that, although school buildings may not yet be fully open, many teachers are more than ready to tackle the key issues around practice.
So let's consider one big issue around EYFS practice-talk. Talk has, for a long time been seen to be beneficial in the development of literacy skills. As James Britton stated in 1983,

"Reading and writing float on a sea of talk"

The benefits of talk go way beyond literacy though. Key research projects such as The Snowling Review in 2011 have highlighted the acquisition of language as a crucial element in learning and as a key predictor of later educational achievement. These reports have also pointed to the importance of the adult role in modelling the use of carefully chosen words and phrases in supporting language development.
A Report for the Education Endowment Foundation on Early Language Development in
October 2017 found that
"... there is evidence that the rate at which children develop language is sensitive to the amount of input they receive from the adults around them. The quality of input that children receive is likely to be more important than the quantity. "
"Putting words together may be a better predictor of later abilities than the number of words that a child uses."
Of course there are many other gains too. Effective communication is also built on close, strong relationships. These relationships nurture a sense of value and security in young children and help to build the high levels of wellbeing that are also vital to the learning process.
Yet classroom practice does not always reflect how much talk is valued. Showing that we do, or don't value talk hinges on how we use our time within the classroom. Both taking turns in conversation and engaging in sustained shared thinking, require adults who are prepared and able to invest quality time each day in building positive relationships. For this to happen, adult time needs to be used wisely and we need to be very aware that teaching does not just happen on the carpet or at the group table.

What might this look like?

Building strong relationships from an early point in the school year is vital. Spending time alongside children within areas of provision to model how materials can be used, introduce key vocabulary and help children make connections with prior experiences, will provide a rich context for learning. In order to support children effectively, staff will need to use language and vocabulary consistently and appropriately. A crucial element of continuous provision planning is to identify the names and key vocabulary linked to resources in each area of provision. So, let's consider this, do staff in your school or setting use the names of resources consistently and appropriately? Do all staff know the key vocabulary linked to each resource within the room?

A Language Rich Environment

Of course, focussing on the importance of language isn't new. In 2012, the EYFS Guidance highlighted the importance of a "language rich environment" so that children could "develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves, and to speak and listen in a variety of situations." Yet what is meant by a language rich environment can cause issues. There is a key difference between a print rich environment and one rich in language. Settings which focus purely on displaying vast numbers of key words on a range of surfaces have potentially missed the point. Acquiring new words and their correct context is linked to meaningful experience and talk. Key words displayed on laminated labels above the water area are no substitute for effective adult interaction linked to the rich sensory experiences and investigations in the water. Which raises a question: why are children taken out of provision areas for speech and language interventions?

Effective Interactions

Interacting effectively with children requires real skill, sensitivity and awareness. Children will be very quick to move away from adults if they feel that their own purpose has been interrupted or sidelined by the adults working alongside them. Adults need to be aware of the importance of giving children their full attention, getting down to the children's height and displaying open, trusting body language. Shared moments that happen in this context provide a rich opportunity for teaching and learning, and they also provide the adults with rich knowledge of the children and how they go about learning. Getting the right balance of written and recorded observations alongside effective interactions here is crucial. Adults whose main concern is the gathering of written observations and photographs will often miss vital opportunities to engage in valuable talk with children about their learning and understanding. The irony here is that vast amounts of recorded information can often indicate a surface level understanding of children's development.

Of course, early years classrooms and outdoor areas are busy places and we can't be everywhere at once. If we are going to prioritise talk and create a truly language rich environment, then we need to allow time for talk in a variety of contexts. The Highscope structure of plan, do and review, gives children the daily opportunity to talk through their ideas and actions and provides staff with meaningful opportunities to engage in conversations with the children. Of course, this requires an investment of time; time to talk, make plans, consider ideas and also time to share how things went and what we might do differently. Crucially, it is often through these periods of sustained shared thinking that children will ask questions that the adults don't know the answers to. In terms of learning, these moments are like gold dust, a great levelling moment where adults and children are at the same point, wondering, thinking, questioning and exploring. This is talk and language at the heart of the learning process. As Julie Fisher puts it:

"In order to capitalize on the power of language to influence both thought and action, classroom experiences must encourage talk as a key process through which young children learn."

So, some key questions to consider:
* Does your timetable reflect the importance of talk as a valuable part of the learning process?
* Are your staff team skilled in interacting with children in a variety of contexts?
* Does your Senior Leadership Team recognise the importance of talk as a key part of the teaching and learning process?
* Does your continuous provision planning identify opportunities within areas of provision for adults to model vocabulary consistently?
* In your school or setting, is the recording process a barrier to effective interaction with children?

The ability to interact sensitively and appropriately, supporting and extending learning is a complex process built on a deep understanding of how young children learn and our knowledge of each unique child.
Find Out More
Our National Centre is open to visitors every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9am - 5pm. You can also visit us virtually, where you will find a highly informative interactive environment to look around with ideas for your classroom, lots of display ideas and an exhibition of children's work to inspire you.
We hope to see you soon!

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There is a key difference between a print rich environment and one rich in language. Settings which focus purely on displaying vast numbers of key words on a range of surfaces have potentially missed the point. Acquiring new words and their correct context is linked to meaningful experience and talk

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50 minute training session

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How can I improve engagement in outdoor learning by incorporating pupil voice to inform play experiences across the curriculum?

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How can I improve engagement in outdoor learning by incorporating pupil voice to inform play experiences across the curriculum?

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What I did-

After consulting with learners in my class to gauge their interests and gather ideas and opinions, we transformed our front outdoor area from a blank canvas to an engaging and inspiring environment which provided free flow access to open ended, creative, problem solving, and independent opportunities for all learners across the curriculum.

Result-

Through carrying out the changes implemented in my professional enquiry there has been an overall increase in engagement in outdoor learning for all learners with 88% of learners preferring to play outdoors post- intervention compared to 20% of learners who preferred playing outdoors pre-intervention.

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#PlayInverclyde Practitioner Enquiry - Nicole Thomson

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What impact does block play have in the classroom, on mathematical language development?

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What impact does block play have in the classroom, on mathematical language development?

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• What I did- I began term 3 by identifying 3 children in my Primary 2/1 class who required support in language and communication. Introduction of a block play resource in term 3 allowed me to create activities with intended outcomes particularly exploring number and measurement with the hope that increased mathematical language would develop and then progress.

• Outcome- It has been apparent by looking at block play and its impact more closely that it is a resource that stimulates vocabulary particularly mathematical language. Whilst some of the children in the identified group will continue to require support in their language development and communication skills it has been apparent that their ability to converse using mathematical vocabulary has increased.

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Suggested 20PP 20Resource 20List 20May 202022 20copy

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Setting up your classroom (including suggested resources)

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Setting up your classroom (including suggested resources)

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Curious bits & bobs

The Curiosity Approach is more than just beautiful play spaces... So grab a cuppa, settle down and delve deeply inside our articles...

Why not print them out and put them in your staff rooms...

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The Curiosity Approach is more than just beautiful play spaces... So grab a cuppa, settle down and delve deeply inside our articles... Why not print them out and put them in your staff rooms...

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Children have the most magical imaginations. An old loo roll? It's a telescope. A wheelbarrow? An ancient Egyptian chariot.

Making up imaginary stories is a fantastic way for children to explore their creativity, and let their imaginations run free as they use it to make sense of the world around them. But there's an extra special approach that lets children take their imaginary stories to the next level.

And what are we talking about? Helicopter Stories.

Helicopter Stories let children dictate and act out a story of their own making. It's a completely open-ended approach, as children can interpret and act out their story any way they like. They use their arms to create windmills, or their whole body to make trees.

As a practitioner, you can help boost creativity, emotional and social development and promote teamwork - and all you have to do is listen and write!

I had the chance to chat to Trisha Lee, founder and artistic director of Make Believe Arts, a theatre and education company. Trisha helped introduce Helicopter Stories to the UK, and has even written an entire book on it. We thought she'd be the perfect person to chat to about Helicopter Stories and their potential for children's learning.

We'll dive into why creating stories is so powerful in helping children learn, why Helicopter Stories take that learning to the next level, and how you can easily introduce them.

‍

‍

So what exactly is a Helicopter Story?‍

Helicopter Stories are actually really simple - the core idea is to let children dictate their own story, see it written down on paper, and perform it alongside their peers. They use their hands, their whole body and their voices to perform.

"It's about celebrating the poetry of children's language, as well as the way they speak and act," says Trisha.

Once you scribe a story, read it back to the children and invite them to act out the way they think the characters, objects and buildings will look. This places the child at the heart of their own learning, as they're the ones driving the story with their performance - you're just there to give them a helping hand.

The use of storytelling and story acting, or what Trisha calls Helicopter Stories, was started by the wonderful Vivian Gussin Paley, a Boston teacher who made it her life's work to put children's learning to the forefront. Trisha is determined her legacy will not be forgotten.

Trisha named the approach after one of Vivian's books - The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter. Think of it like a child stretching their arms far and wide to embody a helicopter!

Helicopter Stories in action‍

If a child is desperate to tell a story about their new rabbit, or about the pancakes they had that morning, then Helicopter Stories let them act out those ideas and emotions.

We'll go into how much a difference you can make by introducing this storytelling and story acting in a minute, but first here's the run-down of how Helicopter Stories work from start to finish:

Take a sheet of a5 paper - no more than one sheet, and have the child dictate their story.

Write down their story exactly how they tell it. Don't be tempted to make grammar changes - just write down what they say, word for word.

Repeat the words back to them as you write, exactly how they're written.

Now mark a large square with masking tape on the floor - this will be your stage for the children to perform.

Ask the child who created the story which part they'd like to play.

Invite other children to play characters and objects. They take it in turns from their place around the stage. Perhaps there are flowers in the story, or a big castle - invite them to join the stage in turn.

Read the story out loud, one line and a time, and let the children act out the story. Ask for actions as you go along i.e. 'Can I see you being a tree? What does a cat sound like?'
‍

Remember this is the child's story. You are there to narrate only. Let the child take control and perform it any way they like.

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An incredible learning opportunity

Traditional storytelling itself is magical - it lets children use their imagination, and lets their creativity soar as they visualise the story. All that creativity and imagination is a tool for children to explore the world they've just been brought into - even if it's just exploring that mummy works in a hospital."Stories help children make sense of the world," says Trisha.

But if we look at the story acting and performing side of Helicopter Stories, it takes that learning two steps further.

Children are free to explore ideas and perform them- it lets them visualise and perform any scenario, adventure or idea that's on their mind. One minute a child is baking a birthday cake, the next a child might be riding a camel through the desert. ‍
Why Helicopter Stories go the extra mile:
‍They give children autonomy. By letting children take control and use their imagination - it's all up to them. They choose what they want to create and how to create it - they drive the story and act it out however they choose to. ‍

They build confidence. Trisha states that this approach lets the child know that you take their ideas seriously - that you value their ideas. This builds their confidence and helps them to continue to participate and be involved.‍

They boost imagination. Children are faced with creating objects, people and concepts with just their body, and this forces them to be creative. How would an elephant move, for example. Or what does rain sound like? It's up to the children. ‍

They encourage social development. Children work together and communicate to solve problems. "If I ask them to be a castle,"says Trisha "they work together to create a structure." This boosts problem solving skills, and lets children work as a team.

Emotional development

Even just reading stories to children about big emotions is a fantastic way for them to start working through things they don't quite understand yet. But Helicopter Stories put those big emotions or ideas in a context they can really understand.

They let the child work through a big emotion, idea or event sitting on their shoulders by processing it in a way that's accessible to them - by visualising and working through it with movement. This could be a family member passing away, a big traffic accident or divorce.

"I once had a child create a story about the tragedy of 9/11, and I was a little worried," admits Trish. "It was a powerful story, and the child who told it wanted to be the plane [...] It turned out to be one of the most powerful stories I have ever seen."

"We get worried because we ourselves don't know how to talk about it, and we might be afraid that children will trivialise it,"says Trish. "I kept saying 'Trust the child, trust the child,' and I am always amazed at the results."

The children asked to act it out again - it was away for them to process the images they'd seen on TV, and the news that constantly surrounded them. It helped them make sense of a big, scary event in a safe, controlled and accessible way.

‍

The building blocks of literacy

Believe it or not, the benefits of story acting don't stop there. Encouraging children with their oral language development has a wonderful effect on their writing skills later on.

Getting children to act out their stories while seeing them written down gives them a language-rich environment. You're not only supporting their oral language development, but you're providing the building blocks for writing at a later stage.

Trisha notes that, because of Helicopter Stories, children have an increased willingness to write. All stories should be acted out on the day they're written down, so if a child realises that they won't be able to have their story written down by a practitioner, they run to paper and try to write it out themselves.

This is true even for children still in the mark-making stage - they're desperate to tell their story and act out their preferred character.

"If I said to you right now 'Be a house,' you'd probably make a very square shape and point your hands up to act as the roof," says Trisha. "But children see things differently - their eyes are fresher than ours." If we interfere, we're projecting our own views onto children, and stifling their creativity.

Holding back lets us see how children understand the world. They'll use what they understand to represent their story, like blowing air to represent wind blowing in a storm. If you interfere, you shut the child down.

It can be tempting to correct grammar mistakes or language mistakes, but write exactly what's given to you and model the right grammar or language later on.

"If a child uses 'I goed to the shops,' leave this in the story," says Trisha."When you engage later on, read what the child wrote 'I goed to the shops,' and then ask 'Can I see you going to the shops?' instead of correcting them." This values their words, and gives them confidence. Children might hold back if they think they'll be corrected all the time, and can be a big knock to their confidence.‍‍

‍‍Helicopter Stories are a fantastic way of seeing how much a child has developed over time. "You can see their stories develop from simple characters to full narratives over time," says Trisha.

This is a great way to see how an individual child's language evolves - and the way they see the world around them. Their vocabulary, plot and characters will develop, letting you see exactly how they understand and process the world.

In short, Helicopter Stories provide excitement and creativity that has children rushing to put pen to paper, even if they're not able to do the actual writing yet. It's all about giving children exposure to language, vocabulary and grammar - in as many ways as you can.
‍

Top tips to keep in mind

Before you draw out a stage and invite children to act out characters, here are few top tips to get you started:
‍
‍ Take a step back

‍ Try to model instead of correcting

‍ Keep their stories

‍ If you'd like to read up a bit more about the helicopter approach and Trisha's online learning resources, feel free to follow through to the website here

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Children have the most magical imaginations. An old loo roll? It's a telescope. A wheelbarrow? An ancient Egyptian chariot. Making up imaginary stories is a fantastic way for children to explore their creativity, and let their imaginations run free as they use it to make sense of the world around them.

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CREATING FASCINATING TALKING TUBS TO SUPPORT CHILD-LED LEARNING

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Depending on when you go back to school, it may be the perfect time to discuss the changing seasons. Autumn is an incredibly colourful month, with many learning opportunities. Children are fascinated by Autumn due to the dramatic changes that they can see in trees, and practitioners can use this fascination to create great experiences for children.

In your talking tub you can include:

· leaves of different colours

· leaves from a range of different types of trees

· photos of forests

· a thermometer

· pictures or models of different types of animals

· different types of fabric/clothing

Autumn is a great time to explore different colours through dye-making, which is a great activity for measuring and art.

4. Local or National Culture

Exploring a topic which children hold dear to them, and may see as part of themselves, is a great way to put them at ease at the beginning of a new term. An investigation into local or national culture is a great way to explore what children have in common with each other and to celebrate their differences.

This topic can be expanded to discuss diversity and different cultures from around the world. This can be a particularly good topic during the transition from early years to primary and can encourage more shy children to talk about themselves.

The objects that you fill your tub with may vary, from flags and clothing, to photographs of local festivals and events. Some settings choose to begin with a talking tub about the nursery or school to help children feel like they are a part of the setting and to help them feel comfortable moving forward.

At Auchlone Nature Kindergarten, we begin every new term with a talking tub about fire. As a fully outdoor nature kindergarten, fire is an integral part of our practice, which we use for cooking as well as warmth. A lot of children who join us at Auchlone have never made their own fires before, and some have never had close access to the heat from a BBQ before.

By filling a talking tub with fire related objects, we can discuss the risks surrounding fire and teach children how to safely risk assess any situation involving fire:

Safe distances around the fire pit

How to light a fire

What they should do if they have any concerns

This also lets us talk about the benefits of fire, such as creating charcoal for art and being able to cook food.

We fill our Talking Tub with:

This wide range of items lets us look at what fire provides, while also giving us many opportunities to discuss all of the risks involved.

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CREATING FASCINATING TALKING TUBS TO SUPPORT CHILD-LED LEARNING

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Depending on when you go back to school, it may be the perfect time to discuss the changing seasons. Autumn is an incredibly colourful month, with many learning opportunities. Children are fascinated by Autumn due to the dramatic changes that they can see in trees, and practitioners can use this fascination to create great experiences for children.

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An alternative to the ableist ‘listening Larry’

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An alternative to the ableist ‘listening Larry’

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Schematic play in children with complex needs

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Schematic play in children with complex needs

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Slides from Karin Low’s webinar for Upstart about her play journey.

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With the goal of supporting educators in bringing more playful learning into their classrooms and schools, the Pedagogy of Play USA project conducted research in six schools in the Boston area in the Northeastern United States (U.S.). Considering the specific challenges and affordances of the local educational context, we examined what playful learning looks and feels like.

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An Introduction To Play Pedagogy - Find Your Why!

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Inservice for those new to play (May 2022)

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An Introduction To Play Pedagogy - Find Your Why!

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An introduction to play pedagogy

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Adventurous play - is it worth the risk? | Enabling Environments | Teach Early Years

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Dr Jamie Galpin explores how we can support early years staff to embrace adventurous play...

The crucial role of play in children's development is well understood. Play is a natural tool that children can use to build their resilience and coping skills.

The statutory framework for the EYFS in England notes that "play is essential for children's development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, relate to others, set their own goals and solve problems." (Department for Education, 2021)

However, this focus on play does not appear to last long; the paradoxical distinction between learning and play arises in the framework when it goes on to state: "as children grow older and move into the reception year, there should be a greater focus on teaching the essential skills and knowledge in the specific areas of learning." (DfE, 2021)

By the age of five, playtime is over. Free play is harnessed and reined in to serve the needs of the curriculum. Play becomes planned, directed and structured, policed by policy.

Yet this conflicts not only with what we know about the value of play, but also with many practitioners' beliefs about the value of free play.

Free exploration

Play is often at its most effective as a medium for learning because it allows children to freely indulge and follow that other foundational learning element: curiosity.

Free exploration promotes enhanced learning about the physical and social-emotional environment. We know too that the most compelling situations to explore and engage in are those that challenge our prior expectations. For example, think about how much children (and adults!) are drawn to magic tricks.

Testing expectations, exploring boundaries and learning about their own capacities through making mistakes, are some of the hallmarks of what is termed 'adventurous' or 'risky' play.

This is child-led play where children experience feelings of excitement and fear. These thrilling forms of play are characterised by uncertainty. Yes, they can have the potential for cuts and grazes, but they also provide opportunities to develop persistence and resilience.

However, societal norms have shifted toward greater supervision, and concerns regarding injury prevention are increasingly influencing children's opportunities to engage in risky play. Risks constantly have to be managed and regulated by adults. Of course we must carry out risk assessments and keep children safe from harm, but children also need opportunities for adventure.

Restricted opportunities are heightened for children with special educational needs and disabilities. All children are perceived to be vulnerable; those with SEND even more so.

Risks are located within the child rather than our recognition that we could be wrapping our own anxieties around the children in our care. Yet, in the long term we might be increasing the vulnerability of the children we are looking to protect.

Fewer opportunities to engage with risky play leads to fewer opportunities to not only manage risk, but also to manage the uncertainty that accompanies it.

Playing with uncertainty

Uncertainty is a fundamental difficulty all humans experience. It is the foundational component of all anxiety. The vast majority of us are desperately seeking certainty. We explore and learn about our world so we can build a better model of it, one that can help us make good guesses about what will happen; making things predicable, expected.

Uncertainty is woven into the tapestry of life. We need to be able to manage this truth, and play is one of the best teachers to help us achieve this. Play is training for the unexpected.

Exploration and novelty-seeking allow us to harvest information about the unknown, about the edges and horizons, and improve our knowledge and understanding. Adventurous play can, over time, reduce children's uncertainty by increasing their ability to predict events in the world.

Having the opportunity through play to successfully handle lower-stakes uncertainty, physiological arousal, and fear, is thought to give children an adaptive coping template and increased capacity to manage uncertainty and more realistic interpretations of physiological arousal in the future.

Despite all these benefits, we are often constrained in how much we can allow adventurous free play. Rules bind both children and adults. Not just the practical rules designed to minimise risk, but rules in the form of policy. For example, play is being increasingly squeezed out of the school day so that 'learning' can take priority (Fisher, 2021).

Yet children become confident, involved learners by taking calculated risks and dealing with uncertainty, whereby learning and development occur through encountering challenges, and building the resources to deal with them.

To make more space for risky play, we need to embrace a little uncertainty ourselves. We need to know when to trust children to effectively navigate an uncertain moment. In doing so we might need to re-negotiate typical adult and child relations, revisiting policies and procedures.

We need to reacquaint ourselves, and be comfortable, with the positive aspects of child-led risky play. This will be an ongoing dialogue rather than a one-off conversation.

We might begin by playing with the rules. The International School in Billund, Denmark, did just that. Staff relaxed playground rules (for example, children could go up the slide!) giving pupils more freedom in how they used the playground.

Whilst the school recognised the tensions around relaxing the rules, and their duty of care to the children, ongoing discussions and negotiations among staff, and with children - supported by strong documentation of reasoning and risk considerations - helped them to walk that tightrope.

Reflecting on the first week of the new, sparser rules, they found they had "happier children" and fewer incidents (Baker & Benavente Barbon, 2017).

Supporting staff to get "riskier" with play

Address fears and uncertainty surrounding staff member and school accountability in relation to duty of care and the potential for child injury. This can be gained via clear guidance from regulatory bodies and through training

Provide training on children's skills and capabilities to play, including their ability to judge risk for themselves

Include education around how intervening in children's play, and directing through language, may limit children's adventurous play engagement

Focus on developing positive beliefs about child-led adventurous play, including understanding the benefits

Provide support on how to recognise and evaluate risk and hazards

Support staff to reflect on how their current rules and practices might have a positive and negative impact on children's play, including what they do to manage their own uncertainty
(The above points are adapted from Nesbit et al., 2021)
Dr Jamie Galpin is a Developmental Psychologist and Education Officer at nasen. He is the co-author of The Anxiety Workbook for Supporting Teens Who Learn Differently: A Framework and Activities to Build Structural, Sensory and Social Certainty.
Jamie is currently working with the LEGO Foundation on their Play for All Accelerator Programme. The programme combines the LEGO Foundation's expertise in learning through play with nasen's principles of inclusion. For further information, visit: learningthroughplay.com
References
Baker, M. & Benavente Barbon, M. (2017). Too Many Rules on the Playground: Working the Paradox between Safety and Freedom.

Department for Education (2021). Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage.

Dodd, H. F., Nesbit, R. J., & FitzGibbon, L. (2022). Child's Play: Examining the Association Between Time Spent Playing and Child Mental Health. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 1-9.

Fisher, J. (2021). To play or not to play: teachers' and headteachers' perspectives on play-based approaches in transition from the Early Years Foundation Stage to Key Stage 1 in England. Education 3-13, 1-13.

Nesbit, R. J., Bagnall, C. L., Harvey, K., & Dodd, H. F. (2021). "Perceived Barriers and Facilitators of Adventurous Play in Schools: A qualitative systematic review." Children, 8(8), 681.

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Adventurous play - is it worth the risk? | Enabling Environments | Teach Early Years

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Dr Jamie Galpin explores how we can support early years staff to embrace adventurous play... The crucial role of play in children's development is well understood. Play is a natural tool that children can use to build their resilience and coping skills.

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Adventurous play - is it worth the risk? | Enabling Environments | Teach Early Years

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Dr Jamie Galpin explores how we can support early years staff to embrace adventurous play...

The crucial role of play in children's development is well understood. Play is a natural tool that children can use to build their resilience and coping skills.

The statutory framework for the EYFS in England notes that "play is essential for children's development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, relate to others, set their own goals and solve problems." (Department for Education, 2021)

However, this focus on play does not appear to last long; the paradoxical distinction between learning and play arises in the framework when it goes on to state: "as children grow older and move into the reception year, there should be a greater focus on teaching the essential skills and knowledge in the specific areas of learning." (DfE, 2021)

By the age of five, playtime is over. Free play is harnessed and reined in to serve the needs of the curriculum. Play becomes planned, directed and structured, policed by policy.

Yet this conflicts not only with what we know about the value of play, but also with many practitioners' beliefs about the value of free play.

Free exploration

Play is often at its most effective as a medium for learning because it allows children to freely indulge and follow that other foundational learning element: curiosity.

Free exploration promotes enhanced learning about the physical and social-emotional environment. We know too that the most compelling situations to explore and engage in are those that challenge our prior expectations. For example, think about how much children (and adults!) are drawn to magic tricks.

Testing expectations, exploring boundaries and learning about their own capacities through making mistakes, are some of the hallmarks of what is termed 'adventurous' or 'risky' play.

This is child-led play where children experience feelings of excitement and fear. These thrilling forms of play are characterised by uncertainty. Yes, they can have the potential for cuts and grazes, but they also provide opportunities to develop persistence and resilience.

However, societal norms have shifted toward greater supervision, and concerns regarding injury prevention are increasingly influencing children's opportunities to engage in risky play. Risks constantly have to be managed and regulated by adults. Of course we must carry out risk assessments and keep children safe from harm, but children also need opportunities for adventure.

Restricted opportunities are heightened for children with special educational needs and disabilities. All children are perceived to be vulnerable; those with SEND even more so.

Risks are located within the child rather than our recognition that we could be wrapping our own anxieties around the children in our care. Yet, in the long term we might be increasing the vulnerability of the children we are looking to protect.

Fewer opportunities to engage with risky play leads to fewer opportunities to not only manage risk, but also to manage the uncertainty that accompanies it.

Playing with uncertainty

Uncertainty is a fundamental difficulty all humans experience. It is the foundational component of all anxiety. The vast majority of us are desperately seeking certainty. We explore and learn about our world so we can build a better model of it, one that can help us make good guesses about what will happen; making things predicable, expected.

Uncertainty is woven into the tapestry of life. We need to be able to manage this truth, and play is one of the best teachers to help us achieve this. Play is training for the unexpected.

Exploration and novelty-seeking allow us to harvest information about the unknown, about the edges and horizons, and improve our knowledge and understanding. Adventurous play can, over time, reduce children's uncertainty by increasing their ability to predict events in the world.

Having the opportunity through play to successfully handle lower-stakes uncertainty, physiological arousal, and fear, is thought to give children an adaptive coping template and increased capacity to manage uncertainty and more realistic interpretations of physiological arousal in the future.

Despite all these benefits, we are often constrained in how much we can allow adventurous free play. Rules bind both children and adults. Not just the practical rules designed to minimise risk, but rules in the form of policy. For example, play is being increasingly squeezed out of the school day so that 'learning' can take priority (Fisher, 2021).

Yet children become confident, involved learners by taking calculated risks and dealing with uncertainty, whereby learning and development occur through encountering challenges, and building the resources to deal with them.

To make more space for risky play, we need to embrace a little uncertainty ourselves. We need to know when to trust children to effectively navigate an uncertain moment. In doing so we might need to re-negotiate typical adult and child relations, revisiting policies and procedures.

We need to reacquaint ourselves, and be comfortable, with the positive aspects of child-led risky play. This will be an ongoing dialogue rather than a one-off conversation.

We might begin by playing with the rules. The International School in Billund, Denmark, did just that. Staff relaxed playground rules (for example, children could go up the slide!) giving pupils more freedom in how they used the playground.

Whilst the school recognised the tensions around relaxing the rules, and their duty of care to the children, ongoing discussions and negotiations among staff, and with children - supported by strong documentation of reasoning and risk considerations - helped them to walk that tightrope.

Reflecting on the first week of the new, sparser rules, they found they had "happier children" and fewer incidents (Baker & Benavente Barbon, 2017).

Supporting staff to get "riskier" with play

Address fears and uncertainty surrounding staff member and school accountability in relation to duty of care and the potential for child injury. This can be gained via clear guidance from regulatory bodies and through training

Provide training on children's skills and capabilities to play, including their ability to judge risk for themselves

Include education around how intervening in children's play, and directing through language, may limit children's adventurous play engagement

Focus on developing positive beliefs about child-led adventurous play, including understanding the benefits

Provide support on how to recognise and evaluate risk and hazards

Support staff to reflect on how their current rules and practices might have a positive and negative impact on children's play, including what they do to manage their own uncertainty
(The above points are adapted from Nesbit et al., 2021)
Dr Jamie Galpin is a Developmental Psychologist and Education Officer at nasen. He is the co-author of The Anxiety Workbook for Supporting Teens Who Learn Differently: A Framework and Activities to Build Structural, Sensory and Social Certainty.
Jamie is currently working with the LEGO Foundation on their Play for All Accelerator Programme. The programme combines the LEGO Foundation's expertise in learning through play with nasen's principles of inclusion. For further information, visit: learningthroughplay.com
References
Baker, M. & Benavente Barbon, M. (2017). Too Many Rules on the Playground: Working the Paradox between Safety and Freedom.

Department for Education (2021). Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage.

Dodd, H. F., Nesbit, R. J., & FitzGibbon, L. (2022). Child's Play: Examining the Association Between Time Spent Playing and Child Mental Health. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 1-9.

Fisher, J. (2021). To play or not to play: teachers' and headteachers' perspectives on play-based approaches in transition from the Early Years Foundation Stage to Key Stage 1 in England. Education 3-13, 1-13.

Nesbit, R. J., Bagnall, C. L., Harvey, K., & Dodd, H. F. (2021). "Perceived Barriers and Facilitators of Adventurous Play in Schools: A qualitative systematic review." Children, 8(8), 681.

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Adventurous play - is it worth the risk? | Enabling Environments | Teach Early Years

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Dr Jamie Galpin explores how we can support early years staff to embrace adventurous play... The crucial role of play in children's development is well understood. Play is a natural tool that children can use to build their resilience and coping skills.

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Free play is what happens when children and young people follow their own ideas and interests in their own way, and for their own reasons. They can do this on their own or with others. It can happen inside or outside. Children and young people should be given the choice of how and when they play. Play is just as important for your teenager as it is for your baby or young child.

There is lots of information available about the health and wellbeing benefits of play. Active play helps to build strong bones and muscles. Children and young people explore their feelings through play, and this can help them build resilience and cope with stress.

Play is how young children make sense of the world. There is also evidence to show that play in early childhood can influence the way your child's brain develops, helping to co-ordinate their mental and physical capabilities. Through play, children and young people of all ages develop problem-solving skills, imagination and creativity, language and observation skills, and memory and concentration. Children and young people use play to test their theories about the world and their place in it.

Please click on the link below to find out more about play.

What is play?

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To provide a high quality learning environment which recognises the need to provide breadth, depth, space and time for children to play, to be creative and curious.

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Water play can be immensely fun for children but at the same time has a tremendous impact on communication and language development. We know that the focus on this area of development is particularly important following the publication of the revised Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).

When children play with water, it is very much a social experience - just think about how children gravitate to water play activities. This gives children the opportunity to experience taking turns, sharing, collaborating, taking on board the ideas of others and learning through imitating. Alongside this, there's the chatter we hear as children splash, pour, mix and transport. Wherever there is water play, there is playfulness, engagement and children connected in that moment.

As educators, we can enhance our environment, and practice, to make the most of water play as an inspiring space where communication and language happens. We can inspire children to talk, listen and comprehend in a fun, hands on way - just how learning in the Early Years should be.

Water is an open ended resource so there is not right or wrong way for children to play. This adds to the magic of water provision as children are motivated to explore and investigate, enabling us to facilitate rich language opportunities.

Is your water area inspiring language?

A first step in assessing whether your water play provision is empowering children to talk and listen is to carry out observations. Think about....

How children are using the resources - can they self select?

Are the resources inspiring and encourage challenge?

What language can you hear?

Are children playing with a purpose?

Your observations will give you an insight into how the water area and resources are currently being used and therefore give you scope to further enhance this provision. Sometimes, it's as simple as changing the area around which can inspire additional interest and conversation!

The role of the adult...

The adults in the setting can create an environment in which water play is fun and promotes language development. Inspire children to play and interact through the resources they are able to select. By sparking their curiosity and imaginations, as well as encouraging them to think and explore, we are encouraging talk. Some ideas for resources to include in your water play area to promote play and talk are:

chutes

guttering

tuff spots at various heights

bottles with holes in

cascading trays

different sized funnels

pipes

water walls

small world animals

Sponges

Loose parts - shells, cones, sticks, petals, conkers and pebbles.

@childmindingwithclairc_33

@childmindingwithclairc_33

Think about water play on a large and small scale - children will engage differently with both. Small scale play could involve floating and sinking activities in a bowl whereas large scale activities could see you scale it up and head outdoors with water, brushes and power paints!

The role of the adult is to role model play and language. However, stand back and observe the play initially as this will give you an idea as to the direction the play is taking. Who is leading the play? Are children collabortating or playing alongisde one another? Is there a narrative?

@jodiewilliamschildminding

@jodiewilliamschildminding

You will probably find that you get invitied into the play, perhaps offered a cup of leafy tea or be asked to watch as children mix up magic fairy potions with coloured water and petals. As children invite you in, your role is as a co-player so it's important not to take over the play. It is in these moments that we can encourage communication and language...

Offer a narrative as you talk about what the children are doing. This is a way to bring in specific vocabulary you would like the children to be using. You can also model correct sounds but avoid asking children to repeat it back correctly. Give names to actions - mix, squeeze, tip, stir etc.

Engage in sustained shared thinking. Wonder and think with the children, coming up with ideas and solutions. Examples are... 'I wonder what would happen if...' 'How could we...?' 'What about if we try...' These are fantastic ways to encourage children to engage in thoughtful conversation but in a playful way. Wonder together about how the water moves, where it comes from, why the ice is cold and how we can make it melt.

Make comments rather than questions. Questions put children on the spot and stifle the playful moment. It's much better to add comments such as 'The water is running really fast' or 'You're tipping it slowly.'

Add additional words to what children say. If they say 'spoon', you could add 'red spoon'.

Children make great role models and those with a good level of development in their communication and language will encourage those younger or whose skills are not currently at the same level. They will be hearing words, sentences, phrases and sounds which they can then imitate.

Finally...

The important thing to remember is to keep it fun rather than imposing learning outcomes when it comes to language. Children learn best when they are fully engaged, immersed in the moment and that's what we get when we offer water play. Offer them a variety of interesting resources which encourage conversation and problem solving which inspire language. Keep it fun so children are interested and keen to talk and engage with others, influencing their communication and language skills.

Developing a water play area

To find out more about developing a water play area, you can click the link below to visit our friend- Creative Star.

Click here to read more.

Don't forget to share your water play ideas with us on our social media channels.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cosydirect/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cosydirect
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosydirect/

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Water play can be immensely fun for children but at the same time has a tremendous impact on communication and language development.

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There is no correct way to play. Play is play. 

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There is no correct way to play. Play is play. 

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When an autistic child plays in an unusual way, it is considered "inappropriate play." In other words, "it's different, therefore it's bad."

It's not that autistic children don't know how to play. There is no correct way to play. Play is play.

Autistic children's exploration and interaction with the world is outside of society's understanding, and just because society doesn't understand the value of doing things a certain way, it doesn't mean it's wrong.

There is nothing wrong with lining up toys. 🦒🐖🧸

There is nothing wrong with spinning the wheels of a car. 🚙

There is nothing wrong with playing with nature. 🌱

There is nothing wrong with playing with a cardboard box. 📦

Autistic play is appropriate play.

Autistic children are not broken versions of neurotypical children. Same thing goes for autistic adults (we exist by the way 😉✌️). #Autism is a natural part of the spectrum of human diversity... and diversity is beautiful.

We learn, interact and play AUTISTICALLY.

-Autísticamente Marcela 🚙 🦖 ⚽🚂

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This section provides suggested reading, resources and links to support the development of Mathematics skills in the Early Years.

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10 Top tips for developing a 'loving pedagogy' - Kinderly

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There has never been a more important time to prioritise children's wellbeing and nurture them. This calls for us to develop a 'loving pedagogy' and speak the language of love!
Although we do not always use the word love , we have a professional love for the children in our care and we want them to feel secure, loved and valued. As educators, we would feel devastated if anything happened to one of our children and saying goodbye when they leave our setting for pastures new is always a heart-wrenching time!

Oh! And if you want to watch Tamsin's webinar on the subject - you can access our previous webinars from here: https://mailchi.mp/d0b1e7b3ed0c/kinderlywebinars

What do we mean by loving the children in our care? Consider how a parent loves their child, the intense strength of emotion involved and the way they are committed to caring for and protecting them, putting their child's needs before their own. Love is about having intense feelings for our children but it is also about actions and not the emotion involved.For example, it's about putting the needs of children first, holding them in mind and enjoying playing together.

A few years ago I read about love languages, the idea that we all prefer to give and receive love in different ways. For example, a child might say, 'Well, my mum tells me she loves me, but she never spends any time with me' or, 'My dad plays with me but he has never hugged me...'

According to Chapman and Campbell, there are five love languages:

They suggest that if we can identify our children's love languages then we can speak the same language as them and reassure them that they are loved. The same can apply in our early childhood settings - if we consider how our children prefer to give and receive love we can build better attachments and enable them to feel safe and secure. Here are some ideas of how we can identify and then speak the same language as our children:

Children who respond to verbal praise and encouragement. For example, a child who glows with pride when you have praised their contribution.Offering words of affirmation to a child makes them feel proud, worthy and valued. So tell them that they are special and regularly use words of endearment and affection towards them and cheer them on in games, verbally encouraging them when they try to achieve things. You can also praise their efforts by labelling the praise, for example, 'Wow, I love the colours you have chosen!'

Children who want to spend time with you.For example, a child who actively seeks out adult attention and wants to be near you in the setting. Spending quality time with a child tells them that they are important and that we want to spend time with them. So include them in daily activities, listen and respond to their attention-seeking behaviour, it means that they need more attention and make time to chat with them about their interests and fascinations.

Children who want to be cuddled hugged or held and want to cuddle, hug and hold others. For example, a child who sits on your lap, holds your hand, strokes your back, or snuggles into you during a story. Offering children positive physical touch makes children feel wanted, loved and helps to build a secure attachment.So always greet them by getting down to their level and offer a hug, high five or fist bump. Allow them to cuddle up or sit on your lap during a story and offer them opportunities for positive touch such running lotion into their hands or engaging in a 'thumb-war' for fun!

Children who love to give and receive gifts and presents. For example, a child who brings you a treasured stone in the garden and tells you that you can keep it! Offering children gifts in addition to other love languages can reinforce the idea that you care.So hold the child in mind and make resources specifically for them or collect a conker from the garden and offer it to them.You can also value the 'treasures' that they give us for example, put that feather on display!

Children who like to do things for others and enjoy having things done for them. For example, a child who offers to help you or who is thrilled when you offer to get them their shoes or coat.We are often teaching children to be independent, however, in order to feel loved and cared for some children want to be physically looked after through acts of service.So plan to do things specifically for them and ask them to help with tasks.If a child asks for help, respond sensitively, decide if their emotional tank needs refuelling and if it does, jump in to help!

Now we understand a bit more about the types of love languages there are, here are my top 10 tips for developing a loving pedagogy with young children:

1. Read stories and books which include love, such as, 'While we can't hug' by Eoin MacLaughlin, 'Under the love umbrella' by Davina Bell and 'The Invisible String' by Patrice Karst.

2. Use positive, affirming and encouraging language e.g. labelled praise and words that build self-esteem.

3. Listen to children, value their ideas and, whenever possible, act upon them.

4. Create resources or plan activities with specific children in mind, reminding them they are special.

5. Do something to help the children e.g. finding their shoes or mending the broken toy that they love.

6. Give children appropriate 'gifts' e.g. a daisy or special stone in the outside area.

7. Help children to understand the concept of love by talking about people who love them and how to act in loving and caring ways.

8. Role model acting in a loving and caring way ourselves.

9. Make pictures for other people, create letters and cards for others and send them in the post.

10. Lastly, spent time together, have fun and enjoy each other's company!

-

Chapman, G. and Campbell, R. (2012). The 5 love languages of children. Chicago, IL: Northfield Publishing

5 love languages website: http://www.5lovelanguages.com/

Professional Love in Early Years Settings Research Project: https://pleysproject.wordpress.com/

Tamsin Grimmer is an experienced early years consultant and author who has a keen interest in how young children learn and develop. Her master's research considered the place of love in early childhood settings and she is currently writing a book about developing a loving pedagogy. When not writing or researching, Tamsin works part-time on the Primary and Early Years PGCE courses at Bath Spa University and is the early years director for Linden Learning.

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10 Top tips for developing a 'loving pedagogy' - Kinderly

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There has never been a more important time to prioritise children's wellbeing and nurture them. This calls for us to develop a 'loving pedagogy' and speak the language of love! Although we do not always use the word love , we have a professional love for the children in our care and we want them to feel secure, loved and valued.

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25+ Outdoor Literacy Books, Packs, Videos and Downloads

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Creative STAR Learning | I'm a teacher, get me OUTSIDE here!

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Often I am asked about resources for outdoor literacy. Thus it seemed to make good sense to put these into a blog post for anyone to access. It would be helpful, if you know of others, to get in touch so that the list is kept up-to-date.

Please note - this blog post is for information and awareness-raising so that you know what is out there to support your outdoor literacy work. It is not a recommended reading list or set of resources. Use your professional judgement to decide whether a resource is fit for purpose.

Books

1. Developing Early Literacy Skills Outdoors by Marianne Sargent Published in 2015 - suitable for early years. This book has been less widely-publicised and is part of a series , which focus on literacy, science and maths outside.

2. Outdoor Literacy by Ros Bailey, Helen Bromley and Lynn Broadbent Published in 2006 - suitable for early years. A spiral bound book with 50 exciting starting points for outdoor literacy experiences.

3. Let's Take a Story Book Outside by Ruth Ludlow Published in 2008 - suitable for early years. Exciting ways to promote outdoor creativity. I don't know this one, but I presume it's about using a story book as a springboard to other experiences.

4. Learning on your Doorstep by Isabel Hopwood-Stevens Published in 2012 - suitable for KS1. Stimulating writing through creative play outdoors with 5-9 year olds. It has six projects each with six outdoor sessions, ideally suited for a woodland but adaptable to other spaces. The themes include, amongst others, the Enchanted Forest, Celtic Life and Animal World. There is a springboard suggestion to begin each week, a suggested activity to take place in the woodland or outdoor space and ideas for writing activities back in the classroom. Many of the topics involve reading a simple story - which is provided - or receiving and sending messages to various imaginary characters. Most of the activities outside involve an element of reading and practical tasks such as making natural dyes from plants, creating story sticks and building mini shelters. I particularly enjoyed the behaviour advice where it arose as it painted a good picture in my head!

5. Literacy in Forest School - Self-published by Patrick Harrison. Most suitable for those developing early literacy skills in particular letters and sounds, EYFS2 and KS1. Beautiful, friendly, inspiring book with drawn illustrations.

6. Celebrating Nature by Gordon MacLellan Published in 2003 - suitable for primary school. This book is not easy to get hold of and is not strictly a book about literacy. However Gordon aka Creeping Toad's ideas are creative and seeped in language. For me this book was the gateway into outdoor literacy with older children. Try Gordon's blog to purchase a book in the first instance. Also check out his Facebook page for ideas and inspiration. His workshops are excellent and will inspire you to get creative with words, ideas and interacting with nature outside.

7. KS1 Go Teach Outdoors by Sam Lovegrove and KS2 Go Teach Outdoors by Lynn Hannay Published in 2017.These are 64-page combinations of literacy and maths activities for those who work in KS1 or KS2. I have not purchased a copy of either but you can look inside each one on Amazon.

8. English in the School Grounds By Brian Keaney Published in 1993 - suitable for all primary. This is a really dated book but in many ways the first one published about using literacy outside and is more for those interested in the history of this area of outdoor provision.

9. Write Out of the Classroom by Colin McaFarlane Published in 2013, best for middle to upper primary. This is more narrative than lesson plan but lots of enthusiasm from the author.

10. National Curriculum Outdoors Series. This is a set of books covering KS1 and then Y3, Y4, Y5 and Y6. Each contains a series of lessons within a subject, including maths. A useful starting point for getting outside as a class teacher.

Freebies

1 1. Outdoor Learning Wales Literacy Pack A bank of outdoor learning resources developed by the Newport Outdoor Learning Wales Network Group, for all teachers across all age ranges. Free.

12. Learning through Landscapes literacy downloads Published as and when, suitable for many age ranges from early years to early secondary. For many years, this national UK school grounds charity have produced lesson plans and ideas to help you with maths outside. Most are free to download, but some require you to be a member, which is less than £15 per year.

13. Twinkl Published as and when, suitable for many age ranges from early years to early secondary. Recently Twinkl have produced more outdoor plans and activities which include literacy outside. Use the search engine to narrow down to what you are looking for.

14. Wild About Learning - An Outdoor Literacy and Numeracy Pack for Years 1-6. Clear photos and illustrations and a range of suggested activities for each year group. Free to download, 90 pages (yay!)

15 Hampshire OutdoorsTrailblazers: The link takes you to the full range of free downloads. Some are original to this organisation but also, it's a curated collection of other suggestions to be found on the web!

16. Creative STAR Literacy Outdoors PDF. I found this on the Abernet website. It was published in 2010 so my thinking has moved on considerably in the past decade but it's still a good starting point.

17. Wildtime Learning - Free collection of resources, many very simple and doable in a range of subjects. Use the filter to find the literacy suggestions.

18. Lost Words. The JOHN MUIR Award have created lots of outdoor literacy resources to support the Lost Words book written by Robert McFarlane.

Commercial Resources

19. Poetry in Motion This is a CD of reliable outdoor literacy activities.

20. Thinking Child Outdoor Literacy Pack by Sue Dixon. This is a popular download: 100+ Ideas for Outdoor Literacy

21. Tales in Your Pocket and Songs from the Wood - This CD and card pack is literacy rich. Created by storyteller and Forest School practitioner, Grace Banks, they collectively make a lovely addition to any outdoor educator or teacher's backpack.

22. The Council for Learning Outside the Classroom has literacy packs available at all key stages. Most contain 6 lesson plans. If you join this organisation you get these and the others in their series of 25 downloads for free.

Videos

There are several videos which may be worth a wee look. This one is by two primary class teachers. Examples of spelling, reading comprehension and much more!

East Ayrshire's Outdoor Team - Harry Potter focus!

Another literacy workshop from Perth & Kinross's Outdoor Learning Development Officers.

Finally - whilst loosely focused on literacy, this is a summary of some of the issues around stepping outside.

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25+ Outdoor Literacy Books, Packs, Videos and Downloads

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Often I am asked about resources for outdoor literacy. Thus it seemed to make good sense to put these into a blog post for anyone to access. It would be helpful, if you know of others, to get in touch so that the list is kept up-to-date.

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Early Years Education: Building a Foundation for Meaning

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Everyone knows that to build a sturdy house, it has to rest on sturdy foundations. The question is, what does a creating a 'sturdy foundation' look like, when building a brain?

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Everyone knows that to build a sturdy house, it has to rest on sturdy foundations. The question is, what does a creating a 'sturdy foundation' look like, when building a brain?

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'Brains are built, over time, from the bottom up' (Harvard Center on the Developing Child ND, online). 'Over the course of the reception year, teachers should plan what it is they want children to learn... teachers' judgements will largely be based on whether children are learning what has been taught' (The Early Years Foundation Stage 2022, p.8).
Everyone knows that to build a sturdy house, it has to rest on sturdy foundations. The question is, what does a creating a 'sturdy foundation' look like, when building a brain? Does it consist of flexible, practical experiences that are shared with peers and adults, enriched by language which draws each individual child into understanding? Or does it consist of a programme in which the agenda has already been firmly decided by the adult?

Children under six have spent only 72 months in the world; they therefore have a very limited pool of existing knowledge to draw upon to try to make sense of incoming information. Therefore, 'beginning at the end' with highly fixed objectives about what adults require them to learn is problematic, because they are at such an early stage of building their cognitive architecture.

The content of the teaching environment acts as the cement; if it is flexible enough for the child to be able to stick the 'knowledge' bricks to the foundation below, then what is added to the construction will be durable. But if the cement is weak, the bricks that the teacher attempts to lay will inevitably become unstable, and compromise the stability of the eventual 'house.'

Children are born with far more neurons than they will eventually retain in adulthood; however the connections or 'synapses' between these are much less dense. The early development of the brain involves an extensive neuronal connection programme as children interact with their environment and strengthen those synapses that are well used, whilst those that are rarely used shrivel and may eventually die.

The first picture above illustrates how a synaptic connection may initially appear, and the second how it develops as it is continually used over a long period of time, like a path that is well used by people walking across a patch of land.

As time goes by, the brain creates complex interconnections between synapses, rather like a road network. Consider a country lane that might be connected to a few other roads along its length, and then a motorway which is intricately interconnected to many other roads for hundreds of miles.

The developmental synaptic connection programme is a long project in human beings. As puberty arrives, the brain begins its last big project: pruning superfluous connections in the prefrontal cortex, and creating stronger/ more complex links between those that remain. This is the area of the brain which deals with impulse control and the management of social behaviour, meaning that the human brain is not fully neuronally mature until the individual is around 25 years of age.

Some amount of plasticity remains in adult brains and new synaptic connections can be made on a lifelong basis, rather like renovations on a house. But the basic architecture is constructed in childhood and adolescence, with the foundations being staked in the first seven years of life, as the individual not only stores 'content' but slowly links concepts together in infinite networks through the intricate neuronal pathways that are built through experience within and upon the environment.

As language skills mature, these act as an accelerator, allowing people to share thoughts and eventually think more abstractly, picking their way deftly through sometimes baffling conversations... as long as meaning is shared. Developing shared meanings is a crucial element of early education, as children come into contact with a wider community, outside the family circle. Our Victorian ancestors knew this, even though they did not have access to our level of neurobiological understanding. Here, Lewis Carroll depicts an 'adult' Humpty Dumpty introducing 'child' Alice to the process.

The only way we are able to understand (and laugh at) the video above is because we have learned that words have more than one meaning, and when they are used incongruously in the wrong conversation, the person using them in this way looks ridiculous. This is not something that can be rote taught; it needs to be learned by taking part in rich, organic conversations across the early years of childhood.

The psychologist Suzanne Zeedyk proposes that what happens between infants and carers in one-to-one spontaneous interactions is a type of improvised symbolic 'dance', which she refers to as a 'jazz duet'. This is how children learn to take part in the vast majority of everyday conversations they will later have with others, because these will also be spontaneous rather than rehearsed; human beings have the evolved capacity for this type of deep, symbolic 'intersubjective' communication. Alongside the ability to make and use tools, it is the feature that has made us the dominant species on earth.

To give an analogy, as every jazz musician knows, in order to join in a 'jam' session meaningfully, you must initially learn how to play your instrument, and how to tune into the rhythms of others. But before this can be effectively accomplished, apprentice musicians need a lot of scaffolded practice with experienced players in authentic situations, which gradually builds the necessary underpinning neuronal connections.

Our current understanding of how the human brain constructs itself during the developmental period suggests that this happens via what is termed 'embedded mental representation'- i.e. that we incrementally memorise and co-ordinate our experiences. This generates an increasing ability to organize thought, gradually resulting in the ability to manage incoming information and locate it within memory in increasingly sophisticated neural networks. This results in increasing 'metacognition': thinking about thinking.

As we become more expert at this we become able to use such networks to focus attention without becoming distracted by the intrusion of non-relevant thoughts. This requires 'inhibitory behaviour' and the younger children are, the more difficult they find this; their thoughts are far more susceptible to interference than those of adults, due to the immature networks across which they travel.

To return to the road analogy, the order in which we construct understanding requires that roads are built on footpaths and motorways are built on roads. Teaching that requires a young child to catch on to small chunks from highly complex concepts and the presumtion that they can be retained in long term memory does not draw upon the way that human brains actually work, particularly when the role that language plays is also considered.

When we further consider the neuronal immaturity of young children, the quest that is recently being undertaken by the British Government, to formulate a 'baseline' assessment for four year olds that could accurately predict future progress seems even more ridiculous, particularly when it is considered they intend to base future school rankings upon the data that they are gathering.

This not only suggests that many contemporary early education policies are shockingly ill-informed, but in terms of children's natural neuronal difference from adults, also discriminatory and therefore contrary to their human rights. This could of course, eventually lead to claims for compensation for psychological damage suffered by a whole generation forced in early childhood into what had, at that time, already been identified as highly developmentally inappropriate situations. But surely, there is still just time to ensure that it does not come to this.

Bibliography

Brown, T. T., & Jernigan, T. L. (2012). Brain development during the preschool years. Neuropsychology Review, 22(4) 313-333. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-012-9214-1

Crone, A. and Ridderinkhof, R. (2011) The developing brain: From theory to neuroimaging and back. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 1 101-109

Carroll, L. (1871) Alice Through the Looking Glass. Available at: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/12/pg12-images.html

DFE (2021) The Early Years Foundation Stage, 2022 handbook. London: DFE. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1024319/Early_years_foundation_stage_profile_handbook_2022.pdf

Harvard Centre on the Developing Child (ND) Brain Architecture. Available at https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/brain-architecture/

Jarvis, P. (2020) The Myth of Early Acceleration in S. Palmer (Ed) Play is the Way. Paisley: CCWB Press.

PBS (2012) The Secret Life of the Brain: the baby's brain. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS5HUDVNbGs&feature=emb_logo

Piaget, J. and Inhelder, B. (1969) The Psychology of the Child. Basic Books, New York.

Tierney, A. L., & Nelson, C. A. (2009). Brain Development and the Role of Experience in the Early Years. Zero to three 30 (2)

Zeedyk, M.S. (2006) From intersubjectivity to subjectivity: the transformative roles of emotional intimacy and imitation. Infant and Child Development. 15 (3).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Early Years Education: Building a Foundation for Meaning

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'Brains are built, over time, from the bottom up' (Harvard Center on the Developing Child ND, online). 'Over the course of the reception year, teachers should plan what it is they want children to learn... teachers' judgements will largely be based on whether children are learning what has been taught' (The Early Years Foundation Stage 2022, p.8).

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Inspiring examples of nature-based, child-led learning in practice

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Nature-based, child-led learning in practice 

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Nature-based, child-led learning in practice 

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Take a virtual tour of selected early years settings across Scotland and see how each transformed over the course of 6 weeks in Spring 2021 when they took part in Virtual Nature School – a project funded by the Scottish Government.

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Skip to content

Take a virtual tour of selected early years settings across Scotland and see how each transformed over the course of 6 weeks in Spring 2021 when they took part in Virtual Nature School - a project funded by the Scottish Government.

HOW TO USE THIS MAP

The best way to use this map:

1. Click on many different pins to learn about each settings' experiences.

2. Use the small arrows to scroll through each case study's photos and text, left to right.

3. Use the filters to drill down further based on specific criteria that you are interested in.

4. Contact us on the email below for more information or if something doesn't look right.

We believe that quality outdoor or nature-based education that empowers children's voices is achievable by any early years setting regardless of location, size or socioeconomic background.

That is why we have made this map publicly available - to show practical examples of early years settings around Scotland that demonstrate their exemplary practice of nature-based, child-led inquiry.

We hope it will give confidence to other early years practitioners when they see the positive impact that outdoor education can have on the children and the team of practitioners.

ABOUT VIRTUAL NATURE SCHOOL

Virtual Nature School is a project run by Dr Clarie Warden and her team at Living Classrooms (a Community Interest Company) based in Scotland.

With the support of the Scottish Government, VNS has reached 1,000s of practitioners around Scotland by providing an innovative training and group coaching programme that allowed practitioners to work directly with children while applying the lessons they were learning.

The case studies shown in this map were part of Cohort 3 which ran over 6 weeks in Spring 2021. The theme of the 6-week block was "The possibilities of Looking" and each week, Dr Claire Warden provided provocations that practitioners could use to invite children on an exploration relevant to their local environment based on a theme of Looking Up, Down, Through, In, At and Under.

The open-ended nature of the programme resulted in a beautiful kaleidoscope of expressions as can be evidenced in the case studies on the map.

CONTACT US

More details about Virtual Nature School can be found on our main website: www.virtualnatureschool.scot

For all enquiries, please email us on the address below.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Inspiring examples of nature-based, child-led learning in practice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Skip to content Take a virtual tour of selected early years settings across Scotland and see how each transformed over the course of 6 weeks in Spring 2021 when they took part in Virtual Nature School - a project funded by the Scottish Government.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Inspiring examples of nature-based, child-led learning in practice

# data[].attributes.headline
Nature-based, child-led learning in practice 

# data[].attributes.subject
Nature-based, child-led learning in practice 

# data[].attributes.body
Take a virtual tour of selected early years settings across Scotland and see how each transformed over the course of 6 weeks in Spring 2021 when they took part in Virtual Nature School – a project funded by the Scottish Government.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Skip to content

Take a virtual tour of selected early years settings across Scotland and see how each transformed over the course of 6 weeks in Spring 2021 when they took part in Virtual Nature School - a project funded by the Scottish Government.

HOW TO USE THIS MAP

The best way to use this map:

1. Click on many different pins to learn about each settings' experiences.

2. Use the small arrows to scroll through each case study's photos and text, left to right.

3. Use the filters to drill down further based on specific criteria that you are interested in.

4. Contact us on the email below for more information or if something doesn't look right.

We believe that quality outdoor or nature-based education that empowers children's voices is achievable by any early years setting regardless of location, size or socioeconomic background.

That is why we have made this map publicly available - to show practical examples of early years settings around Scotland that demonstrate their exemplary practice of nature-based, child-led inquiry.

We hope it will give confidence to other early years practitioners when they see the positive impact that outdoor education can have on the children and the team of practitioners.

ABOUT VIRTUAL NATURE SCHOOL

Virtual Nature School is a project run by Dr Clarie Warden and her team at Living Classrooms (a Community Interest Company) based in Scotland.

With the support of the Scottish Government, VNS has reached 1,000s of practitioners around Scotland by providing an innovative training and group coaching programme that allowed practitioners to work directly with children while applying the lessons they were learning.

The case studies shown in this map were part of Cohort 3 which ran over 6 weeks in Spring 2021. The theme of the 6-week block was "The possibilities of Looking" and each week, Dr Claire Warden provided provocations that practitioners could use to invite children on an exploration relevant to their local environment based on a theme of Looking Up, Down, Through, In, At and Under.

The open-ended nature of the programme resulted in a beautiful kaleidoscope of expressions as can be evidenced in the case studies on the map.

CONTACT US

More details about Virtual Nature School can be found on our main website: www.virtualnatureschool.scot

For all enquiries, please email us on the address below.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Inspiring examples of nature-based, child-led learning in practice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Skip to content Take a virtual tour of selected early years settings across Scotland and see how each transformed over the course of 6 weeks in Spring 2021 when they took part in Virtual Nature School - a project funded by the Scottish Government.

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Experts from around the world share their views on the importance of play in  childhood development.

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PLAYed is about change-about clarity- about commitment-about sharing-about bringing together-about children and their future.
We talk to experts in ECE from around the world about their views on the importance of play in early childhood development.

https://www.internationalplayiceland.com

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Outdoor Learning and Play: FREE Podcasts and Webinars

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Creative STAR Learning | I'm a teacher, get me OUTSIDE here!

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Over the past couple of years, I've been asked to contribute to a few podcasts and webinars. So I thought it may be good for you to be able to access these in one place. It does take time on the side of the presenter to put these together so many thanks to those dedicated people and organisations who were kind enough to invite me to chat about different aspects of learning and play outdoors. Where possible I've linked to the entire collection in each website as these are relevant and interesting. Some are chatty, and some are hardcore serious "get your pencil and paper out" types.

Eco-Inquiry Podcasts

These are created by Jennifer Baron and all of them are well worth listening to and her website is a "must explore" for primary and elementary educators in Canada, Scotland and beyond!
Earthy Chats - The Outdoor Learning Store
This is a Canadian social enterprise that ' provides easy access to excellent outdoor learning equipment and resources to schools and organizations ' (nursery, primary, secondary sectors). It another "must visit" website with lots to explore, and, of course, a range of relevant podcasts.
The Stramash Puddle Patter Videos
This is a wonderful collection of videos where Cameron Sprague interviews many different outdoor learning and play professionals. Pick and choose at your leisure. Mine are more unusual in that it's a shared conversation with Jess and Cameron about the development of The Field of Dreams at Fort William Stramash.
Argyll and Bute Early Learning Webinars 2020
In 2020, Argyll and Bute put together a series of webinars for their Early Learning and Childcare settings from a range of speakers. Mine are focused on maths outside. Be aware the handouts are not available but the webinars in themselves could be valuable free CPD for any Early Learning and Childcare setting.
Independent Thinking Ltd
ITL have loads of videos of their associates which can be accessed for free. The one I'm in is unusual in that myself and Jane Hewitt, who took most of the photos in Dirty Teaching and Messy Maths are together! It's the only one of its kind. Jane has authored several books in her own name too.
First Discoverers
This is a UK early years website. This link is to a blog post interview: Thinking Outside - An Interview with Juliet Robertson

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Outdoor Learning and Play: FREE Podcasts and Webinars

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Over the past couple of years, I've been asked to contribute to a few podcasts and webinars. So I thought it may be good for you to be able to access these in one place.

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Professor Iram Siraj PhD OBE, Professor of Child Development and Education, University of Oxford

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Understand how the intentional pedagogue extends and progresses learning.

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Professor Iram Siraj PhD OBE, Professor of Child Development and Education, University of Oxford

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examples from practice to support practitioners develop children’s mathematical thinking.