There is always debate over what documents, policies and, guidelines are essential and which are not so much. Furthermore, we question whether documents alone are enough to support staff delivering outdoor learning or if something else, something more is required. Some of these documents you will not doubt be very familiar with and others less so. But, we have collated them here to support you.
Out to Play: Caring for Our Outdoor Spaces (2023) offers guidance for Early Learning and Childcare practitioners in Scotland on maintaining outdoor spaces. It emphasizes building connections between children and nature, fostering sustainability, and integrating outdoor learning into daily activities to support children’s physical, emotional, and social development.
The Commission for the Land-Based Learning Review Report to Scottish Ministers (2023) highlights the need for developing skills in Scotland’s land-based and aquaculture sectors, from early education to adulthood, to support a net-zero transition. It identifies workforce shortages, recommends enhancing outdoor learning access in schools, and suggests improving school-college partnerships and vocational training to address industry needs, with a focus on sustainability.
The Out to Play Improvement Programme Evaluation Report (2022) assesses a program designed to increase outdoor play in early learning settings across Scotland. It highlights the success of using Quality Improvement (QI) methods to address barriers, such as limited outdoor time and lack of appropriate clothing. The report showcases improvements in children’s wellbeing, emotional regulation, and learning outcomes due to increased outdoor play, with many settings reaching the goal of spending 50% of their day outdoors. Staff motivation and parent support also improved significantly.
The Children’s Rights section of the Scottish Government’s website outlines Scotland’s commitment to upholding the rights of children and young people, guided by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The policy ensures children’s voices are heard in decisions that affect them, aiming to improve their wellbeing, protection, and opportunities for development. Scotland has also made legislative commitments to incorporate the UNCRC into domestic law, promoting children’s rights across all sectors.
For more information, visit Children’s Rights.
The UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Materials page offers resources and guidance for integrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into education systems worldwide. These materials aim to empower learners to contribute to sustainable development through knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes. The page provides tools for educators, policy-makers, and learners to align their curricula with the SDGs, ensuring education systems support global sustainability efforts.
For more information, visit UNESCO’s ESD materials.
The Quality Framework for Daycare of Children, Childminding, and School-Aged Childcare (2022) provides a structured approach for early learning settings to evaluate and improve their services. It focuses on four key areas: care, play, and learning; the setting; leadership; and staff. The framework encourages self-evaluation, supports continuous improvement, and ensures alignment with children’s rights, health, and wellbeing standards. It is designed to be used by inspectors and childcare providers to ensure high-quality care and learning experiences.
The Keeping Children Safe Practice Notes by the Care Inspectorate offer guidance for Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) settings on maintaining children’s safety during trips, transitions, and play. They encourage reflection on staff roles, risk assessments, and understanding individual children’s needs to ensure that while children explore and engage in their surroundings, they remain protected. These notes also provide practical support on fostering safe, nurturing environments that balance curiosity and safety in everyday settings.
For more details, visit Keeping Children Safe.
My Active World (2022) is a resource by the Care Inspectorate aimed at encouraging physical activity in early learning and childcare (ELC) settings. It emphasizes the importance of movement for children’s physical, emotional, and social development. The resource provides practical examples for incorporating more activity into daily routines, highlights gender disparities in physical activity, and aligns with the UNCRC and Health and Social Care Standards. It also supports a risk-benefit approach to play and promotes active, inclusive environments.
The Successful Approaches to Learning Outdoors (2022) report by HM Inspectors highlights how outdoor learning has become a key feature in Scottish education, especially post-COVID. It showcases how schools use outdoor environments to support curriculum delivery, wellbeing, and the development of skills like problem-solving and communication. The report emphasizes strong leadership, effective partnerships, and staff professional learning as essential components. It also includes case studies of schools demonstrating innovative outdoor learning practices.
The Quality Framework for Daycare of Children, Childminding, and School-Aged Childcare (2022) provides a structured approach to evaluating and improving the quality of early learning services in Scotland. It focuses on key areas such as care, play, and learning, as well as leadership and staff development. The framework encourages self-evaluation and outlines standards that inspectors use to assess service quality, aiming to enhance children’s wellbeing, learning, and development. It also integrates children’s rights and the UNCRC into its guidelines for high-quality care
The Going Out There website provides guidance for the safe planning and execution of off-site visits in Scotland. Developed by key education and safety bodies, it offers comprehensive advice on roles, risk assessments, and types of visits, including day trips, residentials, and adventure activities. The framework emphasizes best practices for ensuring student safety and compliance with regulations. The site also includes toolkits and resources tailored to different roles within schools, ensuring all staff can confidently organize educational outings.
For more details, visit Going Out There
The Systematic Literature Review of Nature-Based Early Learning and Childcare on Children’s Health, Wellbeing, and Development (2021) synthesizes global research on the impact of nature-based early learning settings for children aged 2-7. It finds that outdoor environments promote physical activity, motor skills, and self-regulation, while fostering emotional and social development. The review also highlights the importance of exposure to natural elements in enhancing children’s connectedness to nature. However, evidence on cognitive outcomes is mixed, and further research is recommended.
The Play Types Toolkit: Bringing More Play Into the School Day (2021) provides a comprehensive guide to integrating diverse play types into primary school settings. It highlights various types of play such as mastery, fantasy, imaginative, social, and rough-and-tumble play. Each type is linked to learning benefits, including cognitive, emotional, and physical development. The toolkit offers practical ideas for schools to incorporate play into the curriculum and everyday activities, promoting a playful learning environment that enhances children’s engagement, creativity, and social skills
The Educational Outcomes of Learning for Sustainability: A Brief Review of Literature (2020) explores the impact of Learning for Sustainability (LfS) in Scottish education, particularly its influence on student confidence, social development, citizenship, and academic attainment. The review highlights how LfS, incorporating outdoor learning and sustainable development education, enhances critical thinking, wellbeing, and skills for life beyond school. While evidence supports positive outcomes, further research is needed, especially regarding LfS’s role in addressing inequity and closing the attainment gap.
Realising the Ambition: Being Me (2020) provides national practice guidance for Scotland’s early years practitioners, focusing on supporting children’s learning and development from birth to eight years old. It emphasizes nurturing strong relationships, learning through play, and creating enriching environments that promote exploration and curiosity. The guidance builds on frameworks like Curriculum for Excellence, helping educators understand child development, emotional wellbeing, and the importance of transitions from early years settings to primary education. The document encourages a holistic approach to fostering confident and resilient learners.
The Space to Grow: Indoor/Outdoor Settings (2019) document provides guidance for early learning and childcare providers on creating high-quality indoor/outdoor environments. It emphasizes the importance of natural spaces that promote child development, health, and wellbeing through active play. The guidance outlines practical considerations such as space design, access, shelter, resources, and staff deployment. It also includes case studies demonstrating successful indoor/outdoor settings and offers advice on overcoming common challenges, particularly in urban environments, to enhance children’s learning experiences.
Out to Play: Practical Guidance for Creating Outdoor Play Experiences in Early Learning and Childcare (2019) provides step-by-step advice for developing high-quality outdoor play environments in early years settings. It covers topics like finding suitable outdoor spaces, balancing risk and safety, providing shelter, managing hygiene, and integrating outdoor learning into the curriculum. The guide also includes practical examples and case studies to support settings in promoting children’s health, wellbeing, and learning through outdoor play, aligning with Scotland’s Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) expansion plans.
The National Outdoor Play & Learning Position Statement (2020) emphasizes the importance of integrating outdoor play and learning into the everyday lives of children and young people in Scotland. It highlights outdoor play as essential for physical health, emotional wellbeing, social development, and learning. The statement, supported by over 50 organizations, commits to expanding access to outdoor spaces and equipping adults with the skills to support outdoor activities. It aims to foster a connection to the environment, build resilient communities, and promote children’s rights to play and learn outdoors.
Space to Grow: Design Guidance for Early Learning and Childcare and Out of School Care Settings (2020) provides comprehensive advice on creating high-quality, flexible indoor and outdoor environments for early years and out-of-school care settings in Scotland. It emphasizes the importance of child-centered, sustainable design that promotes children’s wellbeing, development, and safety. The guidance includes case studies showcasing innovative use of space, natural materials, and community resources, helping providers design environments that support learning and play while being adaptable to different needs
Loose Parts Play: A Toolkit (2017), published by Inspiring Scotland, provides guidance on incorporating loose parts into children’s play. It explains how items like natural objects, building materials, and found objects stimulate creativity, problem-solving, and social interaction. The toolkit offers practical advice for acquiring, storing, and managing loose parts, along with risk-benefit assessments. It also highlights the role of adults in facilitating play and includes case studies, taster session ideas, and links to Scotland’s curriculum.
The Vision 2030+ (2016) report outlines Scotland’s progress in embedding Learning for Sustainability (LfS) across the education system. It highlights the success of incorporating LfS into the Curriculum for Excellence, promoting global citizenship, sustainable development, and outdoor learning. The report recommends that all learners have an entitlement to LfS, with schools taking a whole-school approach to integrate these values. The document also calls for ongoing collaboration among stakeholders to ensure Scotland leads in sustainability education globally.
The My World Outdoors: Sharing Good Practice in Outdoor Play (2016) by the Care Inspectorate promotes outdoor play in early learning services. It highlights the benefits of outdoor experiences for children’s health, wellbeing, and development and encourages services to provide more opportunities for outdoor play. The document includes case studies, practical examples, and links to the SHANARRI wellbeing indicators (Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible, Included), which are used to assess the quality of care and learning through outdoor activities.
The Play Strategy for Scotland: Our Vision (2013) sets out the Scottish Government’s vision for making play a fundamental part of children’s lives. It emphasizes that play is essential for children’s development, health, and wellbeing. The strategy aims to create inclusive, accessible play opportunities for all children, highlighting the role of families, communities, and schools in supporting play. It also stresses the importance of spaces, environments, and policies that promote a culture of play across Scotland.
The One Planet Schools: Learning for Sustainability Report (2012) outlines a vision for integrating sustainability, global citizenship, and outdoor learning into Scottish education. It promotes a whole-school approach, where every learner has the right to learning for sustainability. The report emphasizes the importance of aligning curriculum, school culture, and physical environments to sustainability principles. It recommends that all schools adopt sustainability as a core aspect of learning, supported by professional development for teachers and leadership at all levels to embed these values throughout the educational system.
Building Your Curriculum: Outside and In (2010) provides guidance for schools to integrate outdoor learning into their curriculum. It highlights outdoor learning as a tool for enhancing children’s understanding of various subjects while developing key life skills such as independence, confidence, and critical thinking. The document encourages a strategic approach to embedding outdoor learning and offers practical steps for planning, assessing, and creating rich learning environments that connect indoors and outdoors, ensuring students benefit from holistic, real-world learning experiences.
Taking Learning Outdoors Partnerships for Excellence (2007), published by Learning and Teaching Scotland, emphasizes the integration of outdoor learning into the Scottish curriculum. It highlights outdoor learning’s benefits, such as enhanced engagement, development of life skills, and fostering of sustainable attitudes. The document outlines strategies to overcome barriers to outdoor learning, encourages collaboration between schools and outdoor specialists, and supports outdoor education as a key part of A Curriculum for Excellence. The document promotes safe, sustainable, and accessible outdoor learning for all students aged 3-18.
