One of the biggest issues is the provision of outdoor clothing. In Scottish nurseries this is one of the most significant changes I’ve witnessed since the early Noughties. It is now the norm not the exception for rain gear to be available so that all children can access the outdoors. Many nurseries now offer accessories such as hats, gloves, sunhat and wellies. Some also provide winter clothing and footwear which is essential for warmth and comfort during winter months. Parents more willingly supply these items and a much better range is now available at a range of prices. Outdoor nurseries have been brilliant at demonstrating how children thrive in all weathers outdoors and that the variety of weather we experience enhances high quality outdoor provision.
The outdoor clothing boxes
As part of my consultancy work, I felt it was important to support local schools and nurseries with practical strategies to enabling staff and children to learning and play outside. I began to have a box of clothing ready as part of my work so that children could use the kit when I was working with them. This gradually morphed into a free loan scheme for local schools and nurseries. It was quite a bit of work to run but well worth it. Initially the boxes were borrowed for a month, but after a while this was extended into a term or sometimes a whole year. This gave the children and staff more time to experiment and use the kit. Outdoor clothing is not created equally and I found the subtle differences matter to children. Two items may look similar but change the buckle type, or elastic and suddenly the impact could be significant on the children’s ability to change independently.
What was in a typical outdoor clothing box?
- A selection of different clothing from different companies. For example trousers, dungarees, all-in-ones, some with elastic cuffs, others with velcro, some with poppers, some with zips, possibly a cape or two and a range of colours and sizes.
- Advice sheets about factors to consider. For example, the Swedish Civil Defence League advocate very young children being dressed in bright colours, with some reflective material and elastic cuffs or velcro on waterproof trousers to keep the warmth in and the wet out.
- Suggestions for involving children of different ages in putting together criteria for testing and deciding which clothing is most effective
- Suggestions for acquiring clothing and fundraising
- Some simple outdoor ideas to try whilst testing the clothing!
Over the years, I also added a range of accessories, as settings and schools would sometimes forget to supply these. I also added in winter clothing. Initially I began with a small number of samples – around 10 to 12 – but expanded this to around 20-24 so there was more for all children to enjoy.
The idea has grown from my experience of working with different groups of children. I have a box of clothes that I make available to classes with which I work. What has been interesting has been observing which clothes the children choose and why. For example, red clothes and yellow clothes are most popular with children who like to pretend they are fire fighters or have other jobs. I also see children mix and match jackets and trousers/dungarees. As my own son grew up he switched preference from red to navy blue but remained fussy about the texture of outdoor clothes and how they feel.
Trialling the outdoor clothing boxes
A local teacher, Judy, got in touch and kindly offered to trial one of the primary school boxes.I popped into the school and chatted to the class about the clothes and ideas. You can see how they are got on over at Judy’s blog, Find us Outside.
In addition to the photos on Judy’s blog, the class are also fed back directly to me via the blog post. I really enjoyed the first batch of comments which the children wrote in their friendly and candid manner – demonstrating very appropriate use of language on a blog.
What interests me is that the children are feeding back information that I didn’t expect. This includes how the clothes feel, their fit, which ones are waterproof, etc. It’s already confirmed my gut instinct that children really do need to be involved in the process of choosing suitable outdoor clothing for a school or nursery. They have a valuable perspective, a lot of common sense and will be able to make informed decisions about what clothing to buy.
Next, if you look at the photos on Judy’s blog, the children haven’t all picked matching jackets and trousers. Some have chosen to mix ‘n’ match. I see this with the children with whom I work too. In fact certain children take great delight in choosing different clothes to wear each week and try out. Others always choose their favourite colour. Perhaps the trick is to go for a variety of outdoor clothing rather than one large set of the same clothes. I know this is more time consuming to order and a bit more expensive. There’s also the “equity” issue of every child having the same, yet I feel this is redundant in that children tend to come to school with a variety of different outdoor clothes and accessories.
This blog post is an amalgamation of two separate posts that were originally published in January and April 2012. The outdoor clothing boxes are no longer available to borrow as all the kit was given to Aberdeen City settings during the Covid 19 Pandemic.
What a wonderful mission for the coming year! I would love to have a “try before you buy” program in these parts. It’s hard to know what products will work for your kids if you’re just looking at a photo & reading reviews.
Love the Blog and my best wishes in your exercise in fundraising. I almost wish it rained more here or snowed! I’d love some snow.
Thanks for your feedback. A friend via Twitter also pointed out that sometimes, schools forget about where wet clothes go that need drying out and those practicalities too! This box would allow for that sort o experimentation too.
Sounds like a great idea! Have you tried the waterproof mittens? If not, do it. I think they are great. I like the ones with fleece inside the most, mainly because they are warmer.
This is a great idea, I have found that it is always useful to have a look at the rain gear before you buy. I know our P1 & P2’s got stuff through Tesco vouchers but had I seen it first I could have told them it wasn’t going to be very waterproof. Good luck with this idea Juliet. I also think if PTA’s etc can see the stuff in use they are much more likely to be supportive of funding it.
People who know how to actualize their ideas so enrich this world. And since you are in that category, go for it. You may want to include a log of how and when the stuff is used. Or maybe even a feedback form of what worked and what did not. That doesn’t have to be the sole province of the teachers, either. Hey, but you have probably already thought of that. Best of luck. Tom
What a great idea as there are so many brands on the market. You could go for a sustainable approach. Year 3 supplying year 2 with their outgrown waterproof. It could be labelled by a school tag designed by the class. Leaving year 6 to donate. It might not be everyone but over the years it will build up.
Thanks for all the feedback
1) Agreed Malin over the waterproof mittens! Amazing things. Often schools forget about mittens, and warm woolly socks and insoles for welly boots.
2) Kierna – I think it’s hard for schools who are generally skint as the vouchers are a good way of getting clothes. But the lack of choice is not good and the quality is variable. Good point about the PTA involvement
3) Feedback forms will definitely be part of the box Tom – and yes hopefully the children will be involved in that too.I want children to be fully involved as so often their views about clothes are not considered yet they are the people who have to wear them.
4) Craig – inspired comment. Thank you.
I think this is a great idea.
Are there many companies who do outdoor clothing for older pupils? It would be good to have a selection of affordable clothing for upper stages.
If you would like a school to trial anything I’d be happy to organise something. My P7s would enjoy helping P1s (they all have a buddy or two in P1) look at outdoor clothing and chosing what would be useful? It would be fun/useful for them as well as the P1 staff.
I like the idea of the waterproof gloves as that’s always a problem with my class on cold days – soggy, thin, woollen gloves!