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.

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