Jul 3, 2022 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces
In 2014, Alec Duncan from Child’s Play Music wrote two fantastic and memorable blog posts about Katanning All Ages Playground. You can read them here and here. I was mesmerised. The structures are unique and quite different from anything else I had ever seen. In...
Jul 1, 2022 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces
Over a decade ago someone told me about a playground in the far north of Lewis. The person was puzzled that a playground should be created where the machair meets the sand dunes. After all, the beach is the perfect playground. I totally understand the sentiment. The...
Jun 26, 2022 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Play Resources, Whole School
I am aware that confusion and controversy exists around the use of tyres. I hope this blog post is informative and helpful so that adults who work with children can make sensible decisions based upon their own specific context. It has been written in good faith based...
Jun 1, 2022 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Play Resources, Whole School
Please check your local and national guidelines regarding the use of sand. It would appear that different countries within and beyond the UK may have different guidance in relation to Covid 19 and hygiene requirements . Sandpits are one of the best features for...
Aug 12, 2018 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces
In June 2018, I had the privilege of visiting South Australia’s newest natural play space – Mukanthi at the Morialta Conservation Park, just outside Adelaide. It is a beautiful example of what happens when children are actively involved in the design. As...
Aug 6, 2018 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Whole School
Upper Sturt Primary in South Australia used to be an ordinary state primary school. Since September 2015, the school has been predominantly an outdoor and nature-based school. The children are outside almost all the time, all year round. Whilst I plan to blog about...
Jun 8, 2018 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Early Years Outdoors
When in Adelaide, I was fortunate enough to be able to visit the World Environment Fair. It’s an indoor event with lots of stalls and information about all things environmental. As soon as you enter, the first thing that was to be seen was a huge – and I...
Oct 11, 2017 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Early Years Outdoors, Gardening
Back in 2011 a couple of my blog posts featured Westpark School Nursery in Aberdeen – the ones about masking tape and blue tarp on a windy day. At that time, the outdoor space was sparse – an expanse of asphalt, a patch of blue wet pour surfacing in one...
Jul 28, 2017 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Early Years Outdoors
Highway Farm has many pockets of inspiration for the outdoor early years enthusiast. I always liked their original sandpit pictured above and below. It’s got many attributes that I find appealing and add value to the children’s play including a couple of...
May 21, 2017 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Personal & Holidays
In May 2017 I was passing through Ambleside en route south and made my habitual stop at Rothay Park. To my amazement there had been a significant change. Sixteen months previously, the park suffered badly in the floods of Storm Desmond. Thus plans were put in place to...
Mar 18, 2017 | Community Involvement, Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Early Years Outdoors
Several years ago I had the privilege of visiting Derwent Stepping Stones Nursery in Derby. The staff and directors had realised that their outdoor play provision was in need of attention and decided to do something about it. One of the challenges facing settings...
Feb 13, 2017 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces
Developing your school grounds or outdoor space is one of the most satisfying ways of increasing the amount of learning and play happening outdoors. To kickstart the process, it is a good idea to seek professional advice and do some reading on the subject. This blog...
Jul 21, 2016 | Art & Music Outdoors, Community Involvement, Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Health & Wellbeing
In the Welsh seaside town of Barry, a place made world famous by the Gavin and Stacey sitcom, lies a typographic traversing wall. It was designed by Gordon Young in association with Part Two – a London-based design consultancy and opened in 2014. Whilst this...
Jun 22, 2016 | Community Involvement, Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Early Years Outdoors
This week I have had the privilege of visiting the Stramash Outdoor Nurseries. All of the nurseries are noticeably good at making do with free and found materials to create structures and resources for, and with, the children. The approach reminded me very much of...
Mar 19, 2016 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces
Recently I had the opportunity to visit Cramond Primary School, on the outskirts of Edinburgh. I had heard rumours that the Cramond Primary School: A Play Landscape Redevelopment of the school grounds were much bolder and more in line with those seen in other European...
Feb 24, 2016 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Early Years Outdoors
When I was in the middle of writing Messy Maths, I had the opportunity to visit Quackers Playgroup, whose mud kitchen featured in Muddy Faces and Jan White’s Mud Kitchen booklet. Over the years it has evolved, based upon observations of how children use the space...
Jul 7, 2015 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Nature Play & Learning
Big boulders are an unsung resource. Children love to play on them. Every boulder tells the story of the Planet Earth and how it has come to be like it is. Very often there will be one or two large boulders in a playground. Yet as a learning resource these are largely...
May 9, 2015 | Community Involvement, Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces
In April I had the privilege of visiting in New Zealand. Although it was a whistle stop 6 days involving training one day and flying the next, I did pause to catch my breath in Christchurch. I met up with an old friend and children’s citizenship and...
Apr 25, 2015 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Early Years Outdoors
A dry creek is just what its name suggests. It’s a simulation of a stream which has dried up, leaving stones and other mainly (but not always) natural materials for children to use in their play. I’ve seen lots of wonderful examples over the years. They...
Mar 23, 2015 | Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Early Years Outdoors, Maths Outdoors
One of my favourite fairy tales as a child was Dick Whittington. I was always fascinated by the idea of streets being paved with gold. Whilst in Adelaide, I discovered a similar concept. On the ground outside a cafe on Rundle Street, lots of coins had been embedded...
