Dec 19, 2022 | Community Involvement, Whole School
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...
Nov 27, 2022 | Early Years Outdoors, Whole School
Every now and then I am copied into a comment on a social media around the use of high-vis vests outside. In the education and childcare sectors, the subject seems to create much debate and discussion. In 2017 it was further fuelled by Amanda Spielman, the Ofsted...
Nov 26, 2022 | Early Years Outdoors, Whole School
“There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.”Scandinavian Proverb but also attributed to Billy Connelly and many others 🙂 It is interesting when you ask on social media what outdoor clothing to buy. Everyone has their own (often strong)...
Nov 25, 2022 | Early Years Outdoors, Whole School
The winds are blowing. The air feels cold and damp. The days are greyer and getting shorter and shorter. The temperatures are falling. For me, these are all warning signs to get prepared for wrapping up warm outside. Learning to do this seems to be an experiential...
Nov 24, 2022 | Early Years Outdoors, Health & Wellbeing, Whole School
How can we manage wet clothes and gear when we work in places not geared up to coping with the aftermath of outdoor activities? I’ve been rummaging through my collection of photos and here’s some ideas. Please do chip in, if you have any other good...
Nov 5, 2022 | RME Outdoors, Social Subjects Outdoors, Technologies, Whole School
30th November – St Andrew’s Day – is regarded as Scotland’s National Day. Increasing number of people living in Scotland make the most of the day to celebrate Scottish traditions and culture. I rather like that Saint Andrew is the...
Oct 15, 2022 | Community Involvement, RME Outdoors, Whole School
Halloween is a day where dressing up and having fun outside is celebrated. The origins of this festival are a matter of debate but this article is a useful starting point for any teacher wishing to acknowledge the cultural or religious connections. It is...
Aug 24, 2022 | Early Years Outdoors, Gardening, Nature Play & Learning, Whole School
In late summer, wasps are growing woozy. Most don’t have much longer to live. The female wasps that have mated will leave the nest to hibernate over winter, so the social structure of the nest begins to go awry and the nest starts closing down for winter! At...
Aug 22, 2022 | Health & Wellbeing, Whole School
Schools in Scotland are shortly starting back after the summer holidays. Very often, teachers decide that “now is not the time” to be taking children outside, which is a pity as there’s lots of good reasons to be outside from the first day back: 1)...
Aug 18, 2022 | Whole School
I have been fortunate enough to have been a freelance education consultant for many years and recently retired. The only element of my work I hated was having to charge a fee. But like most of us in society, I needed income to cover the costs of living so it was an...
Aug 11, 2022 | Whole School
The ADHD Foundation is a charity that supports neurodiversity. It claims that 1 in 5 people who have a neurodevelopmental condition. This could be ADHD, Autism, Dyscalculia, Dyspraxia, Dyslexia or Tourette’s Syndrome. The ADHD Foundation wants to change...
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 6, 2022 | Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning, Whole School
There are a growing number of organisations and Facebook groups dedicated to ensuring children have lots of free time in nature as part of their early childhood. Browse the following to get a feel for them: American Forest Kindergarten AssociationChild and Nature...
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...
May 28, 2022 | Course Handouts, Early Years Outdoors, Whole School
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...
Aug 9, 2021 | Course Handouts, Early Years Outdoors, Whole School
This blog post I created tosupport educators access outdoor ideas and materials during lockdown.Yet it still feels like a useful blog post. Please do tell me, if you find a great website or resource. As usual, you will have to decide what activities are appropriate...
Jul 21, 2021 | Early Years Outdoors, Health & Wellbeing, Nature Play & Learning, Play Resources, Whole School
Over the past few weeks I’ve had the pleasure of reading through a recently published book The Essential Guide to Forest School and Nature Pedagogy by Jon Cree and Marina Robb. This book has been a long time in the making and given its hefty size of 400 pages,...
Jul 17, 2021 | Early Years Outdoors, Literacy Outdoors, Technologies, Whole School
When I left teaching college in the early Nineties, laminated sheets were not used. If we really needed something covered we had to use stickyback plastic. It was expensive and you learned to develop the knack of avoiding lines and bubbles appearing. In my outdoor and...
Jun 30, 2021 | Community Involvement, Play Resources, Whole School
I’m sure that many of you remember your playtimes well – much more than your maths lessons or what happened in the month of March in Year 5. If you consider children are at school for six hours or more on a school day, then the hour or 75 minutes allocated...
Nov 14, 2020 | Whole School
I’d like you to image a scenario where you are standing in a classroom and there is a choice of 2 doors to get outside. Both are brown. When you open either of them, they lead into the school grounds or a forest or a beach or any other place outside. You turn to...
