So, it’s back to school or nursery and with this comes the excitement of a new year and new beginnings. Whilst we make personal resolutions, perhaps it is time to make the most of this tradition and apply it in a reflective way to our outdoor practice. There’s a lot of questions, so pick, choose and adapt the ones that feel right for you

1. What has been the most memorable outdoor experience that happened in your school or setting in this past year?

2. What did you, the staff enjoy most about being outside with your children? Do you have the same memories as your children and their parents or carers?

3. What one change, action, resource or person made a particular difference to the quality of outdoor play and learning in your school or setting?

4. What one thing did you personally do to improve the quality of outdoor provision or practice last year? Improvements rely on everyone pitching in. However rather than get grumpy about what others around you didn’t do, focus on what you have done and be proud of this.

5. What did you read, listen to, visit or watch that made a noticeable or even have a profound impact on your professional outdoor practice? Often inspiration and ideas come from conversations with others, listening to a podcast or something else that helps us shape our thoughts and be able to articulate these and live these through our practice. Sometimes, like seeds, you will need to store some of these changes and possibilities as not all can be planted at once.

6. What worried you the most about your outdoor provision? What did you do to overcome these concerns? We all have ongoing frustrations and perhaps, with hindsight, you managed these better than you thought.

7. Is there any thing you regret about this past year and your outdoor provision? If so, what can you realistically do to fix this? It is always helpful to remember we can’t change other people, we can only change ourselves and what we think, say and do.

8. What one thing have you changed about yourself in relation to your outdoor provision? This may be a decision to be better dressed for being outside or to find out more about a particular aspect of outdoor provision. Perhaps you learned a new skill such as how to light a fire or set up a zip wire?

9. What surprised you most about your outdoor practice this past year? This could be a serious point but perhaps there was something that happened which was more light-hearted.

10. If you could go back to January of last year, what advice would you give yourself about the year ahead in relation to being outside with children?

11. What outdoor skills, understandings, and practices do you have which you can rely on in the year ahead?

12. What are your wildest ideas, dreams and schemes around your outdoor practice for the year ahead?

13. In what ways can you nourish yourself through your outdoor practice in the coming year?

I hope you find the above questions useful be this on a personal level or undertake within a team. I hope you have many inspiring, positive and memorable moments with your class outside in the year ahead. Let’s make it happen well.

This blog post was first published in January 2019.