Play Out: How to Develop Your Outside Space for Learning and Play [With CDROM]

Do you know how to manage physical risks and encourage children to go out and test their own boundaries without fear or failure? How can you create a stimulating outdoor area that offers irresistible learning opportunities for young children? Does your outdoor learning environment support young children's emerging life skills of confidence, perseverance, creativity, decision making and leadership Play Out! is an inspirational, accessible and pragmatic set of resources aimed at all those involved with improving the use, design and management of outdoor spaces in early years settings. It provides a step-by-step guide for planning and implementing physical changes to outdoor environments in order to facilitate high quality learning and play experiences. Physical and outdoor play has a major impact on the intellectual, emotional and social development of young children. Drawing on Learning through Landscapes experience in working with thousands of early years settings, this book provides the tools for settings to assess what they already have, work through what their needs are, and inspires them to take the next steps forward to make physical and practical improvements to their outside area. Featuring a CD ROM with a comprehensive and fully adaptable audit tool, plus activities and case study resources to support your work, the handy toolkit provides: Step-by step guidance on project management and how to plan improvements to your space Tools for engaging your whole school community Practical activity ideas to involve children and adults A wide range of case studies to illustrate how real life settings have improved their outdoor space This full colour, illustrated resource will make it as easy as possible for managers, practitioners and parents to plan and manage an outdoor improvement project, involving children at the core of the work and linking the process and the improved outside environment to the aims of the Early Years Foundation Stage.