Fresh air and fun

Supporting children's personal, social and emotional development helps to provide them with the tools they need for learning across all other areas of the curriculum. Long-term planning for developing independence skills, building self-esteem, making relationships and learning self-control should be part of the very fabric of the provision. But motivation is also essential to effective learning. The key to motivating children to learn is creating a stimulating environment and enabling them to follow their own interests within, and sometimes extending beyond, that environment.

Given a choice, many children will opt to play outside rather than indoors. Provision in the outdoor area should be viewed as part of the 'whole classroom', offering experiences in all areas of learning. With careful planning even the most uninspiring area can be developed imaginatively to excite and enthuse children, fostering in them a 'thirst for learning'. Through thoughtful organisation of resources in the outdoor area, and sensitive intervention in children's play, practitioners will be able to offer support to children in becoming emotionally secure and socially confident.