Thelma Miller, head of an inner London nursery, is in no doubt of the value of the space they call their "outdoor classroom'.
'When you see children looking at bright red tulips, and you see the awe in their eyes, it is so inspiring. Somehow you see things through them - like how a rough brown bulb can grow into this incredible flower,' she says.
Her setting is among a growing number that recognise how vital outdoor play is for young children.
The UK is only gradually embracing a concept that has been long recognised elsewhere in Europe. Scandinavian countries in particular have daycare centres and primary schools that integrate indoor and outdoor sessions year-round, regardless of weather. But while British settings - and British parents - may applaud the tulip-admiring element, they are often unwilling to risk the muddier, rough-and-tumble aspects.
Yet there are compelling reasons why outdoor play should be high on the agenda. Outdoor play can offer unique experiences, challenges and risks that are vital to early learning and physical development and that become all the more important in a society where children are, some think, overly protected from everyday hazards, overweight on a diet of processed foods, and overly transfixed on television and computers.
Marjorie Ouvry, an early years consultant who has written extensively on the subject, welcomes the recognition of the importance of outdoor play by the House of Commons Select Committee on Education in its report on the early years.
She says, 'When children are surveyed about what they like best about nursery, they always say outdoors. But children sometimes get confused by adults saying "no, you can't go out, you have to finish your worksheets", and "no, you don't get out till 10.30am". There is a lot of practice that militates against getting out.
'We are striving towards simulta-neous indoor-outdoor provision so a child has a choice to make - sensible decisions like "it's cold so I'll go in", or "I need paper and pencil to tally how many times I can jump this".' Learning Through Landscapes is a national charity for school grounds improvement, and a valuable starting point for anyone seeking help with ideas or sources of funding for improving facilities. Spokeswoman Julie Mountain reports a huge increase in contacts from early years settings.
'It's good to know that money is now available to develop this. In the past it was not seen as a priority, but now it is,' she says. She predicts the focus on outdoors learning may filter up to Key Stages 1 and 2, but a marketing job may be needed to persuade parents of the benefits.
'Communication is key. Children outside in the cold getting little rosy cheeks and making mud pies learn a huge amount from that. If parents could see the value they would be OK.'
In the Durham area, an Early Years School Grounds project officer has been appointed in a pilot scheme entirely funded by the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership. Tracey Morris's role is to help the whole school community decide what they need to deliver the Foundation Stage.
'The schools' facilities vary from little patches of tarmac to great big fields,' she says. 'The requirements of children in the Foundation Stage may look the same as those of primary school children, but their needs are different because they are learning through play more.'
Other types of partnerships may link up nursery and school settings with outdoor programmes. One operates at the Bishops Wood Environmental Education Centre in Wor-cestershire, an internationally recognised centre over 39 hectares of woodland operating as a joint venture between the local education authority and site owner the National Grid Company, with support from the Worcester College of Technology. The scheme is now being extended county-wide to create woodlands for schools too far away to make the trip to Bishops Wood.
Their forest school pilot programme, started in September 2000, is inspired by the pioneering Danish model of the 1950s and provides sessions for three-to five-year-olds with stepping stones to the early learning goals. Typically, a group of up to 12 children might attend for a weekly half-day session for several months.
Their 1.5-acre site has the usual quota of nettles, mud and dead birds. Such hazards are discussed seriously rather than hidden. There is no special equipment - children play with leaves and branches or build shelters.
Pilot co-ordinator Jenny Doyle says, 'It's really about letting them develop all of their senses, be independent, take risks and make their own choices, going back to the sort of activities which people used to do years ago but miss out on now.'
For example, none of the 360 children who attended last year had tried campfire cooking. Ms Doyle recalls, 'One child said "smoke makes the trees go wobbly". She's right, of course. I thought that was wonderful.' Waterproofs and spare wellies are provided, and only one mother worried about mud, although she sent her child along anyway (albeit dressed in white hat and gloves).
Margo Loy, head at the Richard Stewart Nursery Centre in Airdrie, near Glasgow, says that it's vital to have commitment from staff, parents and the wider community. Her centre, attended by 86 children aged two to five years, including five who are autistic, took a big step outdoors when it participated in National Grounds Week. They covered the entire curriculum from maths (comparing sizes of leaves) to Gaelic (children performed a Gaelic translation of 'Singing in the Rain').
Mrs Loy is proud of the results. 'We discovered that some children actually learned more outside. It was their preferred learning area. We don't know if it's the space or what, but children who were previously unresponsive indoors tended to get more absorbed in activities, finding caterpillars and so on.'
Staff at the Clyde Nursery and Early Years Centre in Lewisham, south London, have worked so vigorously on developing outdoor play that the centre is now used to train other practitioners. Their tennis-pitch sized award-winning garden has distinct areas of wood, bark chip, tarmac and open verandah, divided by paths and planted borders.
Head teacher Thelma Miller says, 'We are confident and pro-active and because the children are so happy, parents begin to realise that and see they are learning.
'We explain that the garden is a classroom, but outside. We show them that there are opportunities children cannot have inside, such as planting, climbing, observing nesting birds, understanding the weather.'
The children are outside for long periods, digging, planting, watering, climbing, or building with scrap. The centre takes care with children who have health problems such as asthma, and appropriate clothing and activities are chosen for any cold and damp.
Bumps and minor accidents are inevitable, and parents are always notified when children have suffered a head knock. But Mrs Miller is certain that children take an eminently sensible approach of watching, learning and problem-solving, and when they finally tackle that rope swing, for example, it is a valuable life lesson.
Consultant Marjorie Ouvry would agree. She says, 'Where staff are well-led by knowledgeable practitioners, parents are with the staff. Of course, you should tell parents about scratches and bruises, but children are not daft - they are not going to fling themselves off a high parapet. Children without scars on their knees have not had much of a childhood!' There are life lessons that parents could learn, too. Jenny Doyle recalls one family celebration day at Bishops Wood. 'It started raining, and all the parents retreated to the shelter. One mum called to her little girl to come in out of the rain too, and the child just answered, 'What for? It's a forest school.' NW
Further information
* Learning Through Landscapes, 3rd floor, Southside Offices, The Law Courts, Winchester SO23 9DL
(tel: 01962 846258
www.ltl.org.uk)
* Nursery World's eight-page pull-out 'All About...Outdoors', 5 April 2001 * Exercising muscles and minds - outdoor play and the early years curriculum by Marjorie Ouvry (National Early Years Network, 8.50, tel: 020 7607 9513)