* Equipment that encourages collaborative play, such as wheeled toys that several children can ride, large construction materials, and large sheets of paper that several children can paint or draw on.
* Playhouse or den.
* Clear rules that all staff and children are aware of and constantly refer to. These could be displayed around the area on laminated cards as a reminder.
* Adults modelling social skills, such as how to negotiate a turn.
* Adults noticing children's achievements outside, and giving relevant and meaningful praise to raise self-esteem. Sharing children's outdoor achievements with their parents.
* Camera to record children's achievements.
* Adults teaching children games to play outside, such as ring games and 'Simon says'.
Communication, language and literacy
* Adults who listen to, get involved with and model language with the children.
* Tape recorder.
* Camera to take photos for book-making.
* Resource trolleys labelled with words and pictures.
* Large letters of the alphabet painted or chalked on the wall or ground, sewn on beanbags, or made from wood or sponge.
* Activities that promote arm muscle development, such as pushing and pulling barrels, mark-making with large brushes and thick chalks.
* Mark-making trolley or tool box.
* Playground chalk.
* Blackboards on a wall.
* Clipboards and pens.
* Reference books and storybooks relevant to the outdoors in a basket or small trolley in the quiet area for children to refer to.
Mathematical development
* Adults finding daily opportunities for relevant counting, for example at tidying-up time.
* Large numbers, such as a laminated number line on a wall or playground, number beanbags, wooden or sponge numbers.
* Large construction equipment made from different materials and in various shapes and sizes, such as boxes, tubes and crates.
* Water and sand to illustrate capacity.
* Large tape measures and/or trundle wheels.
* Sand timers.
* Large dice for games.
* A wide range of natural resources, such as shells, pebbles, conkers and leaves, for sorting, sequencing and pattern-making.
Knowledge and understanding of the world
* An outdoor environment that reflects the natural world of plants and creatures.
* A camera to record the changing seasons and outdoor events.
* Robust magnifiers and reference books.
* Garden tools and spaces for gardening.
* Digging patch.
* Sand and water play on a large scale.
* A wild area to look for minibeasts.
* Adults who are aware of and make good use of the local area.
* A wide range of construction materials, including fastenings such as string, tape and rubber bands.
* Blankets, sheets and curtains to create dens.
* Waterproof clothing.
* Plans and maps for children to access.
Physical development
* Equipment to encourage children to move in various ways (climbing, running, pulling, pushing, balancing, jumping) and directions (through, over, under, across). Expensive climbing equipment is not necessary - planks, tyres and logs set into the ground are as effective. Active adults.
* Equipment to develop arm strength and control, such as wheelbarrows, large barrels, firefighters' poles and ropes.
* Wheeled toys.
* Drinking water.
* Small apparatus, such as balls, beanbags and quoits, to practise control of movement and aiming.
* Small tools, such as gardening and sand-play equipment, decorating brushes and rollers.
Creative development
* Collections of natural materials, such as shells, leaves, large pebbles, cones, conkers and wood shavings.
* Den or playhouse to encourage role play.
* Builder's trays to set up small-world scenarios.
* Musical washing line and wind-chimes.
* Tape recorder.
* Books to inspire imaginative play.