WE ARE SUPPORTING FUNDED CHILDCARE FOR FAMILIES - FIND OUT MORE!
The Outdoor team and the SEND team have been collaborating recently with magical results, to deliver nature-based sessions for our children with SEND, bringing immense joy to all involved, and embracing the power of nature.
Unfortunately, it’s a common theme that many children with SEND do not get the opportunity to play outside anywhere near as much as they should. In these sessions, children are regulated and able to be their authentic self, where they can truly flourish.
We wanted to take the time to reflect on why this is so important:
🌼Offering a safe environment to climb, balance, and move over different levels and surfaces improves sensory development.
🌼Emphasis on playtime outdoors as opposed to indoors is particularly important for children with sensory sensitivities and children with Autism and ADHD.
🌼Electric lights and indoor sounds can cause an upsetting distraction for some children. A natural outdoor environment with natural light is always preferable.
🌼Exploring the world outdoors can help children with SEN to build their resilience, and boost their self-confidence.
🌼Natural outdoor environments have been shown to reduce stress, enhance emotional resilience, and facilitate functional and imaginative play.
🌼Children with ADHD who walk and play in nature have a higher attention and concentration span than those who play in built-up areas.
🌼If Autistic children are exposed to different sensory forms such as hearing, touching, smelling, and seeing in nature their neural pathways can be improved.
🌼Studies show that children with SEND who spend significant time in nature often improve in the following areas; social interaction, communication, behaviour, emotion, cognition, sensory issues and physical activity.
As a leading provider of early years education, we understand the importance of outdoor learning and make it a part of the everyday curriculum. At Kids Planet, we have put together our very own outdoor learning approach called ‘Udeskole’ that many of our nurseries are training towards or have already completed!
Udeskole is a Scandinavian concept that translates to “outdoor school” and is an educational approach that emphasises school-based outdoor learning. The concept of Udeskole focuses on making nature-based learning experiences an integral part of a child’s education, encouraging children to spend less time in the traditional classroom setting and more time outdoors.
The Udeskole concept is growing in popularity around the world, and at Kids Planet we’re passionate about making it commonplace in all of our nurseries across the UK with over 35 achieving this already.
Our new nationwide study has revealed a quarter of nursery-school parents wish their children spent more time outdoors. The survey of nursery school parents aged 0-5 years old investigated how often children are learning from outdoor activities across the country, how it effects their mood, and from which types of activities.
Less than a quarter (24%) of 0-5 year old children are spending time learning outdoors at home each day, contrary to the NHS’s recommended time for preschoolers of three hours every day, and one in six think their child doesn’t spend enough time outdoors at all.
The NHS recommends ‘Pre-schoolers should spend at least 180 minutes (three hours) a day doing a variety of physical activities spread throughout the day, including active and outdoor play. The more the better…. Once babies can move around, encourage them to be as active as possible in a safe and supervised play environment.’
The impact for children is just incredible and one we endeavour to continue. Every child deserves to shine and to feel confident, and outdoor play has the power to do that.
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