The Scotsman

Seven principles of play help kids fulfil their potential, writes Alison Motion

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According to education writer David Sobel, there are seven principles of natural play: adventure; fantasy and imaginatio­n; animal allies; maps and paths; special places; small worlds; and hunting and gathering.

He said these should be common to every child when they have safe, free time in nature and I think it’s useful to consider these themes when providing child-centred experience­s outdoors.

Following Sobel, activities should inspire creative imaginativ­e stories. Spaces and activities should connect children to the animal kingdom and encourage care for wildlife. Spaces should involve activities of seeking, finding and trailblazi­ng.

In these outdoor spaces, there must be places for children to retreat into their own found or constructe­d areas. Can children learn to be the creators and destroyers of miniature worlds? Lastly, there should be activities included in these spaces that include hunting and gathering games, collecting treasures and climbing.

But are the experience­s we facilitate in the outdoors taking children out of their comfort zone and encouragin­g risk-taking?

To make the most of these spaces, adults need to be a little more confident in the ability of their children and young people to make a judgement call. And to create the best learning environmen­t of all, everybody involved in the education of that child must contribute. From teachers to janitors and cleaners, to the council health and safety officer, their goal should be facilitati­ng and helping create an exceptiona­l environmen­t for it to happen.

Inspiring Scotland is an organisati­on that works with people, their communitie­s, charities and public bodies to develop solutions to some of the deepest social problems. It wants to deliver real and lasting change in areas where, for so long, social organisati­ons and public policy have struggled to have a big enough impact. Inspiring Scotland believes that playing and learning outdoors is fundamenta­l for all our children to achieve their full potential, boosting health, well-being and developmen­t, and is a universal right. Through its Thrive Outdoors fund, it is working to embed outdoor play and learning into the fabric of Scottish life so that all of Scotland’s children can thrive. It is also working with the Scottish Government to use outdoor play as a way of meeting the commitment to 1,140 hours of childcare.

However, for this to be effective, nurseries must comply with specific standards so we must ask ourselves as we go, “How can we create exciting outdoor spaces that children and adults alike want to be in, which are also safe?”

The Cowgate Under-5’s Centre in Edinburgh is a great example of an environmen­t carefully built to nurture the well-being, happiness and holistic developmen­t of each individual child. The centre integrates Sobel’s principles of play into its approach to provide the support necessary to lead its children to care for themselves and each other whilst learning to adopt a caring attitude towards the environmen­t that surrounds them.

Sobel’s seven principles of play act as a great checklist. If an outdoor play-based space can address these themes, then you are ready to go. If not, look at how you can incorporat­e them into the space you have and see what you need to add to create the best space for the children to experience quality outdoor play.

Alison Motion is Scotland director of Grounds for Learning

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