QI 2.2 p26 – Curriculum
Children are provided with rich, relevant experiences to enhance their play and practise skill, explore the world around them and develop knowledge and understanding in their own way and in their own time.”
QI 2.3 p28 – Learning, teaching and assessment
(Children) are highly motivated and fully engaged by the range of rich, challenging experiences and opportunities that are on offer both indoors and outdoors
QI 2.4 p30 – Personalised Support
We ensure our babies, toddlers and young children benefit from exploration and engagement with natural materials including daily encounters with nature and learning outdoors,”
QI 3.3 p45 – Developing creativity and skills for life and learning
Our indoor and outdoor learning environments and engagement with natural world offer regular high quality experiences that enable children to explore ideas and materials and to use their imagination freely.
P46
Challenge questions
How well are natural materials and open-ended resources used to support sensory play, exploratory play and creativity?
QI 2.1 p37
Key areas include the extent to which: Children benefit from high quality play and learning setting
Children can influence when they play outdoors every day and regularly explore a natural play and learning environment. Children are confident in exploring and developing their outdoor environment, supported by staff who actively support and encourage children in their endeavours.
p40 Links to the Health and Social Care Standards
- 1.25 I can choose to have an active life and participate in a range of recreational, social, creative, physical and learning activities every day, both indoors and outdoors.
- 1.32 As a child, I play outdoors every day and regularly explore a natural environment
p41
What approaches do we have to ensure children access and effectively use, develop and care for their natural environment?
p11
2.3 A child’s right to outdoor play The Care Inspectorate is committed to promoting and improving the quality of outdoor play for children in line with key national policy and guidance which set out national expectations. The most relevant are Getting it Right for Every Child (2008)(7), Curriculum for Excellence 3-18 (2008)(8), National Care Standards: Early Education and Childcare up to the Age of 16 (2009)(9), the Play Strategy for Scotland: Our Vision (2013)(10), the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014(11) and the National Building the Ambition: National Practice Guidance on Early Learning and Childcare(12).
There is a wide range of early-years services that provide very different models and experiences for children and childcare for their parents. Services care for different age ranges of children and have a variety of opening times as well as being part and full-year provision during the day and during the year. While we acknowledge that every setting is individual, as a minimum we expect children and young people of all ages to experience:
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- routine access to a stimulating outdoor play area including daily opportunities to spend time outdoors and, if children attend full-time, part of their day should be spent outdoors
- freedom of choice to move between the indoor and outdoor environments, whenever practicable
- the opportunity to explore the natural environment
- access to a range of high-quality outdoor play and learning opportunities throughout the year
- resources to support learning and development
