Quick Step-By-Step Guide To EYFS Benefits Of Outdoor Play Equipment

OFSTED see it as ‘an essential element of a broad and balanced curriculum’ and believe schools should ‘make explicit reference to it in their self-evaluation during the inspection visit’. 

EYFS & OUTDOOR PLAY: The EYFS framework encourages children up to the age of 5 to develop optimally through safe, inclusive surroundings, aiming for school readiness by addressing unique needs and fostering independence. Outdoor play equipment can complement a good classroom environment by getting children through the Level 1 (Emerging) and Level 2 (Expected) phases of ELG (Early Learning Goals).

EYFS BENEFITS OF OUTDOOR PLAY: Helps providers meet the Ofsted EIF 4 key judgement grading, especially the main one, Quality of Education:

• Complements and furthers work done in class and Encourages curiosity in children
• Large groups of children can interact and engage in activities naturally
• Provides a safe setting for children to experiment in assessing risk

1. Communication & Language (Prime Area): Children bond during role-play activities (castles, pirate ships, play panels) and other shared activities (sandpits, trim trails, jungle climbers), wiring their brains with first-hand experience essential for effective, effortless communication away from a direct learning environment.

2. Physical Development (Prime Area): Using outdoor play equipment aids children in developing gross motor skills (strength, balance, coordination) for safely negotiating space and obstacles. It also develops abilities for actions like running, jumping, and climbing, and even some fine motor skills required for tasks such as holding pencils (ropes).

3. Personal, Social, & Emotional (Prime Area): By interacting with others on play equipment, children learn to wait / take turns (cooperation), develop sensitivity to peers’ needs, face confidence-building challenges, and have opportunities to control impulses while working towards simple goals, regulating behaviour based on exposure to others’ emotions.

4. Literacy (Specific Area): While chalk boards and phonics panels provide direct learning opportunities in literacy, the main way playgrounds benefit this development is the chance to put into practice what they have been reading / hearing in class. Free from the pressures of education, children can boost their understanding of language in a natural social setting.

5. Mathematics (Specific Area): The EYFS framework is explicit in acknowledging the need for children to develop ‘spatial reasoning skills across all areas of mathematics, including shape, space, and measures’ and forge a positive interest in maths to recognise patterns and spot connections. With the use of bright colours and gamification (Snakes & Ladders markings) numbers are made more memorable and easier to comprehend. As a result, a basic grasp of maths and numbers up to 10 will be attained in time for Key Stage One.

6. Understanding The World (Specific Area): Opportunities for role-play allow children to explore various roles in society and better understand the past through characters and settings. Bug hotels, compost wormeries, and squirrel feeder mazes help them observe the natural world and ‘describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation’, and understand ‘the seasons and changing states of matter’ as required by the EYFS framework.

7. Expressive Arts & Design (Specific Area): Musical panels (drums, xylophones, bells, and chimes) are an obvious and effective choice in helping children cultivate an interest in artistic expression. But another, less tangible, way of encouraging this behaviour is with small outdoor stages, which allow them to perform, and invent and recount stories with their peers.