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Young children, the outdoors and nature
Young children, the outdoors and nature

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2.2 Questions of quality and reviewing practice

Both researchers and practitioners have used a variety of methods to measure what quality looks like in relation to the outdoor environment provided for babies and toddlers in ECEC settings. The Infant and Toddler Environmental Rating Scale – Revised (ITERS-R) is one of the most commonly employed and was developed as a way of assessing the quality of setting provision based on a suite of indicators relating to the physical, mental and emotional needs of infants and toddlers (Harms et al., 2006).

However, there are concerns about the limitations of such measures. The indicator for quality in outdoor provision is ‘an easily accessible outdoor area where infants/toddlers are separated from older children.’ This immediately suggests that the youngest children need to be protected from older children and does not recognise the potential benefits of younger children being able to watch and engage with older children ‘being’ outdoors (Kleppe, 2018; Rouse, 2015). It also categorises natural features (such as exposed tree roots) as a minor hazard which suggests a problematising of the natural environment in relation to the youngest children.

When Kemp and Josephidou wanted to audit provision across settings in Kent, England, they used their reading of research literature to help them come up with audit questions. They were interested to find out about the nature and extent of each setting’s outdoor provision; how much time children spend outdoors throughout the year; the activities the children engage in, and resources provided by the setting to support this. You can see an example of some of these questions below:

  • How is the accommodation in your setting organised, i.e., are babies and toddlers separated or do they share the same space?
  • Approximately how big is the outdoor area you use for babies/toddlers?
  • What types of surface does the outside of your setting consist of?

If you wanted to audit your own settings or home provision, then you could adapt some of the questions in their audit which you can find in the appendices of the report ‘Making Connection with their world [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] ’. Below you can see an adaptation of some of their questions which would work for an individual setting, or an individual parent/carer, to think about their practice and care.

Table 2
On average, approximately how frequently are babies/toddlers taken outdoors each day?
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What activities do children engage in outside and what experiences are provided?
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What are the most important factors which influence the duration and frequency of access to the outdoors at your setting/in your home?
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What are the challenges to being outside with babies and toddlers in your setting/home?
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Are you going to take up Jan’s challenge? Have you decided that you are responsible for ensuring that young children access the outdoors? One way to do this would be to first carry out a review of your provision whether that be in your setting or your home. In the next video, Jan is discussing how settings can review their practice:

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In this section you have considered questions at the meso level to help you think about practice. You have noted the powerful tool of observation that supports practitioners and carers to follow the lead of the child when they are outdoors so that the adult is not imposing a way of being. But of course, in order to observe, it is necessary to reflect on the type of environment that is being provided within which the child can be observed. You considered the importance of environment in Session 7. In the following section, the focus will shift to post-audit; what support is there to help you develop your pedagogy and care outdoors?