The growing interest in outdoor play in recent years has brought with it exciting new trends but also misconceptions about what outdoor play truly is. Jan White takes us back to basics and addresses three key questions:
what is outdoor play?
why is it so important to children’s learning and development?
what should be the key principles underpinning it?
Presenter
Professor Jan White
early childhood consultant, outdoor play and provision & co-director, Early Childhood Outdoors
Jan is a leading thinker and writer on outdoor play advocating high-quality outdoor provision for children from birth to seven. Through 40 years’ experience in education she has developed a deep commitment to the consistently powerful effect of the outdoors on young children.
Jan is honorary Professor of Practice with the University of Wales Trinity St David and co-founder/director of Early Childhood Outdoors, the national organisation for play, learning and well-being outdoors.
She received Nursery World awards for both her books, Playing and Learning Outdoors (now in 3rd edition) and Every Child a Mover, is editor of Outdoor Provision in the Early Years and collaborated with Siren Films to make the award-winning training DVDs Babies, Toddlers and Two Year-olds Outdoors.
Her ground-breaking booklet with MuddyFaces, Making a Mud Kitchen, has significantly influenced the outdoor play experiences of young children throughout the UK, and she is now developing the Level 3 Certificate in Outdoor Practice qualification focusing on daily, onsite provision and practice.