UK schools provide outdoor provisions to support student well-being, physical development, and alternative learning through on-site play spaces, Forest Schools, and specialised alternative education.
Statutory Requirements & Guidelines.
Early Years (EYFS): The Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework requires schools and nurseries to give children daily access to an outdoor play area, or plan equivalent daily outdoor activities if on-site space is restricted.
Space Standards: The Department for Education (DfE) provides non-statutory guidelines for outdoor and covered spaces tailored to nursery and primary school environments, accommodating restricted urban sites through flexible management.
Core Types of Outdoor Provision.
Forest Schools: Immersive woodland sessions featuring bushcraft, tool use, den building, and wildlife observation that build personal confidence and social resilience.
On-Site Curriculum Enrichment: Outdoor classrooms, trim trails, gardening/horticulture zones, and sensory circuits integrated into mainstream physical education and key stage learning.
Find out more at www.garden-shopping.co.uk
or contact us at info@garden-shopping.co.uk
