Kenny Forsyth, the chief executive of Stramash social enterprise, which runs outdoor nurseries across the Highlands, suggests that the answers to the challenges posed by coronavirus are already embedded in outdoor settings. Teachers do need support to do this: there are not many things you can’t teach outdoors, you just have to think creatively.” “This might be the way that outdoor learning gets pushed forward, but it’s about so much more than infection control. We have rolling snacks and lunches to avoid them clustering together, and handwashing every hour.” “The weather has been on our side, so the children can play freely outside. Outside space allows for social distancing to happen more naturally, added Sprague. Photograph: handoutĬameron Sprague, a senior team leader at Stramash nursery, Fort William, which is likewise now acting as a childcare hub, said: “It’s always been the case that infection control is easier outdoors: we never have the situation where one kid gets chicken pox then a third of the school is off.” Many councils in Scotland have ambitious plans to expand outdoor learning. Zoe Sills, who manages the Earthtime forest school nursery in Elgin, said: “When you’ve got the natural world at your fingertips, you don’t need so many toys, which means fewer surfaces where the virus can be passed on.” Each child is given a bag containing their own paintbrush, crayons and glue stick, then encouraged to spread out and find their own space to do crafting activities.Ĭhildren playing at the Earth Time for All nursery. Since lockdown began, a number of outdoor nurseries across the country have become childcare hubs for children of key workers. Scotland’s educators and policymakers have been acting on a growing weight of evidence about the exponentially positive impact of learning outdoors on everything from eyesight to risk assessment to resilience, but now practitioners are convinced their experience could offer a model for returning to school. The outdoor experience is already a part of Scotland’s “curriculum for excellence”, while many councils have ambitious plans to expand outdoor learning as they meet the Scottish government’s commitment to a near-doubling of funded childcare this year. While specialist outdoor nurseries are well attuned to the needs of children spending all day outdoors, other establishments are considering how to adapt their practice to enable more time to be spent in gardens and playgrounds.” This model could have many benefits for maintaining physical distancing and minimising risk of transmission as part of the transition from lockdown back into early learning and childcare and school. Scotland’s children’s minister, Maree Todd, said: “There are a growing number of fully and partially outdoor childcare settings in Scotland.
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