Do practitioners fully embrace the learning potential provided by the outdoor environment?

An investigation into whether early years practitioners appreciate the importance of outdoor play and its contribution to children’s learning and development. With rising concerns around children’s health and well-being, particularly following the Covid 19 pandemic, it is more important then ever that children are being encouraged and supported by knowledgable practitioners to engage in the learning opportunities provided by the outdoor environment. A mixed method approach was used to collate both quantitative and qualitative data providing an insight into the views of practitioners. In an attempt to gain an understanding of the barriers faced in providing outdoor learning and ascertain if these learning opportunities are fully embraced a focus group was also held to expand on the data gathered.