Why children need outdoor play?

This piece opens a new series that turns attention to outdoor play and its place in early childhood. The outdoors continues to be an area that practitioners value yet can sometimes struggle to use to its full potential, so each blog will look closely at a different aspect of practice. Written by Emma Davis,  Senior Lecturer at University College Birmingham and programme lead for Early Childhood Studies.

This first post explores why outdoor play matters and how it shapes children’s experiences in ways the indoor environment cannot. The next pieces will move into more focused areas, including the part the outdoors plays in supporting brain development, the role of loose parts in enriching exploration, and the ways sustained shared thinking can flourish when adults join children in open and responsive outdoor spaces.

Outdoor play holds a special place in early childhood because it offers experiences that cannot be recreated within the walls of a classroom. When children step outside, they meet a world that is constantly shifting through weather and seasons, and this change invites them to use their bodies and senses in ways that feel instinctive and satisfying. Cold air brushing across their faces helps them understand the meaning of cold as something real, not simply a word in a storybook. The feel of damp grass underfoot, or the sudden warmth of sun breaking through a cloud, gives children a direct connection to weather and the natural world.

The space outdoors encourages a type of play that often feels restricted inside. Indoors, movement can be contained by furniture and by the need to keep noise at a manageable level. Outside, children have the freedom to run, shout and to explore without being confined to small areas. This kind of physical freedom invites bigger ideas and bolder movements, which can be seen in many of the Siren Films clips, particularly the scenes in Two Year Olds Outdoors, where children follow their own rhythms while exploring open ground and uneven surfaces.

Nature enriches learning

Nature adds a layer of discovery that enriches learning. A small change in the weather, the arrival of a bird, the movement of a shadow or the texture of soil can draw children into moments of intense observation. These moments encourage a sense of connection that develops gradually, as children notice patterns and begin to understand how the world responds to light, wind and water. The film Babies Outdoors shows this beautifully, with simple scenes of children exploring gardens and natural materials, reminding practitioners that outdoor learning often begins with quiet, spontaneous curiosity rather than planned activity.

Supporting physical confidence

Outdoor play also supports the growth of physical confidence. Children develop balance as they walk across uneven ground, strength as they climb or lift, and coordination as they navigate open space. These are everyday movements that build body awareness and resilience, helping children understand their own capabilities. The Power of Physical Play video illustrates how outdoor environments encourage children to test themselves in ways that feel purposeful rather than forced.

Improving wellbeing

Wellbeing often improves outdoors, partly because the natural world offers calm as well as excitement. A child who might feel tense or enclosed inside can find release in open air, where noise disperses and movement is welcomed rather than managed. The change in atmosphere can encourage cooperation, shared play and a sense of belonging, as children gather to investigate puddles, watch insects or create imaginative games that stretch across the space available to them. In Esme Plays Outside, the environment allows a young child with additional needs to participate fully, showing that outdoor play can offer possibilities that might be more limited indoors.

Even small spaces can offer open-ended invitations to play

Outdoor spaces do not need to be elaborate as even a small garden can provide the materials children need to explore:

• Soil
• Water
• Stones
• Leaves
• Logs

can all offer open-ended invitations to play. When adults observe carefully and respond with sensitivity, rather than directing every moment, children find their own way through the environment, discovering what interests them and testing ideas through movement and interaction.

Outdoor play should sit at the heart of early years practice because it nurtures growth across emotional, physical and social domains. It brings together curiosity, physical challenge, sensory experience and connection with nature. Most importantly, it gives children the sense that the world is wide enough to hold their energy, questions and imagination.