Search
Search
Outdoor Adventurous Play
Outdoor Adventurous Play
“Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.” – Kay Redfield Jamison
At Monkhouse, we aim to ignite a passion for learning and exploring by facilitating imaginative outdoor play. We give children the freedom to choose when and where to play and who and what to play with. Through Adventurous Play, all ages are integrated in an inclusive playtime environment, where we hope to inspire children and unlock their imaginations. We believe high quality play leads to happier children and that happier children show more positive behaviours and attitudes, which creates effective minds ready for learning. increases mental well-being and critical thinking and resilience
We now offer a range of challenging and fun opportunities for our pupils to enjoy, encouraging them to develop their independence, teamwork and physical stamina. Children are the experts in their play and should have a strong influence over their play environment, through shaping it as well as adapting to it. The play environment contains a variety of diverse and flexible features, play props, loose parts and sensory experiences as well as physical equipment that children can respond to, interact with and change as they play.
Click here to see our video of welly week: https://bit.ly/37qwGxb
A range of research studies have found that the social, physical and mental benefits to children are vast. The children become more resilient, adaptable and are keen to try new experiences. As well as this, children are more engaged which facilitates positive play times. The children are provided with opportunities to challenge themselves and also to experience successes and failures. At Monkhouse, we are committed to providing these experiences for our children in a managed way.
As part of our ongoing commitment to improving our playgrounds we:
- use observations to identify areas for improvement in our policy and practice.
- consult children, parents, carers, staff and visitors and take into account their perspectives on the ‘feel’ of the setting when planning.
- review our practice and build the results into our planning for organisational and professional development.
- work closely with the pupil council, eco school, outdoor play and learning.(Opal) and lunchtime supervisors.
At Monkhouse, we offer a range of extra curricular activities to support and enrich learning in school. Over the course of the year, we offer opportunities for children to work collaboratively on adventurous play projects both in school and with our wider collaborative group of schools. Adventurous play club runs every half-term and are open to children in different year groups to ensure a fair opportunity is provided to all.
Useful Websites
www.hse.gov.uk 'The Statement on Managing Risk in Play Provision'