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Practical Strategies for Supporting Outdoor Play

Strategy 1: Balance the Environment
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Outdoor environments should include a mix of open spaces and engaging features to support different types of play behaviours. While open areas provide space for movement, they may not always support sustained or diverse play on their own. children to feel independent and 'hidden.'
Balance of Spheres
Why this matters
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Research indicates that while children’s participation in play is most likely to occur in open areas (46.3%), these spaces alone often provide fewer opportunities for diverse play (Ramsden et al., 2025). To reduce "onlooker" (non-play) behaviour, educators should balance open spaces with high-engagement features.
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What this looks like in practice

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  • Add engaging features: Include elements such as sand areas, climbing structures, gardening spaces, or water play to provide clear opportunities for children to engage in play.
     

  • Create different play areas: Organize the outdoor environment into smaller areas that support different types of play, such as physical play, imaginative play, or quiet exploration.
     

  • Support play entry: Providing materials and defined spaces can help children understand how to begin or join play, especially in less structured environments.
     

  • Encourage movement between spaces: Arrange features so children can move between different areas and extend their play ideas across the environment.
     

Strategy 2: Intentionally Include Loose Parts
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Most childcare playgrounds include fixed equipment, such as slides, swings, and climbing structures. While these features support physical play, they often suggest how children should use them. In contrast, loose parts do not have a fixed purpose. This allows children to use materials in different ways based on their own ideas, which supports more creative and flexible play experiences.
Balance of Spheres
Why this matters
Flannigan & Dietze (2018) indicates that loose parts are the primary driver of symbolic play. This is the stage of development where a child assigns new meaning to an object (e.g., a tree cookie becomes a "cookie" in a mud kitchen). This transformation is a key indicator of cognitive flexibility.

What this looks like in practice

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  • Include larger materials: Add items such as large tires, wooden boards, tree stumps, and crates. These materials allow children to build, move, and change their environment, which supports more active and creative play.
     

  • Use natural loose parts: Include materials with different textures, such as pinecones, stones, sticks, and seed pods. These materials support sensory exploration and encourage imaginative and symbolic play 
     

  • Change materials over time: Rotate materials or move them to different areas to keep the environment interesting. This helps maintain children’s curiosity and supports new play ideas.

Strategy 3: Use Varied Terrain to Support Physical Development
Standardized playgrounds are often flat and covered with materials such as rubber. While these environments support safety, they may offer fewer opportunities for children to develop balance (vestibular system) and body awareness (proprioception). In contrast, natural environments provide more varied conditions that support physical development.
Balance of Spheres

Storli et al. (2024) found that uneven ground and changes in elevation are important features in outdoor environments. These elements are not just part of the setting. They support children’s movement and play. Surfaces such as sand, mulch, or soil can shift under children’s feet. This requires children to adjust their balance and movements. These experiences support the development of coordination, balance, and physical strength. Ramsden et al. (2025) also identified that features such as tricycle paths and sloped terrain support active physical play. These spaces encourage children to engage in repeated movements such as climbing, sliding, and jumping. This can help sustain children’s participation in physical activity.

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  • Add changes in elevation: Include small hills, slopes, or raised areas to encourage climbing, rolling, and balancing.
     

  • Use different surface types: Provide a mix of surfaces such as grass, soil, sand, and woodchips to support different types of movement and play.
     

  • Encourage active movement: Design spaces that invite running, jumping, balancing, and climbing through varied terrain.
     

  • Connect play areas: Arrange features so children can move between spaces and continue their play across the environment.

What this looks like in practice

Strategy 4: Support Appropriate Risk-Taking in Outdoor Play
Outdoor environments should include opportunities for challenge to support children’s development. Not all risk is unsafe. It is important to distinguish between hazards and challenges. Hazards are dangers that children may not be able to recognize, while challenges are manageable risks that children can see and choose to engage with during play.
Balance of Spheres

Research suggests that removing all elements of risk can also remove opportunities for children to learn how to keep themselves safe (Ramsden et al., 2025). When outdoor environments do not include enough challenge, children may have fewer chances to develop the ability to understand their own physical limits. This may increase the risk of injury because children have not had opportunities to practice these skills. Providing opportunities for risky play, such as height, speed, or using tools, can support children’s self-regulation (Storli et al., 2024). Through these experiences, children learn to understand their bodies and make decisions about when to continue or stop. This helps build confidence, independence, and a sense of control in their play .

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  • Provide manageable challenges: Include opportunities for climbing, balancing, and movement that allow children to test their abilities.
     

  • Ensure safety while allowing challenge: Remove hazards, but allow children to experience appropriate levels of risk in a safe environment.
     

  • Support children’s decision-making: Encourage children to think about their actions, such as asking how they plan to move or solve a problem.
     

  • Offer different levels of challenge: Provide a range of options so children can choose activities that match their abilities and confidence.

What this looks like in practice

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