ABSTRACT
The success of outdoor play rests with the staff. It is only when the whole staff support and enjoy outdoor play that it will work. A teacher said to me that she was not keen on imaginative play and so she did not have it! Sadly this can be the fate of outdoor play. When viewed as a peripheral activity which may or may not be provided, then outdoor play will only have a peripheral effect on children’s learning. Where it is seen as a crucial part of education then it will be well provided for. As McMillan (1930) argues, the success of children’s learning rests with the teacher. Lally maintains that the role of the nursery teacher is a complex one; she sees it as a ‘dynamic occupation’ and one which requires continual investigation of themselves, the children and their families (1991: xi).
