Publications

Scotland’s Play Ranger Toolkit

Welcome to the newest edition of Scotland’s Play Ranger Toolkit. Scotland’s Play Ranger Toolkit has been developed by Thrive Outdoors, in collaboration with a number of Scottish charities who use the Play Ranger model throughout their delivery of outdoor play provision. With this in mind, this edition offers: a greater focus on skills that help

Practitioner’s Guide Bite-sized tips: outdoor play and our world

This week’s practitioner’s guide features bite-sized tips on community ownership and encouraging children and young people to care for our planet from Guest contributors Moira McCormick and Sam Skelton, The Concrete Garden. These informative tips link in with our latest podcast episode! #TuesdayTips

Practitioner’s Guide Bite-sized tips: Encouraging Participation in Winter

This week’s practitioner’s guide features bite-sized tips on encouraging participation in winter play from guest blogger Tony Stubbs,Playbourhood Coordinator at PEEK. #TuesdayTips

Practitioner’s Guide Bite-sized tips: Autumn Tips

This week’s practitioner’s guide features bite-sized tips on the best autumnal activities to try out. Download to read our 5 tips below. Read more of our foraging top tips. #TuesdayTips

Funders of Outdoor Play and Learning

Practitioners Guide: Storytelling, Drama & Creativity Outdoors

This week’s guest blog is from Emily Reid – Artistic Director and Founder of Eco Drama. In this blog she shares her thoughts on taking a creative, arts-based approach to outdoor learning and shares tips and ideas from Eco Drama’s Out to Play project which has been running in school and nursery playgrounds across Glasgow

Connection to Nature Activity

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. It’s time to re-connect with nature! This activity is one that the whole family can do that engages all our senses.

A Practitioner’s Guide: Connection to Nature

In this week’s #TuesdayTips guest blog we hear from our very own Jo Fitzpatrick- Learning Outdoors Development Officer here at Thrive Outdoors. Jo has extensive experience in outdoor education with the subject of her final masters thesis being on ‘Connection to Nature’. In this blog Jo shares some handy tips and activities you can

A Practitioner’s Guide: Forest Kindergarten Training

‘When we observed a Forest Kindergarten, I saw that the children were not afraid to climb trees to get mucky, but this is all positive risk taking. When children climb trees or get muddy, they are exploring and growing in resilience and confidence, it teaches them not to be afraid’- Mairead, Glasgow Clyde College

Therapeutic Powers of Play part 2

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play.. Part 2 for parents! In this week’s guest blog we hear from Deidre a play therapist based in Ireland who shares the therapeutic benefits of play and some handy play tips and activities for parents.

A Practitioner’s Guide: Therapeutic Powers of Play

‘Birds fly, fish swim, children play’ -Garry L. Landreth, Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship In this week’s guest blog we hear from Deidre a play therapist based in Ireland who shares the therapeutic benefits of play and some handy play tips and activities for both parents and practitioners.

A Practitioner’s Guide: Bringing more play to the school day!

‘There is an untapped resource of highly trained play professionals within many out of school services across Scotland. Let’s build on this model of partnership and educate the “whole child” within our schools. Let’s not only strive to make Scotland the best place to grow up but a super place to be educated in

Create a Mini Garden

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. It’s time to get creative in the garden… Looking for something fun and outdoors to do with the kids this weekend? well it’s time to head to the garden to get creative! The garden is the perfect place for some outdoor

A Practitioner’s Guide: Roberta’s Outdoor Learning Story

Roberta’s story- ‘My outdoor learning journey!’ Back in 2017, Thrive Outdoors started working with Glasgow City Council to create collaborative nursery partnerships across the city to explore outdoor play and learning. One of these partnerships was the Welly Wanderers led by the Jeely Piece Club and involving eight local nurseries in Castlemilk. We caught

Treasure Hunt

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. It’s time to go on a treasure hunt… Looking for something fun and outdoors to do with the kids this weekend? well it’s time to head to the beach so wrap up warm! The beach is the perfect place for some

A Practitioner’s Guide: Play and Wellbeing Tips

The power of play! This week’s blog is from us at Thrive to raise awareness of the benefits of play on a child’s mental health. As some of you may know it is Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week and we thought it might be useful to offer up some handy tips and activities for

A Practitioner’s Guide: Creativity in the outdoors

Time to embrace getting creative outdoors! This week’s guest blog is from Matt Searles -Head of Learning at Jupiter Artland. In this blog he shares his thoughts on taking a creative approach to outdoor learning and more on learning creativity in the outdoors.

Snow Castles

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. Do you wanna build a snow….castle?! Looking for something fun and outdoors to do with the kids this weekend? Here’s your chance to get outdoors, increase creativity and have some fun with this tactile snow themed activity.

A Practitioner’s Guide: The joy of wintertime outdoor play

Time to embrace winter weather! This week’s guest blog is from Dr Claire Warden from Mindstretchers Academy. In this blog Dr Claire shares how she believes embracing winter can bring about many new opportunities for outdoor play and learning as well as some top tips on keeping warm and dry. An interesting and informative

A Practitioner’s Guide: Home-Schooling Ideas for Outdoor Learning

Taking home-schooling outdoors! Top Tips for Incorporating Outdoor learning into your home-schooling schedule! Once again we all find ourselves in the midst of another lockdown with the prospect of becoming ‘teacher’ as well as parent again seeming rather daunting to many of us. But fear not the Thrive Outdoors team are on hand with

Fun in the Snow

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. Snow Activities Looking for something fun and outdoors to do with the kids this weekend? A chance to get outdoors and have some fun with these easy and simple snow themed activities.

A Practitioner’s Guide: Top 20 tips of 2020

It was amazing to see how outdoor play and learning was fully embraced this year in spite of all the challenges. We all realised just how important the outdoors is- not just for our children but for the WHOLE family. As we face yet more restrictions at the start of the new year –

Leaf printing

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. Leaf printing Looking for something fun and outdoors to do with the kids this weekend? A chance to get crafty with materials you have gathered outdoors! Collecting leaves of different shapes and colours is also a great opportunity to learn about

A Practitioner’s Guide: Play in Primary Schools

It’s a Primary School takeover! This week’s guest blogger is Natalie Campbell, Education and Outreach manager & Forest school manager at Earthtime who shares her top tips for incorporating Play in Primary Schools! Free play at any age or stage allows for opportunities to be creative, test and develop problem solving skills, build relationships

Pine Cone Bird feeder

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. Pine Cone Bird Feeder Looking for something fun and outdoors to do with the kids this weekend? Gather materials to make a pine cone feeder for your flying friends in the garden!

A Practitioner’s Guide: Getting started with Bushcraft

Its a Scout leader takeover! This week’s guest blogger is Ignacio Luna Borras – Scout leader and founder of Earth Nature Adventures who shares his hints and tips on getting started with Bushcraft and how it can offer up the opportunity to experience more outdoor learning and the chance to connect more deeply with

Nature Mandala

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. Nature Mandala Looking for something fun and outdoors to do with the kids this weekend? What sort of treasures can you collect to make a stunning nature mandala with!

A Practitioner’s Guide: Lets talk Cohorts

Are you interested in learning more about what forest school nursery involves? and how it can offer up the opportunity to experience more outdoor play and learning…then our latest blog is for you! This week’s guest blogger is Zoe Sills, Nursery Manager at Earthtime Forest School Nursery. Zoe shares all her hints and tips

A Practitioner’s Guide: Flexi-schooling Fun

Are you a parent or carer interested in learning more about flexi-schooling and how it can offer up the opportunity to experience outdoor play and learning…then our latest blog is for you! This week’s guest blogger is Gemma Craigie-Sharland, Performance and Impact advisor here at Inspiring Scotland featuring her daughter.Gemma shares more on what

A Practitioner’s Guide: Getting Started

Are you a nursery looking to do more outdoor play but aren’t sure where to start? This week’s guest blogger is Vicki Shiels, manager of the Waterfront Nursery in Edinburgh. The Waterfront team have recently started on an exciting new outdoor adventure and this blog shares some of their first steps and tips to

A Practitioner’s Guide: Childminder Takeover 1

Are you a childminder looking to do more outdoor play but aren’t sure where to start? Childminder extraordinaire Emma Smith is this week’s guest blogger, revealing her secrets to embracing and enjoying every opportunity to get outside. It’s a childminder takeover!

A Practitioner’s Guide: Experiences

The third of a series exploring the Play Pedagogy shared principles; interactions, spaces and experiences. We know that learning experiences provided in the earliest months and years in a child’s life are critical for their future success in life – here are a few key experiences that can make a big impact on the development

A Practitioner’s Guide: Spaces

Is going outdoors like stepping into the unknown? Alastair Davidson shares his approach to establishing an outdoor space for use in the early years.

A Practitioner’s Guide: Interactions

Interactions are where the powers of nature and human nature meet. Dr Lynn McNair of Cowgate Under 5s Centre in Edinburgh talks fish faces, strong air, and enjoying the magic of discovery in this week’s guide exploring child and adult interactions in the outdoor environment.

Supporting Outdoor Childcare Provision A3 Guide

This printable A3 guide is designed to show the range of possibilities when designing or developing high quality outdoor childcare provision. The guide includes examples of practice combined with site-specific and appropriate design and covers: site & access, shelter, toilets & handwashing, eating, clothing and play material . You may also find the Outdoor ELC

A Practitioner’s Guide: Foraging

Are you worried you don’t know your edible mushrooms from your less ‘savoury’ kind? Are you just not sure what it is or where to start? We asked a couple of foraging experts, Hamish from Baltic Street Adventure Playground and to Zoe at Earthtime for foraging know-how!

Loose Parts Play Toolkit

Welcome to the second edition of the Loose Parts Play Toolkit. In this edition, we have tried to reflect the changing context. Loose parts for play are a more familiar sight, but their introduction is still providing a learning and development experience for adults and organisations, as much as for children. With this in mind,

A Practitioner’s Guide: Animal antics

We would love to have animals at our setting, we’re just not sure where to start. We asked practitioners who have pets on their site just how they manage…

Nature scavenger hunt

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. Nature scavenger hunt What sort of treasure can you find outdoors?

A Practitioner’s Guide: Unpacking Pedagogy – Part 2

What is pedagogy? It’s in all the documents, but we are not really sure what it is… Pedagogy is defined as the study of the methods and activities of teaching – but how does this relate to your work as an outdoor play practitioner? And how on earth do you pronounce it? Find out more

Spread your wings

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. Spread your wings How many different birds can you find in your local area…

A Practitioner’s Guide: Unpacking Pedagogy

The world’s oldest toy

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. The world’s oldest toy What can you build with twigs and sticks…

A Practitioners’ Guide: ‘We can’t live without’

What are the top must-have tips for Outdoor ELC? We asked outdoor practitioners from across the country for their ultimate all time TOP TIP. For tips that save your socks and your sanity, look no further!

Drawing with chalk

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. Drawing with chalk Unleash your creative side…

A practitioner’s guide: Knots and Ropes

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. “Help! How do tie knots and what rope do I use?” Tying knots can get us into a real tangle. They can look so…complicated. Never fear, our on the ground practitioners tell us that just five knots can cover most situations

Wild side

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. A walk on the wild side Take a walk with a difference…

A practitioner’s guide: Tarp Tips

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. “Tarp is one of the best bits of kit for Outdoor ELC?? What can I do with it??” A tarp is one of the most useful resources in a practitioner’s backpack and is one of our essential pieces of kit for

Bug Hunting

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. Bug Hunting We know about going on a bear hunt. But what about a bug hunt…

A practitioner’s guide: Five Minute Fires

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. “Help – Everyone’s talking about fires but how do you actually build one?” For a fire first timer, building a fire outdoors can be scary. The good news is, by following a few simple steps you too can enjoy the benefits

Cloud Gazing

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. Cloud Gazing Take some time out to relax and watch the clouds. Here’s how.

A practitioner’s guide: What to wear for children

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. “Help – I’m starting Outdoor Nursery, what should I wear?” Being outside is so exciting, there is just so much to explore! But what should a mud-exploring little adventurer wear for outdoor nursery/forest kindergarten? This guide takes a closer look at

A practitioner’s guide: Handsfree handwashing

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. “Help – What is a tippy tap?” How can you make handwashing handsfree? Follow this guide to making your own tippy tap.

A practitioner’s guide: Outdoor ELC Can’t or won’t?

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. “Help – I know I should be outside, but I’m stuck” Taking the first steps to learning about the outdoors can be a bit daunting and some of us simply haven’t got the ‘outdoors’ bug. This guide is here to help

A practitioner’s guide to What to Wear

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. Help – We have no idea what to wear outdoors The right clothing is key to ensuring that time outdoors with children is as enjoyable as possible. A little planning and thought can prevent us from being distracted and/or miserable due

A practitioner’s guide to hand drying

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. Help! – How do we dry hands, kill germs and save the planet? Cleanliness of hands after washing is a priority, so how important is hand drying, in achieving clean hands? The transmission of bacteria is more likely to occur from

A practitioner’s guide to Shelter

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play. One of the most frequently asked questions in outdoor ELC is, what happens when it rains? The perfect solution to any Scottish weather is to get the children motivated and build yourselves a shelter. This guide covers popular techniques from pallet and

Resource: Covid-19 weekly intelligence gathering

Each week Inspiring Scotland staff produce a Covid-19 intelligence report providing an overview of the key issues being reported by the 300 charities Inspiring Scotland supports across its funds. These initially were developed as an internal resource to help highlight issues as they emerge, help to predict what is needed in the months ahead, and

A practitioner’s guide to handwashing

Part of Thrive Outdoors downloadable series of resources developed to support outdoor play.

The Play Cards Series

Chalk drawing, denbuilding, crazy races, islands and sharks, nature activity, rainbow road and cloud gazing – just some ideas for play in this series of Play Cards. Part of Thrive Outdoors Make Time For Outdoor Play – 17 downloadable play card resources developed to support outdoor play during COVID-19. 01 Drawing with chalk 02 Building