Exploring outdoor spaces

• I can stay inside the boundary
• I can move in different ways outside
• I can spot and point to things I find

• Understanding the World: explore the natural world around them
• Physical Development: negotiate space and obstacles safely, with consideration for themselves and others
• Gross Motor Skills ELG: move energetically, such as running, jumping, dancing, hopping, skipping and climbing

1. Walk like it's sunny, windy (blow about), rainy (jump puddles), snowy (big slow steps).
2. Freeze on the whistle.

We are explorers in our own playground. Walk the boundary together and point to each feature on the picture cards. Explain the whistle means 'come back to me'.

Organisation: 7 minutes. Whole class moving individually within the 16-cone boundary, with a clear central meeting space. Teacher stands where the whole area is visible and holds the whistle; any additional adult watches the far side. No equipment carried by children and no queues.

1. Gather children at the meeting point. Say, 'We are explorers. Show me the edge of our exploring space.' Children point to the cone boundary.
2. Demonstrate marching. Say, 'Find a clear path and march.' Children spread out and march inside the boundary.
3. Call 'Tiptoe like a quiet fox', then later 'Gallop like a pony'. Children change movement, looking ahead and travelling through empty spaces.
4. Blow the whistle once. Children stop their exploring and walk back to the teacher, spreading into a loose semicircle.
5. Repeat short exploring rounds, changing the order of movements. Finish with everyone walking back and pointing towards one feature they noticed.

Organisation: 7 minutes. Whole class spreads around each viewing area rather than lining up at the feature. Teacher holds the six picture cards and stands to keep both the feature and approach routes visible. Any additional adult stands near a narrow approach to redirect children to a roomier viewing position.

1. Show a picture card of a feature that is visible from within the boundary. Name it together and say, 'Look first. Where is it?' Children scan the space.
2. Say, 'Walk towards it. Stop where you can see it.' Children approach from different directions and point without crowding around the feature.
3. Where touching is safe and accessible, invite nearby children to touch gently; everyone else points from their own space.
4. Say, 'Back to our middle.' Children walk to the meeting space. Invite a brief observation such as 'The fence is tall.'
5. Repeat with other relevant cards. For a card whose feature is outside the boundary, children stay inside and point towards it.

Organisation: 7 minutes. Divide the class into search groups of 3–4, each starting at a different feature or section of a feature within the existing boundary. Distribute the 30 stickers across these patches, with one available per child for a class of up to 30. Teacher stands centrally with a view of the search area; any additional adult moves between patches and helps with peeling.

1. Before the lesson, adults place the 30 stickers on permitted, easy-peel surfaces at safe features, spread across several search patches. Leave a peelable edge and vary how easy they are to spot.
2. At the meeting point, say, 'Find one sticker, then bring it back. Leave the others for our friends.' Demonstrate looking carefully and peeling gently.
3. Send small groups towards different search patches at the same time. Children walk, scan the features and each collect one sticker.
4. Children return by walking and hold up their sticker from a spread-out space near the teacher. The teacher acknowledges each find without making a collection queue.
5. Children who have found one become pointing guides: they walk beside a still-searching partner and offer clues without taking another sticker. Finish with everyone sharing where they found theirs.

1. Sit or lie down quietly; listen for 3 outdoor sounds.
2. Share what you heard.

• Check the area for litter, glass, wet or icy patches and uneven ground
• Agree the boundary and a 'meeting point' signal (whistle = come back to the teacher)
• Suitable clothing and footwear for the weather
• For Spot it!, designate drains and flower beds as pointing-only features: children must not lift covers, put fingers into gaps or step into planted areas.
• For Sticker hunt, place stickers only where they can be reached with feet or wheels on the ground; never beneath benches or where children would need to climb or reach through fencing.
• During Explorer walk, keep galloping routes away from fixed features and change to walking before entering the meeting space.