ACADEMYCHILDCARE
Outdoor Play Area
The Academy Childcare and Party Zone has been awarded £10,000 from the North Yorkshire County Council for improving their outdoor play provision.
The grant from North Yorkshire's Early Years and Childcare Service is part of a £2.2 million initiative to support private, voluntary and independent settings in making improvements to their outdoor provision in order to provide quality outdoor play.
The Academy is using its grant to fund a total refurbishment and extension of their existing outdoor play area to include a story corner, messy outdoor area, digging area, vegetable patch and water feature, mark making area, a climbing wall and a Clatter Bridge to nowhere!!
Local setting manager, Sarah Butler, said: "We are thrilled to have been awarded backing from the local authority and this fund will enable us to develop further our outdoor play area so that the children can really benefit from the experiences that can only be provided outdoors - for instance we are investing in a large covered reading area, which will greatly help us to be outside whatever the weather! We hope to have the work complete by early September".
Julia Lowery, NYCC's Early Years & Childcare Manager explained:
"Children nowadays do not get to play outdoors as much as they should and can seriously be disadvantaged if they don't get the opportunity to do so. The outdoors offers experiences that you cannot provide indoors such as the natural environment, the great British weather, the space and outdoor activities such as gardening, digging in the soil and playing in the sand! Research has shown that these experiences are vital for children in developing their social, physical and mental abilities."
As part of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum for the under fives, children are expected to play and learn outdoors for at least 50% of their time whilst in childcare.
