100 Ways to Improve Outdoor Provision for SEND Learners
Creating effective outdoor provision for SEND learners does not have to mean buying specialist equipment, filling the playground with expensive resources, or creating completely separate activities.
In fact, some of the most inclusive outdoor spaces are the simplest.
For children with SEND, the outdoors can offer something the classroom often cannot: more space, fewer physical restrictions, opportunities for movement, sensory regulation, meaningful repetition, practical learning and freedom to explore in a way that suits the individual child.
However, simply opening the door is not enough.
Good SEND outdoor provision should be carefully considered so that children with sensory differences, communication needs, physical needs, autism, ADHD, SEMH needs and cognition and learning differences can participate, regulate and succeed.
Here are 100 practical ways to improve outdoor provision for SEND learners.
New to this area of learning? Head to the Beginner’s Guide to Outdoor Learning for SEND learners.
Explore our SEND outdoor learning training, practical resources and professional development, or start with our 60-day free trial to discover ideas for EYFS, KS1 and KS2.
You can also sign up for our free Muddy Puddle Teacher magazine for regular outdoor learning ideas, SEND support and seasonal inspiration.
Why Is Outdoor Provision Important for SEND Learners?
Outdoor learning can reduce some of the demands children experience indoors.
There is often more room to move.
Children can communicate through actions rather than words.
Learning can become physical and concrete.
Natural sensory experiences can replace overwhelming artificial ones.
Children can repeat an activity without feeling rushed towards the next outcome.
For some SEND learners, outdoor provision can be the place where adults finally see what the child can do rather than constantly focusing on what they find difficult.
The aim should not be to make every child interact with the outdoors in the same way.
The aim is to create an environment flexible enough for children to access it in their own way.
100 Ways to Improve SEND Outdoor Provision
Create a Calm and Predictable Outdoor Environment
1. Reduce unnecessary clutter
Too many resources can be visually overwhelming. Begin with fewer, open-ended materials and gradually add resources according to children’s interests.
2. Create clearly defined zones
Use planters, chalk lines, crates or natural boundaries to distinguish areas for construction, movement, sensory play and quieter activities.
3. Keep the basic layout consistent
Some learners benefit enormously from knowing where things belong and what they can expect to find outside.
4. Avoid changing everything at once
Introduce changes gradually so that children have time to process new resources and routines.
5. Create a quiet outdoor space
Include somewhere children can retreat without leaving the outdoor area altogether.
6. Add simple seating
Logs, benches, cushions, crates or mats can provide places to rest and observe.
7. Consider noise levels
Move especially noisy equipment away from quieter areas wherever possible.
8. Reduce unnecessary adult-created displays
Outdoor provision does not need to resemble a decorated classroom.
9. Use neutral storage
Simple baskets, crates and boxes can reduce visual overload.
10. Allow children to observe before participating
Watching is participation too.
Improve Communication Outdoors
11. Take visual timetables outside
If a child uses visual supports indoors, continue using them outdoors.
12. Use now-and-next boards
These can help children understand what is happening and what comes afterwards.
13. Add photographs to storage
Show children where equipment belongs through images rather than relying only on written labels.
14. Use object cues
An object such as a watering can, bucket or ball can help children understand what is about to happen.
15. Use simple consistent language
Reduce long explanations and use short phrases alongside actions.
16. Allow extra processing time
Avoid repeating instructions immediately after giving them.
17. Introduce outdoor communication boards
Include key words such as more, stop, help, finished, go, water, toilet, cold and break.
18. Model gestures
Pointing, showing and demonstrating can support understanding.
19. Use Makaton or signs consistently
Ensure outdoor staff understand any signing systems used by the child.
20. Accept non-verbal communication
Pulling an adult towards something, pointing, facial expression and body language are meaningful forms of communication.
Support Sensory Regulation
21. Provide opportunities for pushing
Wheelbarrows, crates and heavy loose parts can provide valuable proprioceptive input.
22. Provide opportunities for pulling
Ropes, carts and baskets can give children purposeful heavy-work experiences.
23. Include things to carry
Buckets of sand, water, sticks or stones naturally encourage physical effort.
24. Provide digging opportunities
Digging can be deeply regulating for some children.
25. Include water play
Water can offer calming repetition and cause-and-effect exploration.
26. Create opportunities for climbing
Climbing supports proprioception, balance and confidence.
27. Include balancing experiences
Logs, planks and low-level pathways can help children develop body awareness.
28. Allow repetitive movement
Running the same route or transporting objects repeatedly may be serving an important regulatory purpose.
29. Provide enclosed spaces
Small dens or shelters can help children who need reduced sensory input.
30. Create open spaces too
Other children regulate by moving rapidly through large spaces.
Think About Sensory Sensitivities
31. Provide gloves for messy experiences
Children do not have to touch mud, sand or natural materials directly in order to participate.
32. Allow tools instead of hands
Offer scoops, sticks, paintbrushes, tongs and spades.
33. Introduce messy materials gradually
Do not force children to put their hands into unfamiliar textures.
34. Have towels easily available
Knowing they can clean their hands immediately can reduce anxiety.
35. Provide dry alternatives
A child who dislikes mud might prefer stones, bark, leaves or dry sand.
36. Consider wet clothing
Being unexpectedly wet can be deeply uncomfortable for some SEND learners.
37. Offer suitable waterproofs
Comfortable clothing can make outdoor participation much easier.
38. Provide ear defenders where appropriate
Busy playgrounds can become extremely noisy.
39. Think about glare and sunlight
Hats, shaded areas and sunglasses may help children sensitive to bright light.
40. Do not assume every child enjoys nature
Some children may need time to become comfortable with insects, mud, wind, grass or unfamiliar textures.
Make Outdoor Play More Accessible
41. Keep pathways wide
Ensure children using wheelchairs or mobility equipment can move between activities.
42. Check surfaces
Loose gravel, deep mud and uneven ground can create unnecessary barriers.
43. Raise activities where necessary
Use tables, planters or trays that children can access from standing or seated positions.
44. Provide resources at different heights
Not every activity needs to be presented at ground level.
45. Create accessible mud kitchens
Leave space underneath work surfaces for wheelchair access.
46. Use lightweight resources alongside heavier ones
Children should have genuine choices about how they participate.
47. Position popular resources within easy reach
Avoid creating situations where children always have to ask adults to access materials.
48. Provide stable seating
Some children need greater postural support.
49. Create short accessible routes
Outdoor experiences do not always need to involve large distances.
50. Audit the environment from a child’s perspective
Move through the provision at their height and consider what is accessible.
Use Loose Parts
51. Introduce large cardboard boxes
A box can become a den, vehicle, shop, sensory retreat or construction material.
52. Use cardboard tubes
They can become ramps, telescopes, channels or building materials.
53. Add wooden blocks
Large blocks allow children to construct without predetermined outcomes.
54. Offer logs and tree slices
These can be stacked, transported, counted, balanced and arranged.
55. Use crates
Crates support building, transporting, climbing and imaginative play.
56. Add buckets
Buckets encourage filling, carrying, pouring and sorting.
57. Collect sticks
They can become tools, characters, bridges, writing implements or construction materials.
58. Use stones
Stones can support sorting, counting, patterns, imaginative play and sensory exploration.
59. Include fabric
Fabric can create dens, costumes, boundaries or hiding spaces.
60. Avoid telling children what every resource is for
Open-ended resources allow SEND learners to engage according to their own interests and developmental stage.
Support Autistic Learners Outdoors
61. Preview outdoor sessions
Let children know what they are likely to encounter.
62. Keep familiar resources available
Do not assume children always want novelty.
63. Build activities around strong interests
Numbers, vehicles, dinosaurs, maps or letters can all be incorporated outdoors.
64. Allow repeated play schemas
Repetition is not something adults always need to interrupt.
65. Reduce demands during regulation
A child who is overwhelmed may need time before communication or learning expectations are introduced.
66. Provide clear transition warnings
Give notice before returning indoors.
67. Use countdowns
A visual or verbal countdown can support transitions.
68. Offer a consistent outdoor entry routine
Familiar routines can make the transition outside easier.
69. Let children use preferred regulation tools
This may include headphones, chew tools or comfort objects.
70. Avoid forcing group participation
Parallel or independent outdoor play can be highly valuable.
20 Outdoor Ideas for a Child Who Loves Tree Branches, Throwing & Pulling Things Down
Support ADHD and Movement Needs
71. Build movement into learning
Do not expect children to sit outdoors simply because the lesson has moved outside.
72. Create running routes
Give energetic movement a purposeful and safe outlet.
73. Use scavenger hunts
Searching can combine movement, attention and curriculum learning.
74. Incorporate carrying jobs
Transporting equipment can provide useful movement breaks.
75. Use short learning bursts
Outdoor lessons do not need lengthy teacher explanations.
76. Allow children to stand
Sitting still should not be a requirement unless necessary.
77. Use large-scale resources
Large chalk, giant numbers and big construction materials can increase engagement.
78. Add climbing before focused learning
Physical regulation may support concentration afterwards.
79. Give purposeful responsibilities
Watering plants, collecting cones or organising equipment can support regulation and self-esteem.
80. Avoid removing outdoor time as a consequence
Children who struggle with regulation may need movement and outdoor access most.
Support SEMH and Nurture Outdoors
81. Create low-demand spaces
Not every outdoor interaction needs a learning objective.
82. Use side-by-side activities
Digging, gardening or building can allow conversations without direct eye contact.
83. Give children responsibility
Looking after plants or equipment can create belonging.
84. Use predictable routines
Regular outdoor sessions can provide security.
85. Allow children to choose activities
Choice can reduce feelings of powerlessness.
86. Focus on connection before correction
Outdoor spaces can offer valuable opportunities for relationship building.
87. Use natural materials for regulation
Sand, soil, water, sticks and stones can provide repetitive calming experiences.
88. Create achievable challenges
Small successes can rebuild confidence.
89. Celebrate process rather than product
Notice persistence, curiosity and problem-solving.
90. Avoid using outdoor learning only as a reward
Access to outdoor learning should form part of inclusive everyday provision.
Improve Adult Practice
91. Observe before intervening
Adults often interrupt meaningful play too quickly.
92. Ask fewer questions
Constant questioning can create unnecessary pressure.
93. Narrate instead
Statements such as “You’ve moved all those stones” can support language without demanding a response.
94. Follow the child’s interests
Use what already motivates the learner.
95. Stop expecting one outcome
Children do not need to complete identical tasks for learning to be valid.
96. Think regulation before behaviour
Consider what a child may be communicating through their actions.
97. Share strategies across the team
Outdoor staff should understand children’s communication and regulation needs.
98. Include outdoor provision in SEND planning
Outdoor learning should be considered within provision mapping and individual support.
99. Ask families what works outside school
Parents and carers may know which sensory experiences, routines or environments a child enjoys.
100. Start with the child, not the diagnosis
Two children with the same diagnosis may require completely different provision.
What Does Outstanding SEND Outdoor Provision Look Like?
Effective outdoor provision for SEND learners is rarely about having more equipment.
It is about having fewer barriers.
The strongest environments usually offer:
- space to move
- places to retreat
- predictable routines
- accessible communication
- sensory choice
- open-ended resources
- flexible expectations
- adults who understand regulation
- opportunities for independence
- genuine child-led play
Children should not have to fit themselves around the outdoor environment.
Where possible, the environment should adapt around them.
Outdoor Provision for SEND in the EYFS
Within the EYFS, outdoor provision is particularly important because young children learn through movement, exploration, sensory experiences and play.
For SEND learners, this becomes even more significant.
Instead of creating multiple adult-led activities, consider providing a stripped-back environment containing flexible resources such as:
- cardboard boxes
- crates
- buckets
- water
- sand
- mud
- logs
- sticks
- fabric
- chalk
- wheeled resources
- simple construction materials
These resources allow children to explore at their own developmental level without adults deciding what the finished outcome should look like.
This is particularly valuable within EYFS SEND outdoor provision, where children’s communication, sensory and play needs may vary enormously.
Should SEND Learners Have Separate Outdoor Activities?
Usually, no.
Inclusion should not mean creating a completely separate outdoor curriculum.
Instead, consider how the same experience can be made accessible in different ways.
One child may collect natural objects.
Another may carry the bucket.
Another may communicate which object comes next using symbols.
Another may watch.
Another may repeatedly pour the materials from one container to another.
Another may use the objects for imaginative play.
They are all participating.
Inclusive practice allows for multiple legitimate ways of taking part.
Final Thought: Strip Back Before You Add More
When outdoor provision is not working for SEND learners, our instinct is often to add something.
Another sensory tray.
Another activity.
Another resource.
Another intervention.
Sometimes the most effective improvement is to remove something instead.
Reduce the clutter.
Reduce the noise.
Reduce the instructions.
Reduce the adult control.
Then increase:
space, movement, communication, choice, repetition and connection.
That is where truly inclusive outdoor provision begins.
Explore More SEND Outdoor Learning Support
At The Muddy Puddle Teacher®, we help schools, nurseries and practitioners build inclusive outdoor learning provision that works for real children in real settings.
Explore our SEND outdoor learning training, practical resources and professional development, or start with our 60-day free trial to discover ideas for EYFS, KS1 and KS2.
You can also sign up for our free Muddy Puddle Teacher magazine for regular outdoor learning ideas, SEND support and seasonal inspiration.
Because outdoor learning should be accessible to every learner.
