Course Summary
Build your confidence in creating meaningful, child-led outdoor play experiences with this practical and flexible Level 1 nursery training course.
This course will help nursery practitioners make better use of everyday outdoor spaces through movement, open-ended play, natural materials and simple reusable resources.
You will explore how outdoor play can support communication, physical development, emotional wellbeing, creativity, independence, relationships and early learning.
The course focuses on realistic nursery environments. You do not need woodland, expensive play structures or a perfectly designed outdoor area. A garden, courtyard, playground or small outdoor space can provide rich opportunities when children are given time, freedom, suitable resources and responsive adult support.
You will also learn how to balance child-led exploration with purposeful adult interaction without turning outdoor play into a timetable of adult-directed activities.
Course Level
Level 1: Starter Level
Ideal for nursery practitioners who are new to outdoor play or would like simple, achievable ideas to strengthen their current outdoor provision.
Time to Complete
Complete the course online and work through each module at your own pace.
You can pause between modules, try the ideas in your nursery and return to reflect on what worked well.
What’s Included?
Practical training videos, inspiring podcast content, simple tasks to try in your nursery, outdoor play demonstrations, ideas using natural and reusable resources, guidance for supporting babies, toddlers and preschool children, strategies for developing communication and child-led play, inclusive ideas for children with SEND, downloadable prompts and practical planning support, a CPD certificate on completion and a special course crest to display within your nursery, setting, website or business.
Module Content
Module 1: What Is Meaningful Outdoor Play?
Explore what high-quality outdoor play looks like in a nursery setting.
Learn how outdoor play differs from outdoor lessons, adult-led activities and Forest School.
Discover why outdoor provision should offer children different experiences from those available indoors, including larger movement, weather, natural materials, transporting, construction and sensory exploration.
Upgrade to a Gold Account to Access This Course
Module 2: Why Outdoor Play Matters in the Early Years
Explore how outdoor play supports children’s learning and development across the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Learn how regular outdoor experiences can encourage communication, physical confidence, independence, creativity, curiosity, problem-solving and positive relationships.
This module also considers why babies, toddlers and preschool children need time to repeat experiences and develop their own ideas.
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Module 3: Understanding Child-Led Play
Discover how children use play to explore ideas, practise skills and make sense of their experiences.
Learn how to recognise when children are deeply engaged and why adults do not always need to introduce a new activity.
Explore how to offer freedom and choice while maintaining clear boundaries and a safe environment.
Module 4: The Role of the Adult Outdoors
Learn how adults can support play through observation, modelling, commenting and thoughtful interaction.
Explore when to join children’s play, when to introduce new vocabulary and when to step back.
Discover how too many questions or adult instructions can interrupt children’s concentration and ownership.
Module 5: Creating a Simple Nursery Outdoor Toolkit
Discover how open-ended resources can support many different types of play.
Useful resources may include buckets, crates, fabric, hoops, rope, chalk, cardboard tubes, bamboo canes, pots, brushes, spoons, containers and natural loose parts.
Learn how to create a small, affordable toolkit that can be reused throughout the year rather than preparing new themed activities every day.
Module 6: Supporting Communication and Language Outdoors
Explore how outdoor play creates meaningful opportunities for shared attention, conversation, storytelling and new vocabulary.
Learn how adults can use simple comments, repeated phrases, choices and pauses to support children’s communication.
Activities may include role play, den building, transporting, water play, nature exploration and imaginative small-world play.
Module 7: Physical Development Through Outdoor Play
Discover how outdoor provision can support gross-motor development, coordination, balance, strength and spatial awareness.
Explore opportunities for carrying, pushing, pulling, climbing, balancing, digging, throwing and large-scale construction.
Learn how to provide physical challenge while adapting experiences for different ages and abilities.
Module 8: Outdoor Play for Babies and Toddlers
Explore how babies and toddlers can benefit from safe movement, sensory exploration, fresh air and close interaction with familiar adults.
Learn how to create simple experiences involving texture, sound, movement, containers, water, natural objects and cause and effect.
This module considers supervision, mouthing, mobility, shade, warmth and the need for predictable routines.
Module 9: Imaginative and Creative Outdoor Play
Discover how ordinary resources can become almost anything in a child’s imagination.
Children may use crates as vehicles, fabric as a den, sticks as cooking tools or chalk marks as roads and maps.
Learn how to encourage role play, storytelling, music, movement and temporary art without preparing a finished outcome for children to copy.
Module 10: Sand, Water, Mud and Sensory Play
Explore how sand, water, mud and natural materials can support investigation, communication, coordination and scientific thinking.
Learn how to provide sensory opportunities while respecting individual preferences.
Children should never be forced to touch messy or unfamiliar materials. Alternative tools, gloves, containers and observation choices can help more children participate.
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Module 11: Supporting Early Maths Through Play
Discover how outdoor play naturally creates opportunities for counting, comparison, pattern, shape, measure and positional language.
Children may fill containers, compare sticks, count objects, build structures, create patterns or use words such as full, empty, taller, underneath and beside.
Learn how adults can notice and extend mathematical thinking without turning every play experience into a formal maths lesson.
Module 12: Supporting Early Literacy Outdoors
Explore how stories, songs, mark-making, environmental print and imaginative play can support early literacy.
Children may make large chalk marks, create signs for their role play, retell familiar stories or notice sounds in the environment.
Learn how to provide meaningful reasons for children to communicate and make marks without relying on worksheets.
Module 13: Nature Play and Understanding the World
Discover how children can explore weather, plants, minibeasts, seasonal change and natural materials through everyday outdoor play.
Learn how to encourage careful observation, curiosity and respect for living things.
This module focuses on small experiences that can happen in ordinary nursery grounds rather than requiring access to woodland.
Module 14: Supporting Positive Relationships Outdoors
Explore how outdoor play can help children practise sharing space, negotiating, cooperating and resolving disagreements.
Learn how adults can support conflict without immediately taking control of the play.
Discover how predictable routines, enough time and flexible resources can reduce frustration and competition.
Module 15: Inclusive Outdoor Play for Children with SEND
Learn how to adapt outdoor provision for children with sensory differences, communication needs, physical disabilities, anxiety and developmental differences.
Explore visual prompts, quieter areas, familiar routines, accessible equipment and different ways to participate.
The aim is not for every child to play in the same way. It is for every child to have meaningful opportunities to explore, communicate and make choices.
Module 16: Creating Calm and Predictable Transitions
Discover practical ways to help children move between indoors and outdoors.
Explore visual timetables, familiar songs, small-group transitions, clear storage routines and calm preparation for clothing and footwear.
Learn how predictable transitions can reduce waiting, anxiety and unnecessary conflict.
Module 17: Outdoor Safety and Appropriate Risk
Develop confidence in supporting play that is both safe and appropriately challenging.
Explore supervision, boundaries, equipment checks, weather, clothing, hygiene and the difference between hazards and manageable risks.
Learn how children can gradually develop judgement, coordination and confidence through supported exploration.
Module 18: Reviewing Your Outdoor Environment
Use a simple audit to examine how your nursery outdoor space currently works.
Consider movement, communication, quiet spaces, construction, sensory experiences, nature, creativity and access for children with different needs.
Identify which resources are used well, which areas create barriers and what small changes could have the greatest impact.
Module 19: Your Nursery Outdoor Play Challenge
Complete a practical task within your own setting by introducing one manageable improvement.
You might add a small collection of loose parts, improve a quiet area, change an adult interaction strategy, simplify resources or create more opportunities for transporting and construction.
Observe how the children respond and reflect on what you would continue, remove or develop further.
Who Is It For?
This course is ideal for nursery practitioners, nursery nurses, room leaders, Early Years teachers, teaching assistants, childminders, nursery managers, apprentices, SEND practitioners, wraparound staff and anyone supporting babies, toddlers or preschool children outdoors.
What Will You Learn?
By the end of the course, you will feel more confident creating outdoor provision that encourages movement, communication, curiosity, creativity and sustained play.
You will understand how to use simple open-ended resources, support children’s ideas and interact without taking over.
You will also learn how to adapt provision for different ages and needs, establish predictable routines and connect outdoor play naturally with the EYFS.
What Will You Receive?
After successfully completing the course, you will receive a CPD certificate and an exclusive Level 1 Outdoor Play Training for Nurseries course crest to display within your nursery, setting, website, business or professional portfolio.
Why Choose The Muddy Puddle Teacher®?
The Muddy Puddle Teacher® approach is designed for real Early Years settings.
You do not need woodland, expensive fixed equipment or a large nursery garden.
We help practitioners make better use of everyday outdoor spaces through natural, sustainable and reusable resources.
Our training supports child-led play while helping adults understand how their environment, routines and interactions can strengthen children’s development.
Upgrade to a Gold Account to Access This Course
Begin Your Nursery Outdoor Play Training
Start with the outdoor space and resources you already have.
Observe how children currently use them, introduce one achievable change and allow time for play to develop.
Upgrade to a Gold Account to Access This Course
Uncover more practical support, Early Years training and outdoor provision ideas in our Outdoor Learning Training Hub.
Outdoor Learning Training using Play: The Muddy Puddle Teacher Approach
Transform your teaching practice with our hands-on outdoor learning training, designed to help educators confidently deliver rich, engaging experiences beyond the classroom.
The Muddy Puddle Teacher Approach puts curiosity, play, and nature at the heart of learning. This training empowers practitioners to use outdoor environments as powerful teaching spaces—supporting child development, wellbeing, and creativity through meaningful, real-world experiences.
To view all of our Outdoor Training Courses, explore the Outdoor Learning Training Hub
Why Choose Our Outdoor Learning Training?
Our programme goes beyond theory. You’ll gain practical tools, proven strategies, and the confidence to embed outdoor learning into your daily practice.
In this outdoor learning training, you will:
- Understand the principles of child-led outdoor learning
- Learn how to plan and deliver engaging outdoor activities
- Build confidence in using natural environments as classrooms
- Explore risk-benefit approaches to outdoor play
- Support physical, emotional, and cognitive development through nature
The Muddy Puddle Teacher Approach
Our unique approach is rooted in the belief that children learn best through exploration, movement, and connection with the natural world.
Through this outdoor learning training, you’ll discover how to:
- Turn everyday outdoor spaces into inspiring learning environments
- Encourage resilience, independence, and problem-solving
- Use seasonal changes to enrich the curriculum
- Foster a lifelong love of nature and learning
Who Is This Training For?
This outdoor learning training is ideal for:
- Early years practitioners
- Primary school teachers
- Forest school leaders
- Childcare providers and nursery staff
Whether you’re new to outdoor education or looking to deepen your practice, this training meets you where you are.
Make Outdoor Learning Part of Everyday Practice
With the Muddy Puddle Teacher Approach, outdoor learning becomes more than an occasional activity—it becomes a core part of how you teach.
Join our outdoor learning training and start creating meaningful, memorable learning experiences that children will carry with them for life.
