Using the outdoors to promote wellbeing at Selly Oak Nursery School

Selly Oak Nursery School in Birmingham is using the Nature Park to promote wellbeing for their 70 pupils and staff. We caught up with Deputy Head, Laura Foster, about their Nature Park journey so far.   

Outdoor space at Selly Oak

Like many Early Years settings, the majority of Selly Oak's outdoor space is a playground area, The playground area currently has some flower boxes to encourage pupils to grow things throughout the year and take responsibility for caring for a plant. 

The rest of their site is designated as a forest school area which includes digging pits, a campfire and large planter pots. Every pupil goes to the forest school once a day come rain or shine, with pupils spending the one full day a week in there. During forest school, pupils take part in a range of activities such as cooking, storytelling and learning about the natural environment.  

Transforming their space with the Nature Park  

Selly Oak encourages a hands-on approach to learning, involving their pupils in everything from unpacking resources to talking about how they are going to use them. 

Through the Nature Park programme, the nursery is hoping to put in a pond in the summer term and have started speaking to contractors for inspiration. In the summer the contractor will visit the nursery and the pupils will help plan and design the pond.  

They're also hoping to provide free access to fieldwork equipment that pupils can use to explore their playground, as well as tools and equipment for parent volunteers.

“We have a lot of tools and equipment for pupils but none for our adult parent volunteers so we are looking to get some for them. You never know what skills parents/guardians might have!”     

Using the Nature Park to promote wellbeing  

At Selly Oak, the outside is as important as being inside and this is emphasised in the nursery’s ethos. They go outside all the time in all weather and are very aware of the differential access to green space their pupils have at home. Staff speak to pupils about the importance of being outside, being in open spaces and trying new things.

Selly Oak are also using the Nature Park to promote staff wellbeing, encouraging staff to go outside and take their breaks in the areas that they are improving for nature through the Nature Park.  

“The Nature Park can bring so much to your teaching and learning, not just this year but in the future too. Our nursery has a wide reach, seeing new pupils every year and the Nature Park has made us think about the activities we do with the children and what else we could do. We are excited to enhance and extend the learning for pupils”.    

Selly Oak Nursery School’s top tips for other education settings  

• Think about what you already do that you can extend through the Nature Park programme. Rather than it being something additional, how can it help you to extend something you already are focusing on?  
• Get as many people involved as possible! Involve all your staff and ask what they want to do, gather everyone’s ideas and see what valuable skills parents and guardians can offer! 
• Let your pupils take ownership of their space and decide what they want to do. This can be a bit difficult with three-year-olds, but would work well for older children.  

What are Selly Oak’s hopes for the Nature Park in their nursery?  

“We hope to attract new nature and extend both the children and staff’s knowledge about the environment. Our nursery will have more plants and trees and be a well-established habitat. We hope this will inspire staff to take action in their own gardens”.