As Nursery World often reminds us, opportunities to play outside are required by Birth to Three Matters and within the Foundation Stage curriculum. Children also have enormous amounts of fun outside. So why don't we prepare for the weather, rather than keeping them indoors?
Shade sails provide protection from the sun and from some rain and seem a cost-effective solution (in a quick search on the internet I found many with prices starting at about 60). Small tent gazebos are so cheap that many of us have bought one for our gardens for sunny days or to keep the rain off the barbecue. Cagoules and wellies work for wet weather too.
No nursery is complete without aprons to keep paint off clothes, so why don't we provide waterproofs? Our climate is mild, if unpredictable, and most days it should be possible to give children the space and freedom of more outdoor play.
Dr Patricia Lucas, lecturer in early childhood, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol
