Exploring the power of outdoor play
Published: 14 October 2025
SHW researchers are building a strong body of evidence on the value of outdoor play – from early childhood settings to school playgrounds and beyond.
School of Health & Wellbeing researchers are building a strong body of evidence on the value of outdoor play - from early childhood settings to school playgrounds and beyond. These new publications add to the growing research base developed by our outdoor play research team, reinforcing the University’s leadership in this area.
Outdoor play and learning in the early years
Dr Oliver Traynor has published two papers from his PhD exploring how outdoor environments support children’s play and learning in early education. His studies highlight both the opportunities and challenges of taking learning beyond the classroom walls. Read the paper
Global insights
A new Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play brings together a decade of global evidence showing how outdoor play supports children’s health, learning, and wellbeing - while also connecting to broader issues such as climate change and sustainability.
An international team, including Dr Avril Johnstone, led systematic reviews that directly informed the updated position statement. Avril contributed to an umbrella review exploring the associations between active outdoor play and health, as well as a systematic review on outdoor play and 24-hour movement behaviours. This work is helping to shape global policy and advocacy for active outdoor play.
School playgrounds
In partnership with the University of Southern Denmark, Dr Avril Johnstone, Dr Oliver Traynor, and Dr Paul McCrorie published a scoping review on how schoolyard interventions influence children’s social, emotional, and cognitive wellbeing.
Risky outdoor play
Dr Paul McCrorie, Dr Anne Martin, Dr Avril Johnstone and Dr Natalie Nicholls have co-authored Risky outdoor play in the early years, which explores how parents’ and practitioners’ perceptions of danger and benefit shape young children’s play experiences.
Together, these projects reinforce the University’s growing leadership in outdoor play research – advancing evidence that time spent outside supports healthier childhoods.
First published: 14 October 2025
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