Parents whose children are approaching nursery or school age often encounter terms like 'EYFS', 'Foundation Phase' and 'Foundation Stage' without a clear explanation of what they mean, how they differ, or what they require in practice. These are the statutory frameworks that govern how children aged birth to seven are taught and cared for in the UK — and outdoor play sits at the heart of all of them.
This article explains what each framework is, how outdoor play is embedded within them, and what the implications are for parents thinking about their child's development at home. TP Toys is a UK-based manufacturer and specialist in outdoor play equipment, including trampolines, climbing frames and garden play systems, and has produced this guide as part of its commitment to supporting informed, evidence-based outdoor play across the UK.
How does outdoor play fit into EYFS and the Foundation Phase in the UK?
Outdoor play is a statutory requirement in both the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) in England and the Foundation Phase in Wales. The EYFS framework mandates that all early years providers must give children daily access to outdoor play, and requires outdoor activities to be planned on a daily basis where direct outdoor access is not available. The Foundation Phase in Wales gives indoor and outdoor environments equal statutory weight, with outdoor learning embedded as a core component of all seven areas of learning. Both frameworks treat outdoor play not as a supplement to learning but as a primary vehicle for it.
What is the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)?
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the statutory framework that governs the education, development and welfare of all children in England from birth to the end of their Reception year — typically age 5. It is mandatory for all registered early years providers, including nurseries, preschools, childminders and Reception classes in maintained and independent schools. The framework is published by the Department for Education and sets the legal standards that all providers must meet.
The EYFS is built around four guiding principles: the uniqueness of every child, the importance of positive relationships, the role of enabling environments, and recognition that children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates. Outdoor play features directly in the enabling environments principle — the EYFS treats the outdoor environment as an extension of the indoor learning space, not a break from it.
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Framework update: A revised EYFS statutory framework takes effect from 1 September 2025. The primary changes relate to strengthened safeguarding requirements, including safer recruitment procedures, child absence protocols and safeguarding training standards. The core learning and development requirements — including the mandate for daily outdoor play — remain in place. All registered early years providers in England must comply with the 2025 framework from September 2025. |
What does the EYFS statutory framework say about outdoor play?
The EYFS statutory framework makes outdoor play a legal requirement. Paragraph 3.68 states that all early years providers must provide access to an outdoor play area, or — where this is not possible — must ensure that outdoor activities are planned and taken on a daily basis. This requirement applies unless circumstances make it inappropriate, such as genuinely unsafe weather conditions.
Ofsted inspections assess whether early years settings make effective use of their outdoor space and whether outdoor learning is genuinely integrated into daily provision — not simply a free-play period appended to indoor learning time. Settings that treat outdoor play as peripheral to their curriculum are unlikely to achieve Good or Outstanding ratings.
What is the Foundation Phase in Wales?
The Foundation Phase was the statutory curriculum framework for children aged 3 to 7 in Wales, introduced by the Welsh Government in 2008. It governed early years and Key Stage 1 provision in Welsh maintained schools and registered early years settings, and placed considerably greater emphasis on outdoor learning than the EYFS in England — giving indoor and outdoor environments equal statutory weight and embedding outdoor learning as a core component of all seven areas of learning.
The Foundation Phase was built on a play-based pedagogy, with child-led learning strongly prioritised, particularly in the outdoor environment. Following the introduction of the Curriculum for Wales in 2022, the Foundation Phase as a distinct named framework is being integrated into a broader learning continuum. The play-based, outdoor-learning principles that defined it remain central to what is now called Foundation Learning — the earliest years of the Curriculum for Wales. Research examining the Foundation Phase found that it made a positive contribution to children's physical literacy, with the outdoor environment identified as a key enabling factor.
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Wales curriculum note: Under the Curriculum for Wales (2022), there are no longer separate 'phases' or 'stages' — all children learn along a single continuum from ages 3 to 16. The term 'Foundation Learning' is used to describe the earliest years of this continuum. The Welsh Government continues to treat outdoor and indoor environments as equivalent learning contexts, maintaining the core outdoor learning principles of the Foundation Phase within the new framework. |
How do the UK's early years frameworks compare on outdoor play?
The UK's four nations each have their own approach to early years education, but all share a statutory commitment to outdoor play as a core component of early learning. The table below compares the three main frameworks relevant to parents in England, Wales and Scotland — covering the key similarities and differences in how each embeds outdoor play.
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EYFS (England) |
Foundation Phase (Wales) |
Early Level — CfE (Scotland) |
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Age range |
Birth to end of Reception (age 5) |
Ages 3–7 |
Ages 3–6 (nursery and P1) |
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Governing body |
Department for Education (DfE) |
Welsh Government |
Education Scotland |
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Outdoor play requirement |
Daily outdoor access mandated; outdoor activities planned daily where no direct access |
Outdoor and indoor environments given equal statutory weight across all areas of learning |
Outdoor learning central to curriculum; encouraged across all learning areas |
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Approach to play |
Play-based; mix of child-initiated and adult-guided activity |
Play-based; child-led learning strongly prioritised, especially outdoors |
Play-based; outdoor learning integrated throughout the early level |
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Physical development area |
Physical Development — one of seven areas of learning (Prime area) |
Physical Development and Movement — one of seven areas of learning |
Health and Wellbeing — one of four curriculum areas |
In all three frameworks, outdoor play is treated as a developmental necessity, not a recreational add-on. The specific language varies, but the underlying principle is consistent: young children learn through physical, sensory and social experience, and the outdoor environment is one of the richest contexts for all three.
How does outdoor play support each of the EYFS seven areas of learning?
The EYFS identifies seven areas of learning and development — three Prime areas, which are foundational and most time-sensitive in early childhood, and four Specific areas. Outdoor play is not confined to Physical Development: it supports all seven areas simultaneously, often more effectively than equivalent indoor activities. The table below outlines each area and the specific contribution outdoor play makes to it.
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Area of learning |
Type |
How outdoor play supports it |
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Communication and Language |
Prime |
Outdoor scenarios generate richer, more varied spoken language than structured indoor tasks |
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Personal, Social and Emotional Development |
Prime |
Child-led outdoor play builds self-regulation, resilience, turn-taking and empathy through real social interaction |
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Physical Development |
Prime |
Outdoor play is the primary vehicle for gross motor development, coordination, balance and active health habits |
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Literacy |
Specific |
Outdoor story-making, mark-making in natural materials and role play develop narrative and language skills |
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Mathematics |
Specific |
Sorting, measuring, counting and spatial awareness developed through construction, digging and natural material play |
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Understanding the World |
Specific |
Direct experience of nature, seasons, weather, living things and cause-and-effect outdoors |
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Expressive Arts and Design |
Specific |
Natural materials, open-ended sensory play and imaginative outdoor scenarios support creativity and expression |
This breadth of developmental coverage is one of the strongest arguments for treating outdoor play as curriculum time rather than break time. A child digging in soil, building a den or operating a mud kitchen is simultaneously developing physical competence, language, mathematical thinking, social skills and creative expression — often within a single uninterrupted play episode.
Why is Physical Development a Prime Area in the EYFS?
The EYFS designates Physical Development as one of three Prime areas — alongside Communication and Language, and Personal, Social and Emotional Development. Prime areas are considered the most fundamental and time-sensitive areas of development: the skills developed within them form the foundation on which all other learning depends, and they are most effectively developed in the earliest years before Reception.
Physical Development in the EYFS covers two aspects: Moving and Handling — which includes gross and fine motor skill development, balance, coordination and body control — and Health and Self-care, which encompasses understanding of physical activity and healthy choices. Outdoor play is the primary vehicle for both, particularly for Moving and Handling, where the space, terrain and equipment available outdoors far exceeds what most indoor environments can offer.
· Gross motor skills: running, jumping, climbing and balancing — all best developed in outdoor spaces with sufficient room for whole-body movement
· Fine motor skills: digging, pouring, building and mark-making in natural materials — common outdoor play activities that directly develop hand and finger strength and dexterity
· Coordination and balance: navigating uneven terrain, climbing structures and using outdoor equipment develops the proprioceptive and vestibular systems that underpin all coordinated movement
· Physical health habits: regular vigorous outdoor play establishes the association between physical activity and enjoyment that underpins lifelong active health behaviours
For families seeking to extend EYFS Physical Development into the home environment, toddler climbing frames from 18 months offer age-appropriate physical challenge directly aligned with the Moving and Handling strand — building balance, grip strength, coordination and spatial awareness through child-led exploration at appropriate heights and challenge levels.
How do sensory play and natural materials fit into early years frameworks?
Sensory play — particularly with natural materials such as mud, water, sand, soil and leaves — is widely recognised within both the EYFS and Foundation Phase as one of the richest contexts for early learning. It supports multiple areas of learning simultaneously: language development through descriptive vocabulary, mathematical thinking through measuring and pouring, scientific understanding through observation and cause-and-effect, and physical development through the manipulation of materials.
The EYFS Understanding the World area specifically encourages children to explore and make sense of their natural environment — an objective that sensory outdoor play addresses directly and in ways that no worksheet or screen can replicate. The Foundation Phase framework similarly emphasised direct experience of the natural world as a cornerstone of early learning across its Knowledge and Understanding of the World area.
Mud kitchens are one of the most versatile and curriculum-aligned pieces of early years outdoor equipment available. The TP Toys mud kitchens range provides structured access to open-ended natural material play within a familiar role-play scenario — preparing food — that children aged 2–7 find naturally engaging. In EYFS terms, a single mud kitchen play episode can simultaneously address Communication and Language (describing textures and actions), Mathematics (measuring and filling), Understanding the World (exploring natural materials and change), and Personal, Social and Emotional Development (cooperative play and turn-taking).
How can parents support early years learning through outdoor play at home?
The EYFS and Foundation Phase apply to registered early years providers and schools — not to home environments. Parents are not required to follow either framework. However, both are built on a robust evidence base about how young children learn most effectively, and parents who understand this are better placed to create home environments that support their child's development alongside formal early years provision.
The most important principle from both frameworks is that outdoor play is not time away from learning — it is one of the most effective learning contexts available to young children. A child with daily access to varied, child-led outdoor play at home is likely to arrive at nursery or school with stronger gross motor skills, better self-regulation, richer language and more developed social skills than one whose outdoor time is limited.
What types of outdoor play at home best support EYFS development areas?
· Physical Development: climbing, jumping, balancing and running — supported by age-appropriate garden equipment including climbing frames and open space for active whole-body movement
· Personal, Social and Emotional Development: unstructured play with siblings or peers outdoors, where children must negotiate, cooperate and manage conflict without adult direction
· Communication and Language: imaginative outdoor play scenarios — particularly role play involving a playhouse, mud kitchen or den — that generate rich, purposeful spoken language
· Understanding the World: direct interaction with natural materials, weather, seasons, plants and living things — available in even a modest garden
· Mathematics: measuring, filling, counting and sorting using natural materials and water — activities that mud kitchen and outdoor sensory play support directly
The full range of TP Toys outdoor play equipment is designed with children's developmental progression in mind, covering physical challenge, sensory play and imaginative play across the 18-months-to-12-years range. The most developmentally effective home outdoor environments tend to combine more than one play type — a climbing frame alongside a mud kitchen, or open digging space alongside a role-play area — so that children can move between physical, imaginative and sensory play across a single outdoor session.
Frequently asked questions about EYFS, the Foundation Phase and outdoor play
Is outdoor play compulsory in the EYFS?
Yes. The EYFS statutory framework (paragraph 3.68) requires all registered early years providers to give children access to an outdoor play area, or to plan and provide outdoor activities on a daily basis if direct access is not available. This is a legal requirement, not a recommendation. The updated 2025 EYFS framework, effective from 1 September 2025, retains this outdoor play mandate alongside strengthened safeguarding requirements.
What is the difference between the EYFS and the Foundation Phase?
The EYFS applies in England and covers children from birth to the end of Reception year, typically age 5. The Foundation Phase was the statutory framework in Wales for children aged 3–7, now integrated into the Curriculum for Wales introduced in 2022. Both share a play-based pedagogy and statutory commitment to outdoor learning, but the Foundation Phase historically gave outdoor environments greater explicit statutory weight, treating indoor and outdoor settings as equivalent learning contexts across all areas of learning rather than treating the outdoors as supplementary.
Does Scotland have an equivalent to the EYFS?
Yes. In Scotland, early years education is governed by the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), with the Early Level covering nursery and Primary 1 (ages 3–6). The Early Level shares the play-based, outdoor-learning emphasis of the EYFS and Foundation Phase, with outdoor learning embedded across all curriculum areas. Health and Wellbeing — the closest Scottish equivalent to Physical Development in the EYFS — explicitly includes physical activity and outdoor experience as core components.
How can I tell if my child's nursery is meeting the EYFS outdoor play requirements?
The clearest indicator is whether your child has daily access to outdoor play that is genuinely integrated into the nursery's learning programme, rather than simply a free play period. A good early years setting should be able to explain how outdoor activities support specific EYFS learning areas, will have a well-resourced outdoor environment, and will plan outdoor provision with clear developmental intentions. Ofsted inspection reports — publicly available on the Ofsted website — typically comment on the quality of outdoor provision and how effectively it supports children's learning.
What age does EYFS outdoor play provision cover?
The EYFS covers children from birth to the end of Reception year, typically age 5. Outdoor play is relevant and mandated across the full age range — from babies who benefit from fresh air, natural light and sensory outdoor experience, through to Reception-age children who need outdoor space for vigorous physical play, imaginative games and collaborative learning. The form outdoor play takes changes significantly across this age range, but its developmental importance and statutory status are consistent throughout.
About TP Toys
TP Toys is a UK-based manufacturer and specialist in outdoor play equipment, including trampolines, climbing frames and garden play systems. Founded in 1959, TP has designed outdoor play equipment for UK families for over 65 years, with a commitment to supporting children's developmental needs through quality outdoor play across every stage from toddler to teenage. All TP play equipment is EN71 tested and UKCA certified. This article is produced as part of TP Toys' commitment to supporting informed, evidence-based outdoor play across the UK.
