Why 2026 Is a Turning Point for Outdoor Learning in Early Years

There is a particular kind of morning in April — cool enough for breath to cloud, warm enough for small hands to dig bare-fingered in the soil — when you can almost watch a child's attention sharpen. A worm surfaces. A bird calls twice. Suddenly the world has texture and sequence and consequence, and no worksheet could have delivered it.

If you work in early years, you already know this. You've seen it happen a hundred times. What's different in 2026 is that the policy landscape is finally catching up with what practitioners have understood for years: outdoor learning isn't an enrichment extra. It's foundational.

Three significant shifts are converging right now, and together they represent the strongest tailwind outdoor provision has ever had in the UK. Whether you run a single nursery or manage a chain of settings, this is worth paying attention to.

Scotland just made outdoor learning law

In December 2025, the Scottish Parliament passed the Schools (Residential Outdoor Education) (Scotland) Bill — unanimously. The vote was 120 in favour, none against, one abstention. It guarantees every pupil in a state or grant-aided school at least five days and four nights of residential outdoor education during their school career.

Scotland is now the first nation in the world to enshrine this kind of entitlement in legislation.

The immediate impact is on Scottish schools, but the ripple runs wider. Within days of the vote, charities and outdoor education bodies began calling publicly for the UK Government to follow suit and embed outdoor learning within the national curriculum in England. The conversation has shifted from "should children learn outdoors?" to "how quickly can we make it happen for all of them?"

For early years settings, the message is clear. Outdoor provision is no longer a nice-to-have that impresses parents at open days. It's the direction of travel for the entire education system, and settings that invest in it now are building on increasingly solid ground.

EYFS outdoor space rules are changing in England

Closer to home, the Department for Education ran a formal consultation last year on whether free-flow outdoor areas should be included in EYFS floor space calculations. Currently, only indoor space counts towards how many children a nursery can register for. The proposed change would allow settings with genuine free-flow access — where doors to the outdoor area remain open and children can move freely between inside and out — to include that nursery outdoor space in their ratio calculations.

The DfE's preferred approach includes a cap, likely around 10%, to prevent overcrowding. In practice, that means a setting registered for 80 children could welcome up to 8 additional children, provided the outdoor space is large enough to meet the required measurements.

The consultation closed in July 2025, with the response expected on GOV.UK in the months ahead. If the change goes through, it has real financial implications. More registered places means more funded hours, and that makes outdoor provision not just educationally valuable but economically strategic.

What this means practically

If your setting doesn't yet have a dedicated, weatherproof outdoor learning space with genuine free-flow access, this is the moment to start planning. Settings that can demonstrate consistent, high-quality outdoor provision — the kind that runs in all seasons, not just on blue-sky days — will be best placed to benefit from any regulatory change.

This is precisely the kind of provision that managed outdoor classroom services are designed to support. At Beehive Tipis, for instance, the fully managed model means a setting doesn't need to become an expert in structural safety, fire certification, or seasonal maintenance — all of that is handled, so practitioners can focus on what they do best: teaching.

Outdoor learning funding opportunities in 2026

Running alongside the policy shifts is real money. The National Education Nature Park programme has already awarded over £12 million in DfE grant funding to more than 1,250 schools, nurseries, and colleges to improve their outdoor learning environments, with a further £3 million announced to support another 1,000 settings.

Meanwhile, the School-Based Nursery Capital Grant is helping schools create or expand nursery provision — including outdoor EYFS play areas — with construction expected to complete by September 2026.

And at a grassroots level, Learning through Landscapes launched its My Nature Play programme in February 2026, working with 170 early years settings across England, Wales, and Scotland on a 12-week hands-on programme designed to transform how practitioners use nature and outdoor spaces for playful learning.

The funding landscape isn't limitless, but it's more supportive than it has been in years. Settings that can articulate a clear vision for outdoor provision — and demonstrate they have the infrastructure to deliver it — are in a strong position to access these opportunities.

The evidence base keeps growing

Policy and funding are catching up because the research has become difficult to ignore.

The largest outdoor learning study in England, led by the government's own Natural History Museum partnership, found that 92% of teachers reported pupils were more engaged when learning outdoors. Eighty-five percent saw a positive impact on behaviour. Over 90% of children said they enjoyed lessons more when they were taught outside.

These aren't marginal gains. And they align with a growing body of international research linking regular time in nature to reduced stress and anxiety in children, improved concentration and self-regulation, stronger social skills and collaborative behaviour, and better physical health outcomes including healthier sleep patterns and increased activity levels.

For children with SEND, the benefits can be particularly pronounced. The multi-sensory richness of outdoor environments — the sound of rain on canvas, the feeling of bark under fingertips, the unpredictability of weather and wildlife — offers a kind of engagement that structured indoor settings sometimes struggle to replicate.

What Ofsted wants to see

If you're preparing for inspection, it's worth noting that Ofsted already expects EYFS settings to provide access to outdoor play, and inspectors look for evidence that outdoor areas include varied, purposeful activities — not just a patch of tarmac and a climbing frame.

The settings that consistently score well are those where outdoor learning is embedded in the curriculum, not bolted on as an afterthought. Inspectors want to see intentional planning, progression, and responsiveness to children's interests, all happening outside as fluently as it happens inside.

Documentation matters too. Risk assessments, staff training records, structural safety certificates, insurance documentation — these are the unglamorous foundations that make outdoor provision inspection-ready. Any setting running outdoor classrooms needs this paperwork to be current, comprehensive, and easy to produce at short notice.

How to improve your outdoor provision in 2026

If 2026 is the turning point, the question is how to use it. Here are some practical starting points.

Audit your current outdoor provision

Walk your outdoor space with fresh eyes. Is it genuinely accessible in all weather? Does it offer enough variety — quiet corners, physical challenges, natural materials, spaces for group work and solitary exploration? Could a child spend an entire session outdoors and encounter the full breadth of the EYFS framework?

Think beyond the summer months

The settings that get the most from outdoor learning are the ones that commit to it year-round. That means weatherproof shelter, appropriate clothing policies, and a staff team that's confident and trained to teach outside when it's cold, wet, or grey. Seasonal change is one of the most powerful teaching tools in nature — but only if you're out there to witness it.

Get your documentation in order

Whether or not the EYFS space consultation leads to change, having clear, current documentation around your outdoor provision — risk assessments, maintenance logs, staff qualifications, insurance — strengthens your position with Ofsted and gives parents confidence.

Talk to your team

The single biggest barrier to outdoor learning isn't budget or space — it's staff confidence. Invest in training, share ideas, and create a culture where outdoor provision is everyone's responsibility, not just the forest school lead's.

Spring is the best time to begin

There's a reason so many settings start their outdoor learning journey in spring. The days are lengthening, the ground is softening, and the natural world is putting on its most persuasive display. Tadpoles in the pond. Blossom on the branches. Mud that's warm enough to be joyful rather than just cold.

If you've been considering outdoor provision for your setting — whether that's a simple canopy for free-flow access or a fully managed outdoor classroom — the combination of favourable policy, available funding, and overwhelming evidence makes this as good a moment as any to take the next step.

And if you're not sure where to start, we're always happy to talk it through. No pressure, no pitch — just a conversation about what might work for your children and your space.

Beehive Tipis is the UK's first fully managed outdoor classroom service for nurseries, schools, and SEND settings.

hello@beehivetipis.co.uk