Outdoor play activities 'improve learning outcomes'
13/10/2010 Indoor and outdoor play activities help lead to better learning outcomes for school children, one head teacher has claimed.
Jane Mather, head teacher at Blackwood Primary School, Caerphilly, Wales, explained that it is now "widely understood" that play activities have an essential role in a child's education, eGov Monitor reports.
She explained that outdoor play activities add a "new dimension" to school life and create opportunities for "integrated learning".
"It helps to encourage better concentration, delivering a sense of calm that comes from being outdoors and engaging with the natural world," Ms Mather added.
Previous studies have also shown that children who regularly take part in outdoor play activities have improved memories.
Researchers at the University of Illinois in the US studied 49 children aged nine and ten, discovering that exercise helps boost an important part of the brain.
Kids who were more physically fit were shown to have a 12 per cent larger hippocampus – the sector of the brain responsible for memory.
Jane Mather, head teacher at Blackwood Primary School, Caerphilly, Wales, explained that it is now "widely understood" that play activities have an essential role in a child's education, eGov Monitor reports.
She explained that outdoor play activities add a "new dimension" to school life and create opportunities for "integrated learning".
"It helps to encourage better concentration, delivering a sense of calm that comes from being outdoors and engaging with the natural world," Ms Mather added.
Previous studies have also shown that children who regularly take part in outdoor play activities have improved memories.
Researchers at the University of Illinois in the US studied 49 children aged nine and ten, discovering that exercise helps boost an important part of the brain.
Kids who were more physically fit were shown to have a 12 per cent larger hippocampus – the sector of the brain responsible for memory.
