‘Stay true to yourself’: mum defies odds to open Ireland’s first outdoor playschool

This week on our Mums Who Inspire series, we sat down with Sally O'Donnell, the first childcare provider to set up an outdoor playschool in Ireland. If you have a story that you would like to be featured, email mumswhoinspire[at]magicmum[dot]com.

Sally O’Donnell was retraining as a childcare provider when she first heard of Forest Schools.

“I remember were doing a course on outdoor play and the instructor asked us to think back on all our best childhood memories. For me they were all outside running, jumping, playing. So I thought, why can’t we do that with our children now?”

From Churchhill, Donegal had run a bus company with her husband before his untimely passing.

Already a mum of four, she decided she needed a new career. After remarrying and having another boy, she wanted to spend more time with her youngest child. She became attracted to the idea of childcare.

“I’d already raised four children while working so I wanted something that would let me spend more time with the youngest. My sister works in childcare in Australia, so she was the one that suggested it to me.”

Outdoor playschools, a staple in Scandinavian countries had become popular in Scotland. The children spend their entire day outside, no matter what the weather. Sally thought if they could work in Scotland, why couldn’t they work here?

“I visited Scotland and Norway while researching,” she explained. “In Norway the children were out in -16 degrees and all babies under two are wrapped up and left to nap outside in their buggys.”

No matter the weather, the children are outside.

“There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing,” she says. “As long as you have appropriate dress there’s no reason why you can’t wrap up and enjoy the outdoors.”

Glen Outdoor School, of Early Learning Schools, does exactly that. The students are provided with wetsuits and told to dress appropriately for the outdoors, no matter what time of year it is.

“I took my plan to the HSE for approval, and they looked at me like 'this won’t work' but by working with them to demonstrating how the regulations could be met and putting policies and procedures in place it came to fruition. We constantly do very well in our inspections.”

At first, the idea of an outdoors playschool was a slow burner. For a number of years, Sally caved to pressure from parents and had a 50/50 spilt between inside and outside.

“I was trying to please parents, they’d be like ‘oh my child has a bit of a temperature or a touch of the cold would you mind keeping them in’ and then I was trying to work around having them half in and half out. It was frustrating it wasn't what I wanted.”

Sally asked a Scottish outdoor playschool expert, Nicki Bechan, to speak at a conference. They invited the HSE, education boards and parents to answer all their questions about a fully outdoor playschool.

“I explained my frustrations to Niki with parents requesting to keep their child in for different reasons and asked her advice on how to manage the situation.

"She said that I just needed to make up my mind and stick to it. Put my stamp on it, be prepared to lose some and that’s what I did, never looked back.

“We may lose some, we may gain some but that’s okay.”

Ten years on, Early Learning Schools is thriving.

Not only are the children benefiting from outside learning, but it has a positive effect on the whole family.

“The kids just want to be out on the weekends as well, so they often end up taking their parents or older children out with them. It has a very positive effect on the whole family.

“There’s so much talk about well-being, communicating and connecting, and all these things happen outdoors.

“There’s such a feel-good factor to being outside. No matter what how bad a mood you’re in a quick walk in the fresh air will always make you feel better. It clears the mind.”

Early educators from all over the country, from as far afield as Cork and Kerry have visited the outdoor classroom to get inspiration and ideas.

New regulations have, for the first time, stated that children have at least one hour outdoors each day.

They take children from as young as eight months, with a special decking area especially for infants.

“Play has a lot of learning in it, you just need the right teacher to guide them. We say ‘let’s do it together’ instead of ‘let me do that for you.'

“We’re there to guide. If they hit a rough patch of if their tower is falling down, we’re there to give a steadying hand and set them back on the right path.

“If a child asking you something and you’re not sure never be afraid to say ‘I don’t know but I’ll find out for you.’”

Complete with water, sandpits, roads, a polytunnel and tepee, learning is play-based following the High Scope method.

“If a child shows interest in only one area and returns to it daily then we introduce other materials to extend their learning,” she explains.

Not only, has play-based learning been proven beneficial for pre-school children, learning in the outdoors comes with a secondary set of health benefits. Compared to indoor school, children rarely report colds, flues or bugs. There are also fewer accidents and injuries.

“If a child falls over inside the teachers come over and make a big fuss, but if they’re about and about they jump up and run on.”

This resilience-building is also beneficial to children with special needs.

“All children including those with special needs benefit greatly from the outdoors, having space to move, run and jump, developing their large motor skills, balance and co-ordination. It makes them more resilient and builds up their immune system.”

Sally believes that children should be more central in the decision of where to go to pre-school.

“Trust the child to make the decision. They know what they want and don’t want from the age of two when they learn to say no, so trust them.

“Listen to them, have confidence in what they’re saying. Children can do a lot of stuff themselves, even if they haven’t figured out how to complete it properly.

“We’re constantly worried about how much children eat instead of allowing them develop the skill of feeding themselves, might be a bit messy for a while but they will soon master it.

“Believe in the child, see them as a competent learners and allow them try, we’re there to scaffold, help them succeed and help them reach the next level.”

It is only natural that children embrace the outdoors.

“The first thing a child want to do is learn how to crawl, then walk, then run and climb. They need to do these things to develop their skills and muscles. It’s completely natural yet we tell them to sit down and stop.”

Outdoor learning has also been proven to have lasting effects on the child continuing into primary school. One of the first scholars at Glen Outdoor is now in sixth class, preparing for secondary school and still loves outdoors. Research Study on the transition from outdoors to primary school showed children more confident in the classroom and had a greater ability to connect with and play in the outdoors.

When it comes to doing something different, Sally advises any mum with an idea to stick to her guns.

“It’s going to be slow, don’t expect it to happen overnight. Believe in yourself and stay true to yourself. Stick with it and don’t compromise your beliefs.”

For more about Early Learning Schools you can contact them here or follow them on Facebook.