To ask my children's pre-school not to let them play outside

Greenbananas is right, it is a requirement of EYFS to provide outdoor opportunities, it is NOT a requirement that they are forced outside (no I know the OP is not saying that, but others are saying children that age MUST spend time outside and it's not true).

Where we live in continental weather, in Belgium, young children are outside every single day, once in the morning, once in the afternoon, for 1 hour at lunch (unless doing sieste, that's under 4s), in almost all weathers. Every school has a sheltered part of the playground and the the children play under it if wet or particularly cold. I could count on my fingers how many times in 4 years the under 5s have been kept in because of bad weather and the temperature can stay under 0 centigrade for a month or more during the Winter months. Any child inappropriately dressed risks a dressing down from the class teacher or at least a note in the bag telling them they must send their children to school dressed properly. I find the UK schools quite wimpish in comparison, but hopefully that will change now more schools realize the benefits of outdoor play and education.

Preschoolers who spend most of the day outside (albeit wearing serious outdoor kit) are known for getting practically no colds, by the way.

yabu - ish.

But do you send them with spare clothes and do the staff change the children when they are wet? DD keeps her rucksack at nursery all week and I chuck in a couple of spare changes of clothes. The staff change the children when they are wet / muddy / very painty.

Water play outside in these temps is fucking stupid tbh.

Going outside with proper warm waterproof clothing is fine (and isnt it an ofsted thing that children should be allowed free access to outside space?).

YABU

DD has an all in one rainsuit and wellies that are kept permanently at school (she's in reception) - they go stark staring mad if they can't get outside.

It may be worth looking for some clothes in shops like Cotswold Outdoors etc.

It is a requirement of the EYFS that they spend a certain amount of time outside. It is a British thing, on the Continent kids tend to stay in when it is cold/raining. It is just the way it is so little point trying to change it I would think.

However, when it is very cold it seems not very clever to have them playing with water and getting soaked in the process. So I would tell the nursery staff that you are not happy for them to play with water in this cold weather. Also, as others have pointed out make sure you dress them warm (layering), including waterproofs and warm hat and gloves. Little feet get very cold in wellies so I would look for some fully lined waterproof boots/shoes rather than wellies. It is also a good idea to make sure that there is always a set of spare clothes at school.

I am sure it has already been said but "there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes". Do you not take them out at all over winter? DS is 3 and has bad asthma but was fine walking around the christmas market yesterday in his snow suit and hat!

Children need fresh air all year round. It does them more harm to be cooped up inside than it does for them to be running around in the cold.

My son was at an Outdoor nursey and he loved it. They spent probably 80% of the time outside, but they knew how to do it properly and he never came home cold and wet, and he used to SIT in puddles if he could.

YABU
I am a forest school leader, and we run course year round - in fact our local school will be sending reception year to start a 6-12 week course starting in January.
In Scandanavia they say 'there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes'
The trouble with alot of the waterproof stuff that people buy (especially the fashion stuff) is that it looks nice, but just isnt practical - there are well known 'waterproof' coats with towelling linings - thats just ridiculous as the cotton inner will suck all the water straight in.
you need good quality water proofs and thermal layers, plus gloves and hats, for the winter. Waterproof stuff should have taped seams. Look for something scandanavian made, they know their stuff.

Yabu. Send them with two complete sets of spare clothes - socks, vest. Even a spare set of cheap plimsolls. Ds is notorious for jumping in every bloody puddle he can find. The preschool playground has a dip and a massive puddle. I'm in the process of finding waterproof trousers for him but as long as they put his wellies on him and change him as soon as they get it he has great fun.

Maybe ask if they can warm milk for them after playtime instead of cold.

The foundation stage at my school (stages 1&2 so 3 and 4 year olds) have a big stash of padded all in one snowsuit jobs that the kids wear in the winter. It's awesome seeing the little Michelin kids waddling about having fun in the rain:)

Mine used to feel the cold more so i took steps. I think you need to wrap your children up more. Look on line for feather filled body warmer on line and layer fleece on fleece underneath the coats. Buy proper skiing gloves and hats. The play group should also provide completely properly waterproof all in one suits - not those rubbish lightweight ones. I think kids should play outside all year. Even a bit of rain is good fun.

Kids should play out all year long, but it sounds like the nursery aren't taking precautions which is a problem for me. WHy get toddlers wet when it's freezing out? No reason for it, I'd question that. i also think it would be impossible for them to leave your kids inside and have someone watch just your two when the rest are outside. Maybe have a word with them about dressing the kids appropriately and not getting them wet and then if nothing changes move them>

Dungarees are a real pain on under 5s, they cannot go to the toilet without help.
Hats which cover ears and neck are great and better than a hat and scarf, eg a balaclava! They are more common in continental Europe, find some really funky ones in the Christmas markets.
Mits are a much better than gloves too, especially the ski mitt types which are longer and you pull over coat sleeves.

Children at nurseries have to be allowed outside, it's part of the EYFS. They should also be allowed to be inside too if they want to be.

Those suits look great my dd has something similar from jojomamam bebe.

Wet play is fine. Leaving them in wet clothes is not fine, they should be changing them if they are wet and uncomfortable.

YABU. I work in a childrens centre for children with SEN and we go out side regardless of the weather, in the middle of winter/torrential rain you name it we go out. All the children love going out regardless of weather. I can think of one or 2 complaints from children over the years after hundreds of kids. We go by the phrase 'no such thing as bad weather, just wrong clothes'. Believe me, I sometimes wish we didn't have this policy, but it's not fair to keep the children in.

The children will be absolutely fine if you provide them with weather appropriate clothes. Warm padded coat for when it's very cold, rain coat, mittens/sun hat/ and a SPARE change of clothes. Most parents bring spare clothes so we can change them if they get soaked with water play or whatever.

If we have to keep a child in for whatever reason then the whole group usually suffers so it's probably not doable anyway. If you remove one staff member for kids whose parents don't want them out then you are short staffed.

They need to be out in the winter more than ever, to reduce the risk of illness. I'd made up when my DC do outside play other places, means I don't have to do as much! Kit them out in weather appropriate stuff and they'll be fine. What you can do is tell them that they tend to feel the cold a lot, and ask them to make sure if they play in the water that their sleeves are rolled up and they are wearing aprons and that you expect them to be changed into dry things when wet, and they must be wearing their gloves when not at the sand/water area. Some parents do insist this for a few of our kids and we definitely stick to it.

This is a good website for the type of waterproofs nurseries and pre-schools use

sorry op. cross post glad you've seen the light

I work in a nursery and take my children out every day. (2s-3s)
BUT
They have to wear suitabe clothes. The nursery asks for wellies but we have a stack of spares- we also have waterproofs for the children so they can sgo out in the rain. We only stay outside for short periods and we use our common sense for things like water play and sitting down on the ground.
It takes longer to get ready to go outside sometimes than we actually spend playing.
The children enjoy being outside and none of them complain about the weather. In fact they complain when we tell them it's time to go in
When we go in we often have hot chocolate or warm milk if it's very cold or drinks of water if it is hot.
So to answer your question
YABU
Children need to go outside and the nursery has a legal obligation to take them outside- it's in the EYFS