Only 15 minutes of outdoor play at preschool?!

[Happymummydays]

My 3 year old has just moved up to the preschool room where he has been thriving (been at this nursery for 2 years now).

Just found out today they only get x2 15 minutes per day... 10 hours (though he's never there that long).

I am absolutely shocked!

He is very settled and happy at preschool, he is thriving, the staff are wonderful... am I overreacting?

I'm considering moving 1 day per week to a forest school (he goes 3 days per week to preschool).

Its legal, but is it right? Preparing him for school maybe? But then is that right? He's only just turned 3 x

Understood but the whole nursery shouldn't be cooped up indoors just because a handful have a medical issues.

I'd be really unimpressed with that. At DD's preschool it's free flow outdoors access almost all day, even when it was -4c. What are their ratios like? Is it a class with a qualified teacher and so less staff overall?

That’s shocking. We aren’t in uk, but here they have to be outside for min 1hr for every 3 hours there. So for 10hrs they would have to be outside for 3+.
Ds is outside in every weather bar torrential rain or high winds. It’s often -10 and snow all winter here and they just suit them up in snow gear and out they go.

Ds is 3. Today he was in nursery 8.15am-11.45am. He was taken into the surrounding woods to find leaves and they took snack out as the pictures were already uploaded with them sitting on mats in woods with snack around 9.30am. He was in the playground drawing with chalk on tree when I collected him. So he was probably outside 2-2.5hrs this morning.

In the warmer months they only really go inside if it’s too hot, for toilet or indoor gym use. He has to have snow gear and boots in winter left there, rain dungarees the rest of the year and sun hats and suncream when warm.

I work in a nursery and we free flow for most of the day. The children generally choose to be outside longer once the weather gets nicer and a wider variety of activities can be done outside once it is warmer - for example few of the children want to sit and do drawings or look at books this time of year outside because they get cold but in warmer weather they love it.

Personally I much prefer to be outside with them because managing boisterous, noisy behaviour indoors can be harder. I enjoy getting the mud kitchen stuff out and playing with them doing that kind of thing.

Have a look at their policies and their last ofsted. See if it talks about free flow, which if they've got big doors I'd imagine so. Then ask which policy has changed

We chose a nursery that only does one morning of play each week (they are out for the whole 3 hours that day) as dd has severe issues with changing activities so in / out and free flow didn’t suit her. She does much better knowing that 4 mornings are inside and one is outside in a different area . Different things suit different children it may be worth looking at another nursery to see if they do more outdoor time if you prefer that ?

That's dreadful. My son's nursery had free access to outside in all the free play periods which was most of the time I think.
The things people excuse in nurseries in the name of "preparing for school" shock me. He's just gone three. It's shit that four year olds spend most of their time cooped in school anyway. Let alone starting it early to "prepare."

My DS is in preschool and gets at least an hour outside a day, minimum of 30 minutes morning and afternoon (usually an hour in the afternoon) plus extra time after tea now it's getting light. It's not free flow but I'm happy with that
15 minutes twice a day is crap. My DS would be go mad on so little time outside. Even when it's really cold or raining we still take them out twice a day although not for as long.