Active Play
Our Active Play programme boosts physical activity in children and helps them develop fundamental movement skills such as coordination and balance, all through playing physically active games.
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We believe it is our shared responsibility to support and enable all of Scotland’s children and young people to access our diverse open spaces and to empower them to enjoy these spaces for the purposes of playing, learning and fostering a connection to the environment.
Our vision is for a sustainable Scotland where our children and young people can play, learn and thrive outdoors.
Boosting physical activity and promoting happiness and wellbeing, outdoor play is vital for children’s health and wellbeing. That’s why we’re leading on the delivery and development of outdoor play opportunities in communities, nurseries and schools across Scotland.
We want every child in Scotland to be happy, healthy, resilient, and have the best possible start in life. We want them to be able to form friendships, learn new skills and have fun.
We support communities, charities, schools, outdoor organisations and public bodies to collaborate, innovate and develop in outdoor play and learning, sharing best practice and feeding into research to promote better understanding of the importance of outdoor play.
We are committed to use our experience to empower and equip families, childcare professionals and educators with the confidence, enthusiasm and skills to encourage and support our children and young people to play and learn outdoors.
Outdoor play is a life-enhancing experience and we want all of Scotland’s children to thrive outdoors.
We have a wealth of resources available for you to download and use, so that you can join in with our mission to get all of Scotland’s children outdoors!
Get in touch if you would like to discuss how we can help you.
We’ve worked with our network of practitioners to develop a wealth of hints and tips for ELC practitioners, parents and carers to help make outdoor play a reality for more young people. Our tips provide fun activities as well as more informative tips, like how to build an outdoor shelter.
More hereHelp us make playing and learning outdoors an everyday activity for all children in Scotland by signing up to the national position statement.
The national position statement on outdoor play and learning has gained more than 100 signatories since its launch. These include national organisations and charities, local authorities, government and public bodies, and NGOs.
Find out moreThrive Outdoors offers a range of services, including consultancy, training, and service design. Our team are experts in Outdoor Play and Learning and are equipped to help you empower children and young people to benefit from the outdoors.
Get in touch to find out more.
Contact usOur Active Play programme boosts physical activity in children and helps them develop fundamental movement skills such as coordination and balance, all through playing physically active games.
Read moreThe Outdoor Community Play Fund supports childhood health and wellbeing through outdoor play.
Read moreOutdoor Nurseries, a partnership between Inspiring Scotland and Glasgow City Council are improving children's health, well-being and development through outdoor play-based learning.
Read morePlay helps children unlock their creativity and let’s their imaginations soar. Find out how to create imaginative, creative and fun play with crates, pebbles and bits of string with our Loose Parts Play toolkit.
Thrive Outdoors runs a newsletter highlighting sector news and updates, tops tips on outdoor play and learning, charity spotlights, what we’re currently reading and more!
Thrive Outdoors’ podcast aims to share best practice and connect practitioners by bringing you a new guest every month from the Outdoor Play and Learning Sector.
The Thrive Outdoors team has today (Monday 12 February 2024) launched a new website to showcase the work of the fund and share resources with the play and outdoor sector. The new site will be a hub for outdoor play champions, offering support, guidance and resources – a one-stop-shop for practitioners, education professionals and childminders
Read MoreA programme to increase children’s physical activity levels and improve their physical literacy through outdoor play is expanding across three communities in North Ayrshire. With investment from the Scottish Government’s Active Scotland Division, North Ayrshire Council, and support from Inspiring Scotland and Actify, charity partner Scottish Sports Futures will bring the Active Play programme into
Read MoreWe are pleased to share our Annual Report 22/23 providing an overview of the work undertaken to deliver on our strategic priorities and mission to improve the lives of people across Scotland. We supported over 700 organisations across 16 funding programmes worth over £50m. As well as new funding opportunities being created, nine of our
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Part of Organised Outdoor Community Play Fund and GCC Active Play Fund. Possibilities for Each and Every Kid was established in 2000 and has been operating for 20 years as a charity supporting children and young people aged 0-25 years and their families impacted by poverty across Glasgow. Through play, creative arts and community development
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Part of Organised Outdoor Community Play Fund and GCC Active Play Fund. The Jeely Piece Club, based in the Castlemilk area of Glasgow, delivers a range of services for children from pre-school upwards and is based in a purpose built play centre. Inpiring Scotland works with The Jeely Piece Club in all three strands of
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Part of Organised Outdoor Community Play Fund. Smart Play Network (SPN) are the national organisation supporting and delivering play opportunities for the benefit, health and wellbeing of children and families across Scotland. They provide a range of support and practical tools to 394 members, from starting up a new service, through policy development and delivery
Learn MoreWe work with experts from the voluntary, public, private and academic sectors. Get in touch if you want to help us build a better Scotland.
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