My Giant of the Outdoors – Professor Helen Bilton

Professor Bilton is one of my giants. I find her commitment to research and exploring the outdoor environment and its benefit for children to be inspirational. Professor Bilton has devoted over three decades to doing this and it’s her dedication to continuously showcasing what is possible for children in terms of the outdoor learning environment, what works in their best interests and advocating on their behalf that I admire so much.

Professor Bilton previously worked as an early years teacher and saw how the outdoors was suited to the learning needs of children in her care. This inspired her to pursue further research in this area not only for early years teaching purposes but for teaching across all ages and stages within the education system. Professor Bilton’s first publication in 1998 called ‘Outdoor Learning in the Early Years: Management and Innovation’ was seminal in showing that outdoor space can be used as a place where learning can occur and that learning is not just restricted to indoor settings. Now in its third edition, the book offers a comprehensive guide to outdoor education best practice and reinforces the significance of outdoor play in terms of children’s development (Bilton, 2010).

The importance of outdoor education has become increasingly recognised in recent years and Professor Bilton reinforces this importance by outlining three main reasons for providing outdoor play in a 2014 publication. She firstly observes that the freedom associated with the outdoors and the space that it provides cannot be reproduced in the indoor environment. She secondly reflects on how the environment affects people, both children and adults, differently in relation to their ability to learn, their emotions and behaviours and also their personality. She then identifies that the outdoor environment is the ideal situation for learning through movement where space is a requirement to facilitate this (Bilton, 2014). Professor Bilton is extremely passionate about outdoor education and the benefits it provides for children and their learning experiences, and this shines through in her dissemination of this information through her website, publications, and keynote speaker events.

Professor Bilton has produced a multitude of publications on outdoor education. There is a wealth of information within these publications which cover topics such as the aims of outdoor education, child-initiated learning and how to promote this, school break times, the organisation of the outdoor environment and the facilities available, improving the quality of outdoor play and education and the interaction of adults and children outdoors to name a few. These publications are grounded in research and provide essential reading for any early years practitioner or school teacher. In addition to this, Professor Bilton also provides a resource page on her website for outdoor play in terms of setting up the outdoor environment, developing an action plan or checklist of the outdoors and an adult child interaction chart, available here.

Early Childhood Ireland and the Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education, Maynooth University are hosting a free webinar on March 8^th, 2022. I was delighted when Professor Helen Bilton confirmed her attendance as our keynote speaker for this event. The title of the webinar is ‘First Steps Outside: The Journey to Outdoor Education. Professor Bilton’s talk uses relevant theory and research evidence to explore the fundamentals for developing high-quality, effective, playful outdoor learning and education environments in ECEC settings, including for children under 3 years, whose capacity to actively engage and learn through outdoor play can be underestimated. It is a really exciting opportunity to hear her speak at this upcoming webinar.

This webinar provides early years’ service providers and educators with evidence-informed perspectives and guidance to develop their services; education providers and researchers with access to current thinking on effective outdoor play practice; and policymakers, early years quality development agencies and inspectorates, with research evidence on the features of quality outdoor play in ECEC to inform policy, CPD and regulatory development.

This webinar also offers those concerned with the initial professional education of primary school teachers and agencies concerned with the redevelopment of the primary school curriculum in the context of the development of both the early childhood and primary curricula. If you are available to attend the webinar, I would strongly encourage you to attend what promises to a very interesting and stimulating webinar. You can book by clicking here.

Bilton, H. (2010) Outdoor Learning in the Early Years: Management and Innovation. 3^rd Edition. Abingdon: Routledge.

Bilton, H. (2014) Playing Outside: Activities, Ideas and Inspiration for the Early Years. Second Edition. Oxon: Routledge.