Henry Mathias’s Reflections on the Inclusive Outdoor Play Knowledge Exchange
27 November 2025
Thrive Outdoors hosted a Knowledge Exchange event on inclusive outdoor play at Stirling University on Thursday 6 November. Henry Mathias, Learning and Development Lead at Thrive Outdoors, chaired the event and offers reflections on the experience.
It’s a refreshing experience chairing Thrive Outdoors’ in-person Knowledge Exchange event on inclusive outdoor play at Stirling University. For a start, it just feels different, with everyone not only turning up but getting stuck in from the outset. Having to interrupt the table discussions to keep us to schedule even feels rude at times, with folk in full flow. The Knowledge Exchange format certainly helps, with frequent and brief presentations ending with a challenge question and table discussions being recorded for summarising and sharing in a post-event Insights Paper. Having spent most of my career somewhat institutionalised within the statutory sector, I’m more used to lengthy presentations, drawn-out feedback from table groups and plenty of non-participation all round! But it’s the friendly and upbeat vibe, with enthusiastic participants wanting detailed practice discussion and to get the most out of the event, that’s making the difference here.
Looking at the inexorable rise in the numbers of Scottish primary school children diagnosed with Additional Support for Learning needs (40% and counting), of school refusals and of cuts to disability services, we clearly have a system under serious ongoing stress. Given this landscape, the value of professionals working in different parts of the system being able to meet, reflect and share notes is greater than ever. So, for this event, Thrive Outdoors brings together a mix of play practitioners and leaders, central and local government policy makers, teachers and academics, from across the voluntary, private and statutory sectors. Folk from different parts and perspectives, but with one shared understanding that outdoor play and learning is the key to remedy at least some aspects of our system’s apparent chronic morbidity.
Chloe Yardley from the Include Me 2 Club poses her challenge question ‘What does an inclusive outdoor space look and feel like to you?’ and I’m struck by the response. It’s not all about physical adaptations and equipment, with inclusive services above all needing trusted practitioners who can create and hold a safe and welcoming space for children with such a wide range of neurodiversity and disabilities. Which sometimes involves pushing back on restrictive health and safety requirements.
Other presenters are Sarah Burton from Queen Margaret University asking, ‘How can you promote children’s relationships with nature in ways that position disability as a positive and ‘natural’ way of being, rather than as a problem that nature cures?’ Alister Kyle from Riverbrae ASN School focusses on risk assessments and asks how best to overcome barriers. Susan Humble from Choose Play (formerly East Lothian Play Association) shares how they are developing inclusive pop-up play sessions and the advantages of having a dedicated space for children with disabilities. Margaret Murray and Leyna Fuge from Glasgow City Council ASN Schools ask ‘How do you measure the success of young people with complex learning needs?’. The event ends with Zoe Sills from Jackdaw Forest School, author and Thrive Outdoors Associate surveying delegates about a potential new toolkit supporting outdoor play and learning for children with neurodiversity and disabilities.
If you’re curious about the responses to the above challenge questions, then keep an eye out the Insights Paper, available soon from the Thrive Outdoors website or sign up to our mailing list to keep up to date.
