Exploring Nature: The Benefits of Outdoor Play in Child Development

If you have heard that the rules around mobile phones and electronic devices in early childhood settings have changed, you are right. If your child attends a childcare centre in NSW, these changes are already in effect.

Here is a plain-English breakdown of what changed, why it happened, and what it means for your family.

Why Did the Laws Change?

The changes were introduced as a child safety measure. In 2025, Australia’s Education Ministers agreed to amend the Education and Care Services National Law to address concerns about the potential for personal devices to be used to capture, store, or transmit images of children in care without authorisation.

The intent is straightforward: children in early learning settings deserve an environment where their privacy and safety are actively protected.

What Changed Nationally

From 27 February 2026, amendments to the national Education and Care Services National Law took effect across Australia. Under these changes, educators and staff who work directly with children are restricted from using personal electronic devices in care settings.

Before this, from 1 September 2025, all early childhood education and care services nationwide were required to have written policies in place addressing the use of digital devices.

What Changed in NSW

NSW moved ahead of the national timeline. The Education and Care Services (Supply, Authorisation and Use of Devices) Order 2025 took effect on 6 November 2025, applying across NSW’s 6,000 or more early learning services, including long day care centres, preschools, and family day care.

Under this order, educators and staff must use service-issued or service-authorised devices rather than their own personal devices when working directly with children.

What Counts as a Personal Device?

The definition is broad. A personal device is any device owned by an individual (not the approved provider) that is capable of capturing, storing, or transmitting an image. This includes:

Mobile phones
Smartwatches
Cameras and tablets
iPads and laptops
Hard drives, USB drives, and memory cards
Wearables such as camera glasses

Who Does the Ban Apply To?

The restrictions apply to anyone working directly with children at a service, including permanent and casual educators, students on placement, volunteers, contractors, and allied health professionals delivering programs on-site.

Parents, carers, and other visitors are not covered by the ban. In NSW, parents and carers remain free to use their personal devices during drop-off, pick-up, centre visits, and events involving their own children. There are also authorised exceptions for essential purposes, including emergencies and health or disability support needs.

What About Screen Time for Children?

These new laws specifically address staff device use, not children’s screen time. Screen time limits for young children are not mandated within childcare regulation at a national level.

The relevant guidance comes from the federal Department of Health and Aged Care’s 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, which recommend no screen time for children under 2 years, and no more than 1 hour per day for children aged 2 to 5 years. These are health guidelines, not regulatory requirements.

What This Means for Your Family

If your child attends a childcare centre in NSW, their service is already required to operate under these rules. Any educator or staff member working directly with your child should not be using a personal device to take photos or videos. Only service-authorised devices should be used for that purpose.

If you have questions about how your centre handles digital devices or image capture, you are well within your rights to ask. Most services will have a written policy in place that covers exactly this.

At Clovel, the safety and wellbeing of every child in our care is at the heart of everything we do. If you would like to know more about how we support your child across our centres, we would love to have that conversation with you.

In this article, we are going to discuss the benefits of outdoor play for children. Children are learning at every possible opportunity, and it is our job to facilitate it in any way we can. The chance to explore the world around them plays a significant role in their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development, making nature activities for toddlers a fundamental part of what we do at Clovel Childcare.

Understanding the relationship between outdoor play and child development ensures that we can create an environment that integrates activities that allow a child to move around, process thoughts, and explore at a pace that suits them. We go the extra mile to help their learning journey in every possible way.

The Key Benefits of Outdoor Play for Children

By finding the perfect balance between nature and learning, a child has the opportunity to thrive in many ways. Here are just a few benefits of outdoor play for children.

Enhanced Physical Development

By ensuring a high standard of physical activity in childcare, we are able to nurture a child’s well-being in numerous ways. Outdoor play involves plenty of physical activity, helping them to develop strength and coordination and improve their overall health.

Cognitive and Problem-Solving Skills Through Nature

Being outdoors is a brilliant way to promote child development through play. A considerable part of our science program involves being in nature, providing endless opportunities for them to engage in their own curiosity, solve problems, observe, draw conclusions, and develop ideas. Outdoor learning in early years education is a holistic experience that encourages tremendous cognitive growth and meaningful engagement with the world around them.

Social and Emotional Growth in Outdoor Settings

The outdoors is an excellent environment for unstructured play. When play is unstructured, it helps a child develop essential social and emotional skills. Outdoor environments also improve collaboration skills, resilience, independent thinking, and confidence, each a vital life skill.

Strengthen Creativity and Imagination

Finally, another fantastic benefit of outdoor play for children is how it encourages them to use their imagination and think creatively. The natural world is the perfect canvas for children to delve into a world of creative expression. Outdoor settings encourage open-ended play where children are pushed to use their imagination, creating a world from simplistic tools such as sticks, leaves, sand, or mud. We firmly believe that outdoor play and child development go hand in hand, enhancing imagination and creativity in every moment. Through creative outdoor activities, children begin to make sense of the world around them and can start to use their skills and knowledge outside of a formal educational setting.

How Outdoor Play Supports Early Learning

Outdoor learning in early years education helps children grow, develop, and practice their skills. As you can see, there are multiple benefits when we encourage children to play and get creative outdoors. Creativity is how a child reinforces their skills and knowledge and thus develops a much broader understanding of the world around them. Supporting child development through play is a huge part of what we do at Clovel Childcare.

Nature and Learning – The Science Behind It

We all know that exposing ourselves to the great outdoors helps us to feel fantastic. Nature has a way of provoking thought, innovation, and inspiration in us, and it is precisely the same for children, too. When children are outdoors, there are far fewer distractions, which massively enhances their attention span and ability to learn and absorb new information. This also leads to improved memory, focus, and receptiveness to learning. Additionally, nature also has a calming effect, which can reduce stress in everyone, including young children. Overall, the experience of playing outdoors plays a significant role in enhancing emotional regulation, motivation, engagement and boosting a child’s confidence. This is why it is imperative to incorporate nature activities into your child’s routine.

The Role of Outdoor Play in Early Years Literacy and Numeracy

We have spent a lot of time focusing on how outdoor play enhances social and emotional growth, boosts their confidence, and encourages them to be creative. Still, there are other things at play when a child is actively engaging with the natural world. The benefits of outdoor play for children extend far beyond the concepts mentioned above and begin to trickle into their understanding of numeracy and literacy, too, helping them to prepare for the world that awaits them after early years education. Outdoor environments provide a child with endless opportunities to play and learn. Playing with other children helps them excel in oracy by communicating with others or telling stories, while certain games will encourage them to count. Even on their own, children tend to develop an intrinsic love for numeracy in activities like counting leaves or insects and measuring objects against each other. At Clovel Childcare, we provide a literacy program and a numeracy and math program that seamlessly blends nature and learning, giving your child the best opportunity.

FAQs About Outdoor Play and Child Development

How much outdoor play is recommended for toddlers?

It is recommended that toddlers should play outdoors for 1 – 3 hours daily, but there is no harm in encouraging more.

What are some easy ways to encourage outdoor play at home?

There are several ways to increase outdoor play and child development at home. Create exploration zones and outdoor sensory corners, have scavenger hunts, or simply allow them to explore your garden.

Is outdoor play safe for young children?

Like all play, it should always be facilitated by an adult and carried out in the safest possible environment. If you would like advice on building a safe and well-structured outdoor play environment, please contact Clovel and we will be glad to help.

What if my child doesn’t seem interested in outdoor play?

If your child doesn’t seem interested yet, it can be helpful to introduce themed activities inside the home that might encourage them to want to explore the outdoors. Additionally, involving other children is a great way to encourage them.

How does outdoor play benefit children’s mental health?

The more a child plays outdoors, the better their mood is and the less likely they are to experience stress. Outdoor play gives them a sense of freedom and helps them relax while developing emotional resilience.

Lyn Connolly

Founder and Company Director

Lyn Connolly is the Founder and Company Director of Clovel Childcare & Early Learning Centres, a family‑owned group of eight centres across Western Sydney established from her first service at Merrylands. Active in early childhood education since 1977, she also serves as President of the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW, representing providers in state and federal consultations, media, and public hearings.

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