The State of Outdoor Play in Primary Schools

A newly published national survey, commissioned by the Association of Play Industries (API) and conducted in late 2024, exposes a troubling dip in outdoor play across England’s primary schools.

While a robust 78 per cent of Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) settings use outdoor spaces throughout the day, that figure plummets to just 16 per cent by Key Stage 2 (KS2).

Similarly, outdoor play-based learning, nearly universal in EYFS (98 per cent), shrinks to a mere 10 per cent in KS2

API Chair, Dr Amanda Gummer, puts it plainly:

“Schools are telling us they want to do more. They understand the benefits, but they need support, funding and guidance to make their outdoor ambitions a reality.”

The call to action is clear—if we’re serious about enhancing physical health, emotional resilience and educational outcomes, we must treat play as essential, not optional.

For us here at PlayQuest, this isn’t news—it’s a rallying cry. Children thrive when given the space to move, imagine and engage. Yet, despite obvious benefits, outdoor provisions get slashed as kids grow older.

It’s high time we reversed that trend.

API’s member-only resources—practical audit tools, curriculum-linked guides, funding wizardry and inclusion checklists—are precisely the lifeline schools need to advocate for, and achieve, better outdoor play provision