Prospective acceptability, feasibility and outcomes of a primary school-led outdoor play intervention for young children

Seims, Amanda Louise and Ranken, Emily and Hauari, Hanan and Ewles, Laurence and Midouhas, Emily and Christie, Nicola and Rance, Thomas and Cameron, Claire and Barber, Sally (2025) Prospective acceptability, feasibility and outcomes of a primary school-led outdoor play intervention for young children. Other. UNSPECIFIED.

Abstract

Background Outdoor play can support children and young people’s mental wellbeing, social and cognitive development and increase physical activity levels. However, many children are not sufficiently active for health. Children’s outdoor play has declined in recent years and barriers exist within the physical and social environment. Forest Schools can encourage outdoor play through familiarisation with local green spaces, but suitable spaces are limited in dense urban areas. Through the Play in Urban Spaces for Health (PUSH) intervention concept, primary school staff support familiarisation of and regular active play in local urban spaces. This could facilitate sustained behaviour change, whereby children use these sites with their families, and have the capability and motivation to create opportunities for outdoor active play within other urban spaces. The aim of this research was to explore the acceptability and feasibility of PUSH. Methods 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted – eight with teachers and headteachers at primary schools near potential urban play spaces in Bradford (Bfd), Yorkshire and Tower Hamlets, London UK to explore attitudes towards, and barriers and facilitators to implementing PUSH - and ten with staff involved in Forest School delivery through primary schools to capture learning and outcomes from taking children to local green spaces for Forest School. Thematic analysis was used to explore acceptability and feasibility of PUSH. Results PUSH was generally found to be acceptable, with perceived benefits aligning with those observed within Forest Schools. Potential barriers to implementing PUSH included curriculum pressures and safety of public spaces. However, the learning from Forest School delivery provided potential solutions to incorporate into the intervention design. The findings informed the intervention theory of change and logic model. Conclusions This study offers preliminary evidence to support the delivery of the PUSH intervention within primary schools, which may support children’s outdoor habitual play. The findings emphasise the need to incorporate activities to ensure parent and staff buy-in prior to a pilot project. Clinical trial number: Not applicable.