Scottish Government funding grant to Inspiring Scotland: FOI release

Information requested

1. Could the Scottish Government please provide a full list of the outdoor play projects which benefited from the £860,000 given to Inspiring Scotland?

2. Which of these projects are particularly aimed at connecting children from deprived areas of Scotland with nature?

3. Could they confirm how many of these projects were forest schools or took place in forest settings?

4. Could they confirm which of these projects were able to run from March to December 2020?

5. If they were not running due to the pandemic, did the projects still receive the funding?

Response

1. No outdoor play projects were supported by Scottish Government's £860,000 grant funding of Inspiring Scotland.

The £860,000 was used to promote and support the use of outdoor childcare provision as part of the early learning and childcare expansion. Specifically, it was used to:

• Provide dedicated support to 8 local authorities to increase and improve their outdoor learning offer as part of the 1140 expansion of funded early learning and childcare (ELC). This included assistance to consider and develop the use of fully outdoor, indoor/outdoor or satellite nursery models
• Raise the profile of outdoor play and learning as part of the early learning and childcare experience
• Produce the guidance document "Out to Play" which provided practical advice for ELC settings on accessing outdoor spaces
• Build partnerships between local authorities, third sector and private companies in promoting outdoor play and learning in ELC
• Provide start up funding to 2 new third sector fully outdoor nurseries (Abriachan and Argyle Community Trust Maki Pups).

2/3/4/5. Not applicable to £860,000 ELC funding.

About FOI

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