Supporting risk-taking


The outdoors offers many opportunities for risk-taking, but risk-taking can occur wherever a child needs to challenge themselves or try something new. It is natural for children to want to take risks to explore their own abilities. It is also an important part of their learning and development. 

Child at the top of a tall slide

Risk-taking in the controlled environment of your setting supports:

      • physical development. For example, when children explore how to make their movements more successful.
      • cognitive development. For example, when children use creativity and thinking skills to overcome a challenge.
      • personal and emotional development. For example, when children build resilience by taking chances and trying again.
      • development of children's ability to make decisions about risks when they are outside the safety of your setting. 

It is important that you provide all children, including children with a disability or physical or sensory impairment, with opportunities to take risks in a controlled environment. Sometimes children with certain impairments are less able to access challenges by themselves, so it is especially important to provide them with opportunities. For example:

You might take a child with a walking impairment to the outdoor climbing equipment so they can explore climbing. They may only be able to pull themselves up to a low height, but the sense of achievement could be even greater than for another child who manages to reach the top.

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For more information about inclusive approaches, see Inclusive Learning.


Child climbing

Children will be more willing to attempt new challenges and take risks if they feel safe and supported by adults. You should focus your support on developing children’s own decision-making skills about what is safe and not safe, and what to do when faced with a risk. For example, during climbing:

      • Observe children when they are climbing, rather than holding them. This will allow them to climb just as high as they are able to and can prevent them from getting stuck or into unsafe situations.
      • Ask children how they feel they are progressing, rather than telling them how they are doing. This develops self-regulation and confidence in their own ability.
      • Allow children to concentrate. If you continually tell them to be careful, they may become distracted and more likely to have an accident.
      • Give children opportunities to make their own low climbing structures (e.g. from wood, tyres, blocks, small tables). Discuss safety with them before they start.
      • When children are attempting to climb structures that are slightly unsteady, ask them to think about whether they are safe and what they could do to make it safer or easier to climb.