An Environmental Scan of Outdoor and Land-Based Early Learning in Canada

by | Jul 21, 2026 | Early Child Development, News

Full Environmental Scan
Environmental Scan Summary
Jurisdiction-By-Jurisdiction Summary

This article below was written by Dr. Beverlie Dietze, Dr. Kelsey Robson and Dr. Melanie Manitowabi for the Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development’s weekly e-newsletter, published on July 21, 2026.
 

Canada’s early learning frameworks have embraced outdoor and land-based pedagogy in principle for years. Nearly every provincial and territorial framework mentions outdoor experiences, nature, risk-taking, and, in many cases, Indigenous ways of knowing.

But a new environmental scan commissioned by the Lawson Foundation shows just how little of that vision survives contact with the systems that govern early learning programs.

The scan, led by researchers Drs. Beverlie Dietze, Kelsey Robson, and Melanie Manitowabi, reviewed licensing regulations, early learning frameworks, standards of practice, and post-secondary early childhood education programs across all 13 provinces and territories. Its central finding is what the authors call a critical “four-way disconnect.”

Early learning frameworks endorse outdoor and land-based learning as central to quality. But the three jurisdictions with standards of practice do not identify outdoor or land-based competencies. Only about 7 percent of post-secondary programs include any outdoor or land-based courses. And licensing regulations still prioritize fencing, ground surfacing, and line-of-sight supervision over anything resembling pedagogical intent.

This gap has real consequences: It shapes the everyday experiences of children in early learning programs.

The scan notes that regulations are built for indoor, facility-based programs, and that “the fence that defines a licensed outdoor space often marks the boundary of what children are permitted to access.” Programs that operate primarily outdoors cannot meet indoor facility requirements and are often shut out of licensing altogether, making them ineligible for Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) funding that flows through provincial licensing agreements.

So, families who choose outdoor and land-based programs, however well-documented the benefits are, cannot access the same subsidies as families in conventional centres.

The report is especially pointed about risk. No Canadian jurisdiction has embedded a risk-benefit assessment framework into its licensing rules, despite an existing made-in-Canada toolkit for exactly this purpose. Instead, the regulatory default remains hazard elimination. The authors argue this approach can paradoxically undermine the resilience and competence that risky, adventurous play is meant to build.

Indigenous land-based pedagogy fares no better within regulatory structures. Jurisdictions with the strongest Indigenous content in their frameworks—British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut—also show the widest gap between their frameworks and regulations. Although their framework documents affirm Indigenous worldviews and land relationships, their licensing rules do not reflect it. The authors are careful to note this reflects the strength of these frameworks rather than a weakness in the system—though in practice, the policy language still isn’t backed by regulation.

The scan organizes its evidence around the critical four-way disconnect and six cross-cutting themes, from ecological literacy to accountability, and doesn’t stop at diagnosis. It also sets out four action pathways—system alignment, regulatory reform, framework development, and educator preparation—that need to move together, not sequentially.

Given that the CWELCC rollout is still unfolding, this is a genuine window for reform. International models from Washington State, Germany, Denmark, and Scotland show that regulatory adaptation for outdoor and land-based programs is achievable without compromising quality oversight.

The question now is whether Canadian policymakers will treat outdoor and land-based learning as core professional practice, or continue to leave it, as the scan puts it, “encouraged in principle and unsupported in practice.”

To explore this topic further, continue reading in The Conversation.

Environmental Scan Authors:

Beverlie Dietze, PhD
Part-time Faculty, Faculty of Education
Mount Saint Vincent University

Kelsey Robson, PhD
Part-time Faculty, Faculty of Education
Lakehead University

Melanie Manitowabi, PhD
Research and Special Projects Lead
Kenjgewin Teg

Provincial and Territorial Summaries

 

This table provides a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction summary for all 13 Canadian provinces and territories, organized alphabetically, as presented in Appendix D of the Environmental Scan. For each jurisdiction, four areas are addressed:

  • Regulations – what childcare licensing regulations specify about outdoor environments, land-based practice, safety, and Indigenous provisions.
  • Early Learning Framework – what the early learning framework says about outdoor pedagogy and Indigenous content, with an analysis of framework-regulation alignment.
  • Standards of Practice – what the ECE professional standards body requires, with a focus on OLB and Indigenous competencies.
  • Risky Play, Risk-Benefit, Educator Training & Supervision – what each jurisdiction’s documents say specifically about risky play, risk-benefit assessment, educator preparation for outdoor and land-based teaching and learning, and outdoor supervision requirements.

Post-Secondary Preparation – while not mapped jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction, the absence of outdoor and land-based benchmarks in post-secondary programs is noted as a compounding gap throughout. Relevant website links are provided for each jurisdiction’s regulations, frameworks, and professional associations.

To navigate, click on the different provinces and territories to read their jurisdictional summary. 

Alberta (AB)

REGULATIONS
Early Learning and Child Care Regulation		 EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORK
FLIGHT: Alberta’s Early Learning and Care Framework		 STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
AECEA / Government – Professional Standards

Regulations

Outdoor & Land-Based Provisions

  • Outdoor play space must be securely enclosed; 4.5 m2 per child (19 months+); 2 m2 per infant.
  • No outdoor time requirements are specified.
  • Language is directive and compliance-based (‘must ensure,’ ‘must be enclosed’).
  • No pedagogical framing, land-based learning, or Indigenous content.
  • Coding: outdoor space requirements (5), supervision (2), safety (2); no coding for pedagogy or land-based learning.

Safety Standards
Outdoor space must be securely enclosed. CSA or equivalent standards referenced.

Early Learning Framework

Outdoor Pedagogy

  • Opportunities for play and playfulness with others in purposefully designed outdoor and indoor environments.
  • Spending time outdoors, planting gardens, and creating imaginary worlds in nature through play.
  • Appreciate the uniqueness of the seasons and changes in weather and daylight.
  • Developing a stewardship of nature… on the ground, in the water, and through the air.
  • Supported in exploring natural and wild spaces… ensure access, celebrate the joy of being outdoors… focus all their senses.
  • Risk-taking referenced. Encourages risk-taking endeavours in the uneven outdoor space. Risk-taking positioned positively as part of learning.
  • Outdoor play that exercises the muscles, lungs, heart, and mind – running, jumping, digging, swinging, rolling.
  • Children participate in decisions about when and how transitions between indoor/outdoor occur.

Indigenous Content
No specific Indigenous content noted in the source excerpts.

Framework & Regulatory Analysis
FLIGHT demonstrates strong emphasis on pedagogical framing (23 coded instances), children’s rights (11), nature (5), land-based (4), and risky play (6). The framework positions outdoor environments as sites of meaning-making, inquiry, and relationship with land. However, this progressive vision is not matched by regulatory language, which is directive, compliance-based, and contains no pedagogical framing or Indigenous content – a clear framework-regulation divide.

Standards of Practice

OLB & Indigenous Content at a Glance

  • OLB Content: Absent
  • Indigenous Content: Absent
  • Alberta’s professional standards make no reference to outdoor or land-based practice, ecological literacy, or Indigenous knowledge systems.
  • The complete absence of both OLB and Indigenous content means educators working in outdoor and land-based programs or with Indigenous children have no professional benchmark for their specialized competencies.
  • This is notable given that Alberta’s FLIGHT framework explicitly references healthy risk-taking and outdoor environments as sites of meaning-making and inquiry.

Risky Play, Risk-Benefit, Educator Training & Supervision

Summary at a Glance

  • Risky Play (Framework): Present – risky play referenced (6 coded instances); risk-taking framed positively
  • Risk-Benefit (Regulation): Absent – regulation focuses on hazard elimination and enclosed spaces; no risk-benefit framework
  • Educator Training for OLB: Absent – no OLB-specific training or professional development requirements in regulation or standards
  • Outdoor Supervision: Standard compliance-based supervision; no OLB-specific or excursion-differentiated requirements

Risky Play & Risk-Benefit Assessment

  • FLIGHT references risky play in 6 coded instances – one of the stronger framework references nationally.
  • Encourages risk-taking endeavours in the uneven outdoor space. Risk-taking positioned positively as part of learning.
  • Risk-taking listed alongside exploration and inquiry as developmental goals in outdoor environments.
  • However, no risk-benefit assessment framework exists in regulation; the Early Learning and Child Care Regulation focuses on hazard elimination (‘must be enclosed,’ ‘must ensure’) with no guidance for educators on supporting healthy risk-taking.
  • Alberta demonstrates a clear divide: the framework frames risk as learning, while regulation frames outdoor space as a controlled, compliance-based environment.

Educator Training & Professional Preparation for OLB

  • No OLB-specific training or professional development requirements exist in Alberta’s Early Learning and Child Care Regulation or in AECEA’s Professional Standards.
  • Alberta is consistent with the national pattern: approximately 7% of Canadian post-secondary ECE programs include any outdoor or nature-based module (Dietze & Cutler, 2018), and Alberta’s programs are not exceptions.
  • FLIGHT’s vision of outdoor environments as sites of meaning-making, inquiry, and relationship with land is not supported by any corresponding educator competency requirement.
  • No post-secondary or continuing education requirement for ecological literacy, outdoor pedagogy, or Indigenous land-based knowledge exists.

Outdoor Supervision Requirements

  • Regulation requires standard line-of-sight supervision for outdoor spaces; outdoor play space must be securely enclosed.
  • Supervision coding: 2 instances – general compliance-based requirements only.
  • No differentiated supervision guidance for excursions, beyond-the-fence programming, or outdoor-primary programs.
  • Standard field trip rules apply; no detailed excursion protocol specific to land-based or nature-based settings.

Key Links & Resources

British Columbia (BC)

REGULATIONS
Community Care and Assisted Living Act – Child Care Licensing Regulation		 EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORK
BC’s Early Learning Framework		 STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
ECEBC / ECE Registry – Professional Standards & Code of Ethics

Regulations

Outdoor & Land-Based Provisions

  • Outdoor space must be provided; mandatory supervision and fencing required.
  • Regulation is heavily weighted toward operational and procedural concerns: ‘must ensure,’ ‘must provide,’ ‘must be supervised.’
  • Coding: outdoor space requirements (5), outdoor supervision (4), safety (6), field trips (4).
  • Some references to inclusion (6) and cultural considerations (3); land-based learning entirely absent.
  • Indigenous pedagogies appear minimally (2 instances) despite BC’s framework having 55 coded instances – one of the largest framework-regulation gaps in Canada.

Safety Standards
Fencing and supervision required. CSA mentioned as a recommendation.

Early Learning Framework

Outdoor Pedagogy

  • Pedagogy takes place outdoors and indoors and both are inherently valuable.
  • Children develop a sense of place when they connect with their outdoor environment… Indigenous peoples have been the knowledge keepers of these places.
  • Practice prompt: How do children contribute to determining the routines and schedules of outdoor time?
  • Arrangement of objects outdoors can ‘invite interaction… collaborative learning… invite children to explore and express their identities and cultures.’
  • High coding for Indigenous pedagogies (55) and land-based learning (31) – strongest nationally.

Indigenous Content

  • Developed with BC Aboriginal Child Care Society, First Nations Education Steering Committee, and Metis Nation BC.
  • First Peoples Principles of Learning embedded ‘to transform education and early learning to reflect Indigenous perspectives, knowledges, values, and understandings.’
  • Practice prompts: What are the local Indigenous stories of the land? How can I connect or reconnect to local Indigenous communities?
  • Indigenous peoples have been the knowledge keepers of these places… Indigenous languages are some of the voices of these places.
  • Anchored by UNDRIP and TRC Calls to Action; educators’ role in reconciliation emphasized.

Framework & Regulatory Analysis
BC’s Early Learning Framework positions OLB as a relational and land-based pedagogical orientation, with the highest national coding for Indigenous pedagogies (55) and land-based learning (31). Land is framed as teacher, place, and territory. The contrast with regulation is particularly stark: the framework conceptualizes outdoor environments as land-based and culturally situated, while the regulation defines them as bounded, supervised, risk-managed spaces. This illustrates a pronounced structural misalignment.

Standards of Practice

OLB & Indigenous Content at a Glance

  • OLB Content: Absent as a defined competency
  • Indigenous Content: Limited
  • BC’s Professional Standards and Code of Ethics are written for generalist ECE practice with no explicit reference to outdoor environments, ecological literacy, land-based pedagogy, or risk-benefit assessment.
  • This is one of the most striking disconnects nationally: BC’s Early Learning Framework is among the strongest for outdoor and Indigenous content that position land as a teacher and embeds First Peoples Principles of Learning, yet this is not reflected in professional standards.
  • Indigenous content in the standards is limited and does not operationalize the reconciliation commitments evident in the early learning framework.

Risky Play, Risk-Benefit, Educator Training & Supervision

Summary at a Glance

  • Risky Play (Framework): Implicit – outdoor environments framed as spaces for exploration and inquiry; risky play not explicitly named
  • Risk-Benefit (Regulation): Absent – regulation focuses on supervision and fencing; no risk-benefit language
  • Educator Training for OLB: Absent – no OLB or risk-benefit competency requirements in regulation or Professional Standards
  • Outdoor Supervision: Detailed – supervision coding (4 instances); field trips and excursions separately addressed (4 instances)

Risky Play & Risk-Benefit Assessment

  • BC’s Early Learning Framework does not explicitly name ‘risky play’ but positions outdoor environments as contexts for exploration, inquiry, and child-led learning. This framing is consistent with risk-benefit thinking.
  • The framework emphasizes children as capable meaning-makers’ and educators as ‘co-learners. This disposition supports contextually informed judgment rather than blanket risk prevention.
  • No risk-benefit assessment framework appears in the Community Care and Assisted Living Act – Child Care Licensing Regulation. Safety coding (6 instances) focuses on supervision and hazard control.
  • The regulation’s framing has terms such as must be supervised, must ensure. These reflect a hazard-elimination rather than risk-benefit orientation, in direct tension with the framework’s pedagogical vision.

Educator Training & Professional Preparation for OLB

  • No OLB-specific educator training or competency requirements appear in BC’s licensing regulation or in ECEBC’s Professional Standards and Code of Ethics.
  • Despite BC’s Early Learning Framework being the strongest nationally for Indigenous and land-based content, no requirement exists for educators to demonstrate competence in outdoor and land-based pedagogy, ecological literacy, or Indigenous ways of knowing.
  • ECEBC’s Professional Standards are written for generalist ECE practice; outdoor and land-based practice remains professionally invisible.
  • No continuing education requirements for outdoor or land-based pedagogy exist in the regulation.

Outdoor Supervision Requirements

  • BC’s regulation has relatively detailed supervision provisions compared to most jurisdictions – supervision coded 4 instances, field trips and excursions 4 instances.
  • Mandatory supervision and fencing required for all outdoor spaces.
  • Excursions are addressed with general rules but no specific protocols for outdoor, nature-based or beyond-the-fence programming.
  • No differentiated supervision guidance for outdoor-primary programs, nature or land-based settings – all programs are governed by the same indoor-centric model.

Key Links & Resources

Manitoba (MB)

REGULATIONS
Child Care Regulation, Man Reg 62/86		 EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORK
Early Returns: Manitoba’s ELCC Curriculum Framework		 STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
MCCA / Government – Guidelines

Regulations

Outdoor & Land-Based Provisions

  • Daily outdoor play required.
  • Emphasis on safety, materials, and daily outdoor access is consistent with operational compliance model.
  • Community Child Care Standards Act governs operational standards alongside the Child Care Regulation.

Safety Standards
Safe environments and daily outdoor access referenced. No mention of CSA standards.

Early Learning Framework

Outdoor Pedagogy

  • Environments that support exploration and interaction both indoors and outdoors.
  • Outdoor surroundings should connect and engage children with nature.
  • Infants: Even the youngest infants need time to play outdoors and to spend time connecting with nature… include grass, sand, plants, trees.
  • Provide outdoor active play every day… create separate outdoor play space so infants can safely and independently explore.
  • How do we arrange our indoor and outdoor space and materials? Why?

Indigenous Content
No specific Indigenous content noted in the source excerpts.

Framework & Regulatory Analysis
Early Returns emphasizes exploration, interaction, and connection to nature, with moderate coding for outdoor engagement and pedagogy. Manitoba reflects alignment in outdoor access but not in pedagogical depth. Outdoor learning is framed as supportive rather than central. No land-based or Indigenous content at either the framework or standards level.

Standards of Practice

OLB & Indigenous Content at a Glance

  • OLB Content: Absent
  • Indigenous Content: Absent
  • Manitoba’s guidelines contain no reference to outdoor or land-based practice and no Indigenous content.
  • The guidelines reflect a generalist, indoor-centric conception of ECE practice that does not acknowledge the specialized knowledge required for outdoor programming.
  • Culturally responsive competencies needed to serve Indigenous children and families are entirely absent.

Risky Play, Risk-Benefit, Educator Training & Supervision

Summary at a Glance

  • Risky Play (Framework): Absent – no risky play or risk-benefit language in framework
  • Risk-Benefit (Regulation): Absent – standard safety and compliance language only
  • Educator Training for OLB: Absent – no OLB training requirements in regulation or guidelines
  • Outdoor Supervision: Standard – general safety and supervision requirements; no excursion-specific protocols noted

Risky Play & Risk-Benefit Assessment

  • Early Returns does not reference risky play, risk-benefit assessment, or challenge-based outdoor learning.
  • Outdoor environments are framed as supportive, safe spaces for exploration and connection to nature – not as contexts for adventurous or challenging play.
  • The Child Care Regulation and Community Child Care Standards Act contain no risk-benefit language; safety coding reflects standard hazard-prevention orientation.
  • Manitoba is consistent with the national pattern: no Canadian licensing regulation has embedded a risk-benefit assessment framework.

Educator Training & Professional Preparation for OLB

  • MCCA’s guidelines and government standards contain no requirement for OLB-specific training, ecological literacy, or outdoor pedagogical competence.
  • No continuing education requirement for outdoor or Indigenous land-based pedagogy exists in Manitoba’s regulation.
  • Manitoba is consistent with the national picture in which approximately 7% of Canadian post-secondary ECE programs include any outdoor programming, with no jurisdiction requiring OLB competence as a licensing condition.

Outdoor Supervision Requirements

  • The Child Care Regulation requires standard daily outdoor play with safety and supervision requirements.
  • No excursion-specific or beyond-the-fence supervision protocols are identified in the excerpted content.
  • General outdoor supervision follows standard compliance model.

Key Links & Resources

New Brunswick (NB)

REGULATIONS
Early Childhood Services Act – Early Learning & Childcare Regulation		 EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORK
NB Curriculum Framework for Early Learning and Child Care		 STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
Government / Quality Framework – Guidelines

Regulations

Outdoor & Land-Based Provisions

  • Outdoor play required daily and in all weather conditions.
  • Outdoor space requirements, maintenance, safety, and supervision emphasized.
  • The Minister may approve use of a curriculum based on Indigenous culture for designated facilities – this could support land-based learning approaches.
  • Language: ‘must ensure,’ ‘shall provide,’ ‘must maintain.’

Safety Standards
Outdoor environments framed as licensed spaces requiring upkeep and hazard control. Some reference to health and safety requirements for outdoor play structures. No CSA Z614 named.

Early Learning Framework

Outdoor Pedagogy

  • Be outdoors daily, in a range of weather conditions.
  • Educators provide outdoor time and access to the natural world and wild places, and share in the joy at being outside.
  • Quality outdoor environments in home and centre-based care.
  • Healthy risk-taking, and quality outdoor play.
  • What materials are rotated through outdoor areas, and what activities are available in the outdoors?
  • Increased valuing of outdoor play and being in the outdoors.

Indigenous Content

  • Mentions Indigenous languages of the region (Maliseet/Passamaquoddy) in citations.
  • The Minister may approve use of a curriculum based on Indigenous culture for designated facilities, which could support land-based learning and Indigenous knowledge.
  • Indigenous content appears in citations and examples rather than explicit program-level guidance in the excerpted content.

Framework & Regulatory Analysis
The NB Curriculum Framework shows strong emphasis on pedagogical framing, children’s rights, culture, and nature. Land-based and risky play concepts are present, though less extensively than BC or NWT. The framework positions outdoor environments as contexts for inquiry and participation. Regulation emphasizes compliance and operational standards, with both documents referencing outdoor play but not integrating land-based or Indigenous content strongly enough to constitute intentional OLB pedagogy.

Standards of Practice

OLB & Indigenous Content at a Glance

  • OLB Content: Limited – the only jurisdiction in Canada with any OLB presence in professional guidelines
  • Indigenous Content: Limited
  • New Brunswick has OLB content, even though limited as presented in its Quality Framework guidelines.
  • The curriculum framework has an emphasis on outdoor learning in all weather conditions and options for Indigenous curriculum.
  • While distinguishing NB from all other jurisdictions, OLB competencies are touched upon but not defined, required, or embedded as core professional expectations.
  • Indigenous content is similarly limited rather than substantive.

Risky Play, Risk-Benefit, Educator Training & Supervision

Summary at a Glance

  • Risky Play (Framework): Present – healthy risk-taking’ explicitly referenced; one of few frameworks to name this.
  • Risk-Benefit (Regulation): Absent – regulation focuses on maintenance, safety, and supervision; no risk-benefit framework
  • Educator Training for OLB: Limited – no OLB training requirements; guidelines have limited OLB content (only jurisdiction with any)
  • Outdoor Supervision: Compliance-based – supervision and maintenance emphasized; outdoor space requirements and hazard control

Risky Play & Risk-Benefit Assessment

  • New Brunswick’s Curriculum Framework explicitly references ‘healthy risk-taking, and quality outdoor play’ – placing NB among only a handful of jurisdictions to name this concept directly.
  • The framework positions outdoor environments as contexts for inquiry, participation, and challenge – language consistent with a risk-benefit orientation.
  • However, the Early Childhood Services Act and Regulation contain no risk-benefit assessment framework. Supervision, maintenance, safety, and hazard control dominate regulatory language.
  • NB is the only jurisdiction where limited OLB content appears in professional guidelines. It does not extend to a risk-benefit assessment competency.

Educator Training & Professional Preparation for OLB

  • New Brunswick’s professional guidelines have limited OLB content. This is the only jurisdiction nationally with any OLB presence, but this falls far short of defined competency requirements.
  • No specific OLB training, ecological literacy, or outdoor pedagogical competency requirement exists in NB’s licensing regulation or quality framework.
  • The framework’s emphasis on daily outdoor play in all weather conditions is not supported by educator preparation requirements.

Outdoor Supervision Requirements

  • The Early Childhood Services Act and Regulation codes highlight supervision and maintenance language, such as ‘must ensure,’ ‘shall provide,’ ‘must maintain.’
  • Outdoor environments are framed as licensed spaces requiring upkeep and hazard control.
  • Standard field trip and excursion rules apply; no specialized supervision protocols for nature-based settings.
  • The gap between the framework’s call for outdoor play in all weather conditions and the regulation’s hazard-control framing creates a practical tension for educators.

Key Links & Resources

Newfoundland & Labrador (NL)

REGULATIONS
Child Care Act & Child Care Regulations		 EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORK
Navigating the Early Years: An Early Childhood Learning Framework		 STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
AECE-NL – Association Guidelines

Regulations

Outdoor & Land-Based Provisions

  • Daily outdoor play required.
  • Emphasis on daily outdoor play, active movement, and safety.
  • Strong coding in physical and developmental categories.
  • Child Care Policy and Standards Manual and Regulation 39/17 govern operational requirements.

Safety Standards
Physical development and safety emphasized. No specific safety standard references.

Early Learning Framework

Outdoor Pedagogy

  • Take me outside regularly during every season… I learn so much about my world by going outdoors.
  • Provide me with daily opportunities for indoor and outdoor play… freedom to play outdoors and to explore nature at my own pace.
  • When setting up my indoor and outdoor play spaces… balance free play and structured play.
  • Physical skills include running longer distances, climbing steep hills, making mud pies, building snow structures.
  • Focus on natural materials and physical development through outdoor play.

Indigenous Content
Framework development acknowledged Indigenous Affairs participants, indicating Indigenous engagement in development. Excerpted content does not include specific program directives on Indigenous ways of knowing.

Framework & Regulatory Analysis
Navigating the Early Years emphasizes frequent outdoor experiences across seasons, with coding highlighting nature, exploration, and physical development. Both the framework and regulations promote outdoor access, but OLB is framed primarily as developmental and physical rather than pedagogically intentional or land-based. Indigenous engagement in the development process is noted, but not reflected in specific program directives.

Standards of Practice

OLB & Indigenous Content at a Glance

  • OLB Content: Absent
  • Indigenous Content: Limited
  • AECE-NL’s association guidelines make no reference to outdoor or land-based competencies.
  • The guidelines carry no regulatory force, and their generalist framing does not reflect the specialized knowledge required for outdoor programs.
  • Indigenous content is limited; culturally responsive competencies for serving Indigenous children and families in NL’s diverse communities are not addressed.

Risky Play, Risk-Benefit, Educator Training & Supervision

Summary at a Glance

  • Risky Play (Framework): Absent – no risky play or risk-benefit language; outdoor framed as physical development
  • Risk-Benefit (Regulation): Absent – standard safety and compliance language only
  • Educator Training for OLB: Absent – no OLB training requirements in regulation or association guidelines
  • Outdoor Supervision: Standard – daily outdoor play required; general safety and supervision; no excursion-specific protocols noted

Risky Play & Risk-Benefit Assessment

  • Navigating the Early Years does not reference risky play or risk-benefit assessment. Outdoor learning is framed primarily through physical development such as climbing, running, building snow structures.
  • The framework emphasizes freedom to play outdoors and to explore nature at my own pace. This language is consistent with child agency, but without explicit risk-benefit framing.
  • Neither the Child Care Act nor Child Care Regulations contain risk-benefit language; safety coding reflects standard physical development and hazard-prevention orientation.
  • NL is consistent with the national finding that no Canadian jurisdiction has embedded a risk-benefit assessment framework in licensing requirements.

Educator Training & Professional Preparation for OLB

  • AECE-NL’s association guidelines make no reference to outdoor or land-based competencies and carry no regulatory force.
  • No OLB-specific training, ecological literacy, or outdoor pedagogical competency requirement exists in NL’s Child Care Act, regulations, or professional guidelines.
  • Indigenous engagement in the development of the framework is noted but not translated into educator preparation requirements.

Outdoor Supervision Requirements

  • Daily outdoor play is required: Child Care Policy and Standards Manual and Regulation 39/17 govern operational requirements including safety and supervision.
  • Supervision follows standard compliance model; no excursion-specific or beyond-the-fence supervision protocols identified.
  • Strong coding in physical and developmental categories reflects a developmental rather than pedagogical framing of outdoor supervision.

Key Links & Resources

Northwest Territories (NWT)

REGULATIONS
Early Learning and Childcare Act & ELCA Regulations 098-2024		 EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORK
The Northwest Territories Early Learning Framework		 STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
Government – No Formal Standards

Regulations

Outdoor & Land-Based Provisions

  • Standard outdoor space and supervision requirements.
  • Coding concentrated in safety (4), outdoor space requirements (3), and supervision (2).
  • Some references to Indigenous pedagogies (3 instances) but not structurally embedded.
  • Regulatory language focuses on licensed program requirements, safety compliance, and a centre-based model.
  • Stark divergence from NWT ELF, which demonstrates the strongest national commitment to land-based pedagogy.

Safety Standards
Safety and supervision focused. No CSA standards mentioned.

Early Learning Framework

Outdoor Pedagogy

  • It is impossible to separate the learning that occurs within indoor and outdoor environments. All parts are equally important – all activities that occur indoors can also occur outdoors.
  • Risky play is often associated with activities in the outdoors… dynamic and changing conditions provide more opportunities. Types: great heights, high speeds, using tools, rough and tumble, interacting with potentially harmful elements, risk of getting lost.
  • Consistent visits to the same outdoor location help children form a connection to specific places.
  • The outdoors is ideal… freedom and space to test their limits, explore boundaries, and learn to manage challenges and risks.
  • Opportunities to access and use an outdoor space throughout all seasons… significance historically and spiritually.
  • Educators reframe perceived risk as an opportunity for situational evaluation and personal development.

Indigenous Content

  • Land is capitalized to encompass Indigenous peoples, cultures, languages, knowledge systems, and communities’; these have evolved together in ‘strong, inseparable connections.
  • The NWT is the homeland of Dene, Metis, Inuvialuit, and Nehiyawak; early learning must be grounded in Indigenous worldviews, cultures, languages, and knowledge systems.’
  • Children spend time on the Land and learn from multiple teachers and community members that are Indigenous to the Land.
  • Emphasizes 11 official languages (9 Indigenous); language comes from Land; educators model use of Indigenous languages.
  • Decolonize: dismantle colonial structures; support healing and revitalization of Indigenous identities, knowledge, culture, and practices.
  • Practice prompts: What are meaningful ways for children to begin understanding historical and current approaches to colonialism? and ‘What local Indigenous stories of the Land…?

Framework & Regulatory Analysis
The NWT Early Learning Framework demonstrates the strongest national commitment to land-based pedagogy, with extremely high coding for cultural content (70), Indigenous pedagogies (45), and land-based learning (14). Land is positioned as inseparable from identity, language, and knowledge systems. The regulation, however, remains institutionally structured and minimally adaptive to land-based contexts. This is one of the most pronounced misalignments in the country, underscoring the urgency of closing the gap between regulatory systems and Indigenous self-determination.

Standards of Practice

OLB & Indigenous Content at a Glance

  • OLB Content: Absent – no formal Standards of Practice exist
  • Indigenous Content: Limited – no formal Standards of Practice exist
  • The NWT has no formal Standards of Practice for ECEs. This has the most acute standards gap nationally when considered alongside its early learning framework.
  • The NWT Early Learning Framework is the strongest nationally for land-based and Indigenous content, yet this exceptional vision is matched by neither regulatory requirements nor professional standards.
  • Educators in the NWT have no professional benchmark that reflects the land-based, culturally grounded practice that the framework envisions and that NWT communities expect and deserve.

Risky Play, Risk-Benefit, Educator Training & Supervision

Summary at a Glance

  • Risky Play (Framework): Strongest nationally – risky play explicitly defined with 6 categories; reframing risk as opportunity
  • Risk-Benefit (Regulation): Absent – regulation focuses on safety compliance; no risk-benefit framework despite framework vision
  • Educator Training for OLB: Absent – no formal Standards of Practice exist; no OLB training requirements in regulation
  • Outdoor Supervision: Standard compliance model – safety (4), outdoor space (3), supervision (2); no land-based differentiation

Risky Play & Risk-Benefit Assessment

  • The NWT Early Learning Framework provides the most explicit and detailed treatment of risky play of any jurisdiction in Canada.
  • Risky play is often associated with activities in the outdoors… dynamic and changing conditions provide more opportunities. The framework lists six specific types: great heights, high speeds, using tools, rough and tumble, interacting with potentially harmful elements, and risk of getting lost.
  • The outdoors is ideal… freedom and space to test their limits, explore boundaries, and learn to manage challenges and risks.
  • Educators are explicitly directed to reframe perceived risk as an opportunity for situational evaluation and personal development. This is the clearest articulation of a risk-benefit orientation in any Canadian framework.
  • Opportunities to engage in outdoor free play and risky play have declined. Safety measures have sought to prevent all play-related injuries. The framework directly critiques over-restriction.
  • Despite this exceptional framework language, the ELCA Regulations 098-2024 contain no risk-benefit assessment framework. Regulatory coding concentrates on safety (4), outdoor space requirements (3), and supervision (2) – standard compliance language that does not support the framework’s vision.
  • This is the most acute risk-benefit gap in the country. The framework most clearly articulates the case for risk-benefit assessment, but it is matched by no regulatory mechanism.

Educator Training & Professional Preparation for OLB

  • The NWT has no formal Standards of Practice for ECEs. There is no professional benchmark against which outdoor, land-based, or risk-benefit competencies could be assessed or required.
  • No OLB-specific training, ecological literacy, or outdoor pedagogical competency requirement exists in the ELCA Regulations.
  • The NWT Early Learning Framework envisions educators who are deeply grounded in Indigenous worldviews, land-based knowledge systems, and reconciliation. Despite this, there is no educator preparation requirement supports this vision.
  • This represents the largest gap between framework aspiration and professional infrastructure in Canada.

Outdoor Supervision Requirements

  • ELCA Regulations 098-2024 contain standard supervision requirements – coding at 2 instances – with a primarily centre-based operational model.
  • No differentiated supervision guidance exists for land-based programs, outdoor-primary settings, or beyond-the-fence programming.
  • The regulation’s centre-based supervisory framework is structurally incompatible with the land-based, community-embedded learning the NWT framework envisions.
  • Field trip and excursion provisions follow standard protocols; no specialized provisions for travel on the Land with Elders or community-based land-based learning.

Key Links & Resources

Nova Scotia (NS)

REGULATIONS
Early Learning and Child Care Act & Regulations		 EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORK
Capable, Confident, and Curious: Nova Scotia’s Early Learning Curriculum Framework		 STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
Government – Formal Standards of Practice

Regulations

Outdoor & Land-Based Provisions

  • Daily outdoor play required.
  • Regulations emphasize safe environments, supervision, and daily outdoor access.
  • Outdoor environments framed primarily in terms of health, safety, and physical activity.
  • Some reference to compliance with minister-established health and safety requirements for outdoor play structures.

Safety Standards
Health and safety requirements for outdoor play structures referenced. No CSA Z614 named.

Early Learning Framework

Outdoor Pedagogy

  • Intentionally design play-based outdoor and indoor early learning environments.
  • Outdoor learning spaces, in all seasons, are critical environments… invite open-ended interactions, spontaneity, risk-taking, exploration, discovery, and connection with nature.
  • Outdoor play is an integral factor in supporting the well-being of children every day… risky play… building confidence, independence, and resilience.
  • Create welcoming, safe indoor and outdoor early learning environments where children freely explore, take risks, fail, and be successful.
  • Outdoor play cultivates responsibility… respect all living and non-living things within Wskitqamu (Mother Earth).
  • Outdoor learning spaces include plants, trees, edible gardens, sand, rocks, mud, water.
  • Framework cites research on loose parts (PLEY Project randomized controlled trial).

Indigenous Content

  • The Mi’kmaq share a foundational connection with the land, honouring Wskitqamu (Mother Earth) through Respect, Relationship, Responsibility, Reciprocity (Netukulimk).
  • Programs designed so Mi’kmaw/Indigenous children and families feel included and empowered as essential decision makers.
  • Educators must learn about Canada’s shared history with Indigenous Peoples. TRC emphasis on residential schools and trans-generational trauma.
  • Mi’kmaq… original people of Nova Scotia… have a defined understanding of plants, animals, and watersheds.
  • Resources include Mi’kmaw Ways of Being and Knowing (Elder Jane Meader); UNDRIP; Land as teacher (UNESCO).

Framework & Regulatory Analysis
Nova Scotia’s Capable, Confident, and Curious framework emphasizes relational and ecological dimensions of OLB, with strong coding for pedagogical framing, cultural references, and connections to nature and responsibility. Outdoor learning is situated within Mi’kmaq worldviews, emphasizing reciprocity and relational accountability. The regulations take a more procedural orientation, framing outdoor play as functional and supervisory – a depth gap where pedagogical meaning is not supported by regulatory structures.

Standards of Practice

OLB & Indigenous Content at a Glance

  • OLB Content: Absent
  • Indigenous Content: Limited
  • Nova Scotia is one of the few provinces with government-issued formal Standards of Practice. This is a stronger infrastructure than jurisdictions relying solely on association guidelines.
  • Despite this formal standing, OLB content is entirely absent and Indigenous content is limited.
  • The existence of formal standards that omit outdoor and land-based competencies underscores that even where standards exist, the profession’s specialized outdoor knowledge base is not recognized.

Risky Play, Risk-Benefit, Educator Training & Supervision

Summary at a Glance

  • Risky Play (Framework): Present – risky play explicitly named; builds confidence, independence, resilience; all-season outdoor learning
  • Risk-Benefit (Regulation): Absent – regulations emphasize safe environments and supervision; no risk-benefit framework
  • Educator Training for OLB: Absent from regulation; government Standards of Practice exist but contain no OLB-specific competencies
  • Outdoor Supervision: Standard – safe environments and daily supervision emphasized; health and safety requirements for outdoor structures

Risky Play & Risk-Benefit Assessment

  • Outdoor play is an integral factor in supporting the well-being of children every day… risky play… building confidence, independence, and resilience. This is one of the more direct framework statements on risky play nationally.
  • Outdoor learning spaces, in all seasons, are critical environments. This invites open-ended interactions, spontaneity, risk-taking, exploration, discovery, and connection with nature.
  • Recognize the value of risky play in building confidence, independence, and resilience. This is an explicit educator directive.
  • Create welcoming, safe indoor and outdoor early learning environments where children freely explore, take risks, fail, and be successful. This balances safety with the value of failure and risk.
  • Despite this framework language, NS’s Early Learning and Child Care Regulations frame outdoor environments primarily in terms of health, safety, and physical activity. However, there does not appear to have a risk-benefit assessment mechanism.
  • NS has government-issued formal Standards of Practice, yet these contain no OLB or risk-benefit competency. This demonstrates that even with formal standards infrastructure does not automatically address specialized outdoor practice.

Educator Training & Professional Preparation for OLB

  • Nova Scotia is one of the few provinces with government-issued formal Standards of Practice for ECEs, but these standards do not contain any OLB competency, no ecological literacy requirement, and no outdoor pedagogical preparation expectation.
  • No OLB-specific training or continuing education requirement exists in the Early Learning and Child Care Regulations.
  • The framework’s Mi’kmaq-informed vision of outdoor learning as relational, reciprocal, and land-based is not supported by any educator preparation requirement in either the standards or regulations.

Outdoor Supervision Requirements

  • Early Learning and Child Care Regulations emphasize safe environments, supervision, and daily outdoor access. This is a standard compliance model.
  • Some reference to minister-established health and safety requirements for outdoor play structures.
  • No differentiated supervision guidance for outdoor-primary programs, nature-based settings, or beyond-the-fence excursions.
  • Standard field trip rules apply; no specialized provisions for land-based or Mi’kmaq-guided outdoor learning.

Key Links & Resources

Nunavut (NU)

REGULATIONS
Nunavut Early Learning and Child Care Act		 EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORK
Nunavut Early Learning and Childcare Framework		 STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
Government – No Formal Standards

Regulations

Outdoor & Land-Based Provisions

  • Regulatory infrastructure is developing, primarily addressing licensing, safety, and operational standards.
  • Land-based and culturally grounded dimensions present in the framework are not yet reflected in regulatory language.
  • Standard compliance model with minimal recognition of Nunavut’s predominantly Indigenous context.

Safety Standards
General safety and operational standards. No CSA or formal safety certifications referenced.

Early Learning Framework

Outdoor Pedagogy

  • Opportunities should be indoors, outdoors, and on the land.
  • Play indoors, outdoors, and on the land.
  • Indoor and outdoor spaces as well as on the land.
  • Land-based learning explicitly positioned as a core context for children’s development and cultural grounding.

Indigenous Content

  • References and aligns with the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework (2018) and UNDRIP.
  • Affirms Indigenous rights, languages, and culturally grounded ELCC as foundational.
  • Framework is explicitly land-based and culturally grounded, centred on Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit knowledge systems.

Framework & Regulatory Analysis
Nunavut’s Framework aligns with the IELCC and UNDRIP, positioning learning as occurring indoors, outdoors, and on the land, and affirming Indigenous rights and culturally grounded ELCC as foundational. However, regulatory infrastructure is still developing, and the land-based and culturally grounded dimensions present in the framework are not yet reflected in regulatory language.

Standards of Practice

OLB & Indigenous Content at a Glance

  • OLB Content: Absent – no formal Standards of Practice exist
  • Indigenous Content: Limited – no formal Standards of Practice exist
  • Nunavut represents the most critical standards gap in Canada. There are no formal standards of practice for ECEs, a predominantly Inuit population, and an explicitly land-based and culturally grounded framework.
  • No professional benchmark exists that reflects Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit knowledge systems and land-based pedagogies central to Nunavut’s vision for children’s learning.
  • The gap between the framework vision and professional infrastructure is the largest in the country. The consequences for Inuit children’s cultural rights, language revitalization, and identity development are significant.

Risky Play, Risk-Benefit, Educator Training & Supervision

Summary at a Glance

  • Risky Play (Framework): Implicit – land-based learning and on-the-land play inherently involve challenge; not explicitly named
  • Risk-Benefit (Regulation): Absent – regulatory infrastructure developing; no risk-benefit framework
  • Educator Training for OLB: Absent – no formal Standards of Practice; no OLB training requirements
  • Outdoor Supervision: Developing – regulatory infrastructure primarily addresses licensing and operational standards

Risky Play & Risk-Benefit Assessment

  • Nunavut’s Early Learning and Childcare Framework does not explicitly name risky play or risk-benefit assessment, but positions learning as occurring ‘on the land’ – an inherently dynamic, seasonally variable, and challenge-rich environment.
  • The framework’s alignment with Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit knowledge systems implicitly encompasses land-based challenge, seasonal competence, and environmental engagement that far exceed the scope of conventional playground-based risk management.
  • No risk-benefit assessment framework exists in Nunavut’s developing regulatory structure; current provisions focus on licensing, safety, and operational standards.
  • The absence of a risk-benefit framework in a territory where children’s land-based competence is central to cultural survival represents a profound regulatory gap.

Educator Training & Professional Preparation for OLB

  • Nunavut has no formal Standards of Practice for ECEs – there is no professional benchmark for any competency, including outdoor, land-based, or Inuit-knowledge-based practice.
  • No OLB-specific training, ecological literacy, or Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit knowledge requirement exists in Nunavut’s developing regulatory infrastructure.
  • This is the most critical training gap in Canada: in a territory where the population is predominantly Inuit and land-based learning is central to cultural survival; educators have no professional preparation requirement that reflects this reality.

Outdoor Supervision Requirements

  • Nunavut’s regulatory infrastructure is developing; current provisions primarily address licensing, safety, and operational standards.
  • No differentiated supervision guidance exists for on-the-land programming, community-based learning with Elders, or outdoor-primary settings.
  • The developing regulatory context provides an opportunity to build supervision frameworks that are grounded in Inuit ways of knowing and appropriate to Nunavut’s land-based context from the outset.

Key Links & Resources

Ontario (ON)

REGULATIONS
Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 | Regulation 137/15		 EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORK
How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years		 STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
College of Early Childhood Educators – Code of Ethics & Standards of Practice

Regulations

Outdoor & Land-Based Provisions

  • Minimum 5.6 m2 per child outdoor space; 2 hours daily for programs 6+ hours.
  • CAN/CSA Z614 required for playground structures and surfacing.
  • Program statements must include approaches fostering children’s exploration, play, and inquiry, including outdoors. Licensees must implement these approaches in practice.
  • First Nations explicitly permitted to authorize childcare on their territory; some regulatory sections do not apply to programs on First Nation reserves.
  • Coding: outdoor space requirements (9), supervision (4), safety (3), time (3); minimal pedagogical framing.

Safety Standards
CAN/CSA Z614 required for playground structures and surfacing.

Early Learning Framework

Outdoor Pedagogy

  • Children thrive in indoor and outdoor spaces that invite them to investigate with open-ended materials.
  • Natural outdoor spaces and playgrounds that present manageable levels of challenge… provide a reasonable degree of risk-taking.
  • Creating safe and stimulating outdoor spaces for intentional active play… individualized and adapted.
  • Outdoor playgrounds as places for discovery and learning… natural surfaces… pathways… garden areas… open-ended materials.
  • Activities in outdoor spaces improve physical health and emotional well-being, self-regulation, creative problem solving, communication.
  • Put more emphasis on outdoor exploration and play that engage the body, mind, and senses?

Indigenous Content
No specific Indigenous content noted in the source excerpts.

Framework & Regulatory Analysis
How Does Learning Happen? shows coding for cultural (10), nature (7), pedagogical framing (7), and inclusive approaches (6), with references to land-based learning (3) and Indigenous pedagogies (2). Outdoor environments are framed as spaces for well-being, inquiry, and holistic development. Regulation 137/15 emphasizes structured, supervised outdoor time. This is a clear policy misalignment. Ontario is one of few jurisdictions to name CSA Z614 in its regulations.

Standards of Practice

OLB & Indigenous Content at a Glance

  • OLB Content: Absent
  • Indigenous Content: Absent
  • Ontario has the most formalized professional regulatory infrastructure for ECEs in Canada – the College of Early Childhood Educators is the only self-regulatory college for the profession in the country.
  • The Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice makes no explicit reference to outdoor environments, ecological literacy, land-based pedagogy, risk-benefit assessment, or Indigenous knowledge systems.
  • This is the most consequential absence nationally: the CECE’s standards set a de facto national benchmark, and their silence on OLB competencies signals that outdoor and land-based practice remains professionally invisible even within the strongest ECE regulatory framework in Canada.

Risky Play, Risk-Benefit, Educator Training & Supervision

Summary at a Glance

  • Risky Play (Framework): Present – manageable challenge and reasonable degree of risk-taking referenced; balanced framing
  • Risk-Benefit (Regulation): Absent – CSA Z614 compliance required; regulation focuses on structured space and supervised time
  • Educator Training for OLB: Absent from regulation; CECE Standards contain no OLB competency despite being Canada’s only self-regulatory college for ECEs
  • Outdoor Supervision: Most detailed nationally – outdoor space (9), supervision (4), time (3), field trips (moderate detail); CSA Z614 required

Risky Play & Risk-Benefit Assessment

  • Natural outdoor spaces and playgrounds that present manageable levels of challenge… while these environments need to be safe, it is also important to provide opportunities for a reasonable degree of risk-taking. Ontario’s framework takes a balanced position.
  • Outdoor playgrounds as places for discovery and learning… more natural outdoor playgrounds… natural surfaces… open-ended materials.
  • Regulation 137/15 requires CAN/CSA Z614 compliance for playground structures and surfacing is required, which reflects an engineering-safety rather than risk-benefit orientation.
  • Ontario’s regulatory framework is the most detailed nationally for outdoor space and time requirements (coding: outdoor space 9, supervision 4, time 3), but this detail is compliance-focused rather than pedagogy-focused.
  • No risk-benefit assessment framework exists in Ontario’s regulation; the CECE’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, even though this is Canada’s most formalized ECE professional standards, contain no risk-benefit or OLB competency.

Educator Training & Professional Preparation for OLB

  • Ontario’s College of Early Childhood Educators (CECE) is the only self-regulatory college for ECEs in Canada, yet its Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice contain no OLB competency, no ecological literacy requirement, and no outdoor pedagogical preparation expectation.
  • The CECE’s standards set a de facto national benchmark, and their silence on OLB and risk-benefit competencies signals that outdoor and land-based practice remains professionally invisible.
  • Lamb (2021) found that only 4.34% of Ontario college ECE programs included mandatory Indigenous Studies courses, and only 8.82% of graduates felt sufficiently prepared to work with Indigenous children or families.
  • No continuing education requirement for outdoor pedagogy, ecological literacy, or land-based practice exists in Ontario’s Child Care and Early Years Act or Regulation 137/15.
  • Program statements must include approaches fostering children’s exploration, play, and inquiry outdoors, and licensees must implement them in practice. However, there are no educator competency standard supports this requirement.

Outdoor Supervision Requirements

  • Ontario has the most detailed outdoor regulatory framework in Canada: minimum 5.6 m2 per child, 2 hours daily for 6+ hour programs, CAN/CSA Z614 required for structures and surfacing.
  • Supervision coding: 4 instances – standard line-of-sight requirements for all outdoor spaces.
  • Field trip provisions have moderate detail – more than most jurisdictions but still reflecting a general compliance model.
  • First Nations are explicitly permitted to authorize childcare on their territory; some regulatory sections do not apply to programs on First Nation reserves – a partial recognition of Indigenous self-determination in supervision and program governance.
  • No differentiated supervision guidance for outdoor-primary programs, forest schools, or nature-based settings beyond the standard licensed model.

Key Links & Resources

Prince Edward Island (PEI)

REGULATIONS
Early Learning and Child Care Act Regulations		 EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORK
Early Learning Framework: Relationships, Environments, Experiences		 STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
PEI Regulatory Body – Association Guidelines

Regulations

Outdoor & Land-Based Provisions

  • Outdoor access and environmental quality addressed.
  • Regulations emphasize outdoor access with limited pedagogical language.
  • Some reference to minister-established health and safety requirements for outdoor play structures.

Safety Standards
Health and safety requirements for outdoor play structures referenced.

Early Learning Framework

Outdoor Pedagogy

  • A natural playground area provides a wealth of sizes and shapes, colours and smells, textures and sounds.
  • Natural outdoor environments allow children to witness the progression of seasonal changes… understand the concepts of weather.
  • Develop independence in dressing themselves for outdoor play… Allow enough time without adult intervention.
  • Include sufficient time, especially outdoor excursions, without being hurried.
  • Provide opportunities to care for their environment, both indoor and outdoor… Utilize natural materials… Design outdoor garden areas.
  • Children poke and prod, turn leaves over, move twigs, follow an insect – sensory, hands-on engagement.
  • Children collect pine cones, shells, leaves from the outdoor environment’ and organize them in baskets.

Indigenous Content
No specific Indigenous content noted in the source excerpts.

Framework & Regulatory Analysis
The PEI framework emphasizes sensory exploration, natural materials, and seasonal engagement. These areas are aligned with nature and exploration. PEI supports nature-based environments but lacks explicit articulation of OLB pedagogy or professional competencies, reinforcing outdoor engagement as sensory and exploratory rather than pedagogically formalized. Both OLB and Indigenous content are absent from the standards.

Standards of Practice

OLB & Indigenous Content at a Glance

  • OLB Content: Absent
  • Indigenous Content: Absent
  • PEI’s association guidelines contain no OLB or Indigenous content. Both are entirely absent.
  • PEI is identified as a jurisdiction with both significant need and significant opportunity for focused standards development, given its small size and potential for meaningful reform.
  • The complete absence of both content areas establishes the baseline from which standards development would need to begin.

Risky Play, Risk-Benefit, Educator Training & Supervision

Summary at a Glance

  • Risky Play (Framework): Absent – sensory and exploratory framing; no risky play or risk-benefit language
  • Risk-Benefit (Regulation): Absent – health and safety requirements referenced; no risk-benefit framework
  • Educator Training for OLB: Absent – no OLB training requirements in regulation or association guidelines
  • Outdoor Supervision: Standard – outdoor access and environmental quality addressed; health and safety requirements for outdoor structures

Risky Play & Risk-Benefit Assessment

  • The PEI Early Learning Framework does not reference risky play or risk-benefit assessment. Outdoor learning is framed through sensory exploration, natural materials, and seasonal engagement.
  • Children are encouraged to poke and prod, turn leaves over, move twigs, follow an insect – hands-on, child-led engagement, but without explicit challenge or risk framing.
  • Include sufficient time, especially outdoor excursions, without being hurried. Child-paced learning is valued, but not framed in risk-benefit terms.
  • The Early Learning and Child Care Act Regulations reference minister-established health and safety requirements for outdoor play structures – a compliance rather than risk-benefit orientation.
  • PEI is consistent with the national pattern: no risk-benefit assessment framework exists in any Canadian jurisdiction’s licensing regulations.

Educator Training & Professional Preparation for OLB

  • PEI’s Regulatory Body holds association guidelines but do not contain OLB or Indigenous content.
  • No OLB-specific training, ecological literacy, or outdoor pedagogical competency requirement exists in PEI’s regulations or guidelines.

Outdoor Supervision Requirements

  • The Early Learning and Child Care Act Regulations address outdoor access and environmental quality with standard supervision requirements.
  • Some reference to minister-established health and safety requirements for outdoor play structures.
  • No excursion-specific or beyond-the-fence supervision protocols identified.
  • ‘Include sufficient time, especially outdoor excursions, without being hurried’ – the framework acknowledges excursions but the regulation provides no specialized supervision guidance for them.

Key Links & Resources

Quebec (QC)

REGULATIONS
Educational Childcare Act		 EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORK
Programme educatif du Quebec		 STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
No Regulatory College – Association Guidelines Only

Regulations

Outdoor & Land-Based Provisions

  • Structured outdoor time and compliance emphasized.
  • Strong operational focus on daily outdoor access.
  • Educational Childcare Act and Regulation govern outdoor time and programme requirements.

Safety Standards
Daily access to quality outdoor play structures and age-appropriate materials referenced. No CSA standards named.

Early Learning Framework

Outdoor Pedagogy

  • Two periods of between 45 and 60 minutes of free play every day… daily access to a range of quality outdoor play structures and materials that are age appropriate.
  • The schoolyard and the outdoor environment are all places where children can develop their motor, social, and cognitive skills.
  • Outdoor environments… natural environments provide high-intensity motor experiences… where the environment is conducive to risk-taking, children develop self-protective behaviours.
  • Undertake challenges, in outdoor play areas, in their own way.

Indigenous Content
No specific Indigenous content noted in the source excerpts. Quebec is the only jurisdiction nationally with no Indigenous content in its early learning framework.

Framework & Regulatory Analysis
The Programme educatif du Quebec emphasizes daily outdoor play and developmental outcomes, with coding reflecting physical, social, and cognitive domains. Both the framework and regulation demonstrate strong structural support for outdoor access, but OLB is not integrated as pedagogy. Quebec is unique nationally for having no Indigenous content at either the framework or standards level.

Standards of Practice

OLB & Indigenous Content at a Glance

  • OLB Content: Absent
  • Indigenous Content: Absent
  • Quebec has no regulatory college for ECEs and relies on association guidelines alone, which carry no regulatory force.
  • Neither OLB content nor Indigenous content appears in these guidelines.
  • Quebec’s early learning framework does not contain any Indigenous content. This is only provincial or territorial framework in Canada with this absence.

Risky Play, Risk-Benefit, Educator Training & Supervision

Summary at a Glance

  • Risky Play (Framework): Present – risk-conducive environments referenced; children develop self-protective behaviours through outdoor challenge
  • Risk-Benefit (Regulation): Absent – structured outdoor time and compliance emphasized; no risk-benefit framework
  • Educator Training for OLB: Absent – no regulatory college; no OLB training requirements in association guidelines
  • Outdoor Supervision: Structured – two daily outdoor periods mandated; emphasis on age-appropriate materials and structured access

Risky Play & Risk-Benefit Assessment

  • Outdoor environments… natural environments provide high-intensity motor experiences… where the environment is conducive to risk-taking, children develop self-protective behaviours. Quebec’s framework links outdoor challenge to the development of self-regulation and safety judgment.
  • Undertake challenges, in outdoor play areas, in their own way. Child-led challenge is supported.
  • This is one of the few frameworks to explicitly connect outdoor challenge to developmental outcomes (self-protective behaviours), though it does not use ‘risky play’ language or articulate a risk-benefit assessment framework.
  • The Educational Childcare Act and Regulation emphasize structured outdoor time and compliance. Daily access to a range of quality outdoor play structures is highlighted.
  • No risk-benefit assessment framework exists in Quebec’s regulation; Quebec is consistent with the national pattern.

Educator Training & Professional Preparation for OLB

  • Quebec has no regulatory college for ECEs; association guidelines carry no regulatory force and contain no OLB or Indigenous content.
  • No OLB-specific training, ecological literacy, or outdoor pedagogical competency requirement exists in Quebec’s regulation or guidelines.
  • Quebec is unique nationally in having no Indigenous content at either the framework or standards level – making it the least integrated jurisdiction for both OLB and Indigenous pedagogy.

Outdoor Supervision Requirements

  • The Programme educatif du Québec mandates two daily periods of 45-60 minutes of free play with daily access to outdoor play structures – one of the more prescriptive time requirements nationally.
  • Daily access to a range of quality outdoor play structures and materials that are age-appropriate. There is an emphasis on structured, age-appropriate provision.
  • Children must remember the steps required to put on their outdoor clothing. Supervision of transitions is addressed at a routine level.
  • No differentiated supervision guidance for natural environments, excursions, or beyond-the-fence programming.

Key Links & Resources

Saskatchewan (SK)

REGULATIONS
Child Care Regulations		 EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORK
Play and Exploration Early Learning Program Guide		 STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
SECA / Government – Guidelines

Regulations

Outdoor & Land-Based Provisions

  • 7 m2 per licensed child (minimum); 9-18 m2 recommended.
  • Neighbourhood walks and excursions governed by detailed ratio and supervision protocols.
  • Continuing education requirements include building cultural competence with a focus on Indigenous culture.
  • Recommends Natural Curiosity (2nd Ed.) – Considering Indigenous Perspectives in Children’s Environmental Inquiry as a practitioner resource.
  • Emphasis on outdoor space, safety, and supervision.

Safety Standards
Operational safety and supervision requirements.

Early Learning Framework

Outdoor Pedagogy

  • Outdoor play is not a break… The children reminded me of their curiosity… determination…
  • Outdoor space with open areas for tricycles, digging, running, and jumping.
  • Collections of natural materials from the outdoors.
  • Outdoor environments: Prepare obstacle courses that change frequently… Ensure that children have time outdoors daily.
  • Outdoor structures with ropes, wheels, and pulleys… musical instruments for outdoor play (pipes, bells, chimes).
  • Support children’s development in outdoor environments… cultivate outdoor explorations… create extraordinary outdoor places.
  • How will the indoor and outdoor spaces be used to encourage exploration and learning?

Indigenous Content
Recommends Natural Curiosity (2nd Ed.) – Considering Indigenous Perspectives in Children’s Environmental Inquiry as a resource supporting educators to build a stronger basic awareness of Indigenous perspectives and their importance to environmental education.

Framework & Regulatory Analysis
Play and Exploration supports outdoor learning through environmental inquiry, natural materials, and curiosity, with coding for nature and pedagogical framing. References to Indigenous pedagogies and land-based learning remain limited. Saskatchewan reflects partial alignment but lacking explicit articulation of OLB pedagogy or professional competencies.

Standards of Practice

OLB & Indigenous Content at a Glance

  • OLB Content: Absent
  • Indigenous Content: Limited
  • Saskatchewan’s guidelines do not identify outdoor or land-based competencies.
  • Indigenous content is limited. This is a significant gap given that the Child Care Regulations reference building cultural competence with an Indigenous focus.
  • Regulations recommend Natural Curiosity (2nd Ed.) as a practitioner resource, a stronger regulatory foundation than most provinces that is not yet matched by professional standards.

Risky Play, Risk-Benefit, Educator Training & Supervision

Summary at a Glance

  • Risky Play (Framework): Absent – exploratory framing; no risky play or risk-benefit language in excerpted content
  • Risk-Benefit (Regulation): Absent – safety and supervision focused; no risk-benefit framework
  • Educator Training for OLB: Strongest nationally – regulation requires cultural competence training with Indigenous focus; Natural Curiosity recommended
  • Outdoor Supervision: Most detailed excursion protocols nationally – detailed ratio and supervision requirements for neighbourhood walks and excursions

Risky Play & Risk-Benefit Assessment

  • Play and Exploration does not explicitly reference risky play or risk-benefit assessment. Outdoor environments are framed through exploration, curiosity, and natural materials.
  • Outdoor play is not a break… the children reminded me of their curiosity… determination – outdoor play positioned as serious learning, but without a challenge or risk framing.
  • No risk-benefit assessment framework exists in Saskatchewan’s Child Care Regulations; safety and supervision coding reflect standard compliance orientation.
  • Saskatchewan is consistent with the national finding that no Canadian licensing regulation has embedded a risk-benefit assessment framework.

Educator Training & Professional Preparation for OLB

  • Saskatchewan has the strongest regulatory training provision nationally for cultural competence: continuing education requirements in the Child Care Regulations explicitly include building cultural competence with a focus on Indigenous culture.
  • The regulations recommend Natural Curiosity (2nd Ed.) – Considering Indigenous Perspectives in Children’s Environmental Inquiry as a practitioner resource – the only jurisdiction to name a specific OLB-adjacent resource in regulation.
  • This represents a stronger regulatory foundation than any other province, though it falls short of a defined OLB competency standard and is not matched by equivalent professional standards through SECA.
  • No specific outdoor pedagogy, ecological literacy, or risk-benefit training requirement exists beyond the cultural competence provision.

Outdoor Supervision Requirements

  • Saskatchewan has the most detailed excursion and beyond-the-fence supervision protocols of any jurisdiction nationally.
  • Neighbourhood walks and excursions are governed by detailed ratio and supervision protocols. This is a more developed regulatory framework for off-site outdoor programming than most Canadian jurisdictions.
  • Minimum outdoor space: 7 m2 per licensed child; 9-18 m2 recommended – one of the more generous space standards nationally.
  • These detailed excursion provisions represent the closest thing in any Canadian regulation to guidance for nature-based or outdoor-primary programming, though they remain operationally rather than pedagogically framed.

Key Links & Resources

Yukon (YT)

REGULATIONS
Child Care Act and Regulations		 EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORK
BC Early Learning Framework
Government of Canada’s Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework		 STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
Government – No Formal Standards

Regulations

Outdoor & Land-Based Provisions

  • Child Care Act and Regulations address operational requirements including outdoor space, safety, and supervision.
  • Regulatory Guidelines for Child Care Programs provide additional operational direction.

Safety Standards
Operational safety and supervision requirements.

Early Learning Framework

Outdoor Pedagogy
No dedicated early learning framework was available for Yukon at the time of this analysis. OLB content could not be assessed at the framework level.

Indigenous Content
No specific Indigenous content noted in the available source material.

Framework & Regulatory Analysis
Without a published early learning framework, the extent to which OLB is conceptually articulated in Yukon remains unclear. The lack of both formal standards and an early learning framework represent a significant gap in a territory where outdoor and land-based learning is central to daily life and Indigenous cultural continuity.

Standards of Practice

OLB & Indigenous Content at a Glance

  • OLB Content: Absent – no formal Standards of Practice exist
  • Indigenous Content: Limited – no formal Standards of Practice exist
  • Yukon has no formal Standards of Practice for ECEs.
  • This absence is particularly significant given Yukon’s geography and the centrality of outdoor and land-based environments to children’s daily lives in the territory.
  • Yukon First Nations communities are not served by professional standards that reflect or support land-based, culturally grounded practice.
  • Yukon is identified as one of the jurisdictions with both the greatest need and the greatest opportunity for pilot standards development.

Risky Play, Risk-Benefit, Educator Training & Supervision

Summary at a Glance

  • Risky Play (Framework): Unable to assess – no dedicated early learning framework available
  • Risk-Benefit (Regulation): Absent – operational safety and supervision requirements only
  • Educator Training for OLB: Absent – no formal Standards of Practice; no OLB training requirements
  • Outdoor Supervision: Standard operational model – Child Care Act addresses outdoor space, safety, and supervision

Risky Play & Risk-Benefit Assessment

  • No dedicated early learning framework was available for Yukon at the time of this analysis; risky play and risk-benefit content could not be assessed at the framework level.
  • Yukon’s Child Care Act and Regulations address operational requirements including outdoor space, safety, and supervision. It reflects a standard compliance model with no risk-benefit language.
  • Yukon is consistent with the national pattern: no Canadian jurisdiction has embedded a risk-benefit assessment framework in licensing requirements.
  • The absence of an early learning framework means there is no jurisdictional vision articulating the value of outdoor challenge or risk-benefit thinking for Yukon children.

Educator Training & Professional Preparation for OLB

  • Yukon has no formal standards of practice for ECEs.
  • No OLB-specific training, ecological literacy, or outdoor pedagogical competency requirement exists in Yukon’s Child Care Act or Regulatory Guidelines for Child Care Programs.
  • Yukon First Nations communities, whose children’s development is deeply connected to outdoor and land-based environments are not served by the lack of professional standard.
  • Yukon is identified as a priority jurisdiction for pilot standards development given both the urgency of the gap and the potential for meaningful reform in a smaller jurisdiction.

Outdoor Supervision Requirements

  • The Child Care Act and Regulations address outdoor space, safety, and supervision through standard operational requirements.
  • Regulatory Guidelines for Child Care Programs provide additional operational direction.
  • No differentiated supervision guidance exists for land-based programs, outdoor-primary settings, or beyond-the-fence programming.

Key Links & Resources

Christine Alden

Christine Alden

Program Director at The Lawson Foundation
Christine has been with the Lawson Foundation as Program Director in the areas of Early Child Development and Outdoor Play since 2012. She received her PhD, which focused on outdoor pedagogy in Early Learning and Child Care, from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education / University of Toronto in 2022.

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