The importance of outdoor space: Children’s perceptions of the school environment and its influence on their well-being

Background: The concept of children’s well-being is central to international child health agendas. Acquiring relevant cognitive and social-emotional skills during the formative years is key to shaping future mental health and preparing societies to be prosperous, sustainable and inclusive. Schools are ideally placed to foster a culture of well-being in addition to education, particularly as children refine their emotional skills during this stage of development. To gain insight into well-being at school, acknowledgement of children’s voices and perspective is imperative. Objective: This study sought to establish children’s perceptions of the school environment and how physical space influenced their sense of well-being. Design: Qualitative descriptive approach. Setting: Rural school in Ireland. Method: Four focus-group discussions were conducted with 21 children (aged 10–12 years). Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the findings. Results: Children identified a correlation between their perceived well-being and the physical school environment. Outdoor spaces were associated with positive well-being, while indoor spaces were linked to negative well-being. Conclusion: The study findings carry policy and practice implications for teachers and administrators. To enhance well-being in the physical school space, attention must be given to outdoor play areas and surfaces, children’s physical comfort and well-structured break times. In addition, well-being needs to be recognised as something that children experience and express in various ways; thus, paying close attention to the child’s voice is vital when researching matters that directly affect them.