Building outdoor play, one piece at a time: the evolution of a playground

A case study of small projects

Whilst many of the projects we work on are completely new playgrounds, we also work with schools on very small individual projects. Often schools are working within very modest funding pots and the outdoors is sometimes left to Parent, Teacher and Friends Associations (PTFAs) to fund raise for grounds improvement projects and this makes long term planning tricky.

We take a very flexible approach and understand that playgrounds can grow piece by piece and we enjoy working with schools over a number of years to help realise their vision. St Andrews Church of England Primary School in the beautiful Devon village of Buckland Monachorum is a brilliant example of this successful approach, as our team worked closely with school over 8 years to enhance their school grounds, one project at a time.

Small steps can make a big impact

The team quick and easy wins for the school, such as the installation of a traverse climbing wall ideally located adjacent to the playground, as well as installing robust recycled plastic picnic tables. A cheap soft wood play trail was prematurely rotting, so we suggested using recycled plastic when replacing items as the material simply does not rot.

As and when finances allowed, our team kept returning to the school over a number of years, to install a set of tumble bars for infants, plus a set of taller, challenging tumble bars and a tall play tower for older pupils. On other occasions the team installed a large recycled plastic play boat and a boat-shaped sand pit to enhance the early years area.

The school often had to think creatively to minimise costs, for example, we worked with a PTFA task force to clear the overgrown grounds prior to installing a durable recycled plastic boardwalk across the stream in the fantastic ‘muddy day’ wilderness area. The anti-slip boardwalk was an important addition as it facilitated wheeled access to this wonderful nature area.

The school welcomed the opportunity to make sustainable choices by opting to use recycled materials in these projects. The end result is that the school’s beautiful grounds have been enhanced with a range of high quality, fun, durable playground equipment which will last for years and years.

The school grounds improvement projects gave pupils a practical insight into the benefits of recycling

Following installation of the challenging climbing tower for key stage 2 pupils, we provided a free presentation on recycling, where pupils learnt how their new climbing frame started off life as a plastic milk carton.

We followed this up with a fun junk modelling session where pupils made seagulls from plastic milk cartons, jelly fish from old plastic colanders and turtles from plastic bin liners to highlight the problem of waste plastics ending up in our seas.

Deputy Head Teacher Mr Justin Jones is enthusiastic about how the outdoor play provision has improved over the years:

“Simon and his team have been trusted partners on our school grounds projects on numerous occasions. Their ideas and expertise have proved invaluable over the years – they introduced us to the benefits of using recycled plastic which means we have been able to make sustainable choices and all the projects have delivered fantastic play and learning value for our pupils.”