Projects

Brief

TCES Nurture Primary approached us in June 2024 to discuss developing their tired and limited outdoor play areas. They had two small areas that needed renovation; the first of which was a narrow alleyway which they wanted to turn into a space which would offer the children some physical challenge whilst also being an area in which they could run around freely. The second area was slightly larger and was to be the main physical play area, offering a variety of challenges to the children to build their coordination, agility, and strength.

Solution

We presented the school with several design options with a variety of play features, surfacing and furniture items that would brighten up the space and provide exciting new and productive activities for the children. Ultimately, we settled on a design that incorporated multiple colourful surfaces, traditional play items, sports equipment, and seating areas.

Project Details

Starting in the alleyway area, we installed a bright new Artificial Grass surface with a blue football pitch at one end and a Basketball Hoop at the other. This created an open space which gave the children the room to run around freely whilst also offering an opportunity for physical development and exercise.

In the Main Area we opted for a colourful Wetpour surface throughout to both brighten up the space and protect against any falls from the equipment. Within the surface we inlayed a hopscotch marking and a running track whilst also installing different colours under the different play features to create a clearly zoned area.

To create a suitable physical challenge, we installed a small Play Tower featuring a Scramble Net, Ladder, Climbing Wall, and a slide, creating opportunities to build upper body strength and providing a source of vestibular movement to improve balance, coordination and special awareness. Alongside this we also installed a Log Traverse to further build agility and coordination skills, a Satellite Carousel to serve as an additional source of vestibular movement, and a set of 9 Grass Blocks which are fully mobile to allow the school to create exciting ever-changing adventure trails. In conjunction with these physical play items, we installed two play panels on the wall of the school building: a Three in a Row Game Panel and a Quick Reactions Play Panel. These play panels offer an opportunity for the students to play collaboratively and help to develop their coordination and fine motor skills.

The last products we installed were a Sand Quarry, a Friendship Bench, and 3 Mushroom Seats. The Sand Quarry promotes exploration and develops fine motor skills through the use of the buckets and pulley system whilst also building problem solving and critical thinking skills. Finally, the Friendship Bench and Mushroom seats create a quiet zone where children can sit and take a break from the physical play activities; these products installed in conjunction with a patch of beige Wetpour help to build a clear zoned area which is separate from the rest of the playground.

Result

The school’s previously tired and limited play spaces were now transformed into an amazing new playground specifically designed to cater to the children’s needs. The staff were all very pleased with the finished project and are now looking forward to many exciting hours of play and development for their students.