Top 5 Playgrounds of the Past Academic Year
This academic year has been extremely busy for Creative Play and we wouldn’t want it any other way!!!
We have completed a huge amount of playground development and have narrowed down our Top 5 for 2016/17!!! This was a hard choice as there were so many to choose from and all of our jobs are great but take a look at these great transformations:
Hinderton School
Hinderton School is a SEN primary school that specialises in children on the Autistic spectrum and with social communication difficulties. From the get go, it was acknowledged that there was two different areas to be re-developed; KS1 and KS2.
Within the KS1 area we removed the existing Timber Climbing frame and surfacing and replaced them with our Dart Activity Centre and Rubber Mulch Safety Surfacing. Along with this we added our vibrant Land Ranger and Perspex Board to encourage role play and imaginative play.
For the KS2 area we created a challenging Trim Trail circuit, along with Rubber Mulch Safety Surfacing to ensure the whole play space met all BSEN 1176 and 1177 safety standards and allowed for all-weather use. Trim Trail items such as our Crawling Net and Tyre Crossing were incorporated to ensure balance, co-ordination and climbing skills were targeted while still focusing on more traditional physical play aspects.
Overall the playground development at Hinderton School has been a huge success and the children love their new play areas!
Christ the King Catholic Primary School
Wanting to provide a large number of fun physical play opportunities for its KS2 pupils, Christ the King Catholic Primary School got in contact with Creative Play in regards to transforming two existing empty play areas.
After meeting with Christ the King we agreed that an impressive Multi-use Games Area (MUGA) would be ideal to provide physical play, as well as sports and fitness, opportunities that could be utilised during both play and lesson times. Completed with Artificial Grass Safety Surfacing, court markings and custom engraved goal ends, this new one-stop sports area will become a real asset for the school.
Along with their MUGA, we transformed their adjacent tarmac area with our popular Jungle Climber Midi climbing structure, as well a number of trim trail items and classic hopscotch playground markings, to provide even more outdoor play opportunities for the KS2 pupils to enjoy. Wetpour Safety Surfacing was also included under the equipment operating areas to ensure all BSEN 1176 & BSEN 1177 safety standards were met.
The final development went smoothly and is a real testament to all involved at Creative Play as well as at Christ the King Catholic Primary School.
Our Lady & St Edwards Catholic Primary School
Our Lady and St Edward Catholic Primary School had recently purchased an old children’s centre over the road to the existing school. This premises was acquired to create an EYFS area. Creative Play had previously worked with the school, bringing Our Lady & St Edwards Catholic Primary School to contact us again to help assist with the playground project.
Our Lady and St Edward Catholic Primary School wanted to incorporate a mixture of play equipment ensuring all areas of learning were covered. To do this we created different sections within the outdoor play space. In one section we added one of our new Jigsaw Play Towers as this gave the school the opportunity to add specific components to create the perfect tower system to encourage physical play, helping to develop fundamental development skills. Within a different section of the playground we added our First Mate ship, this was added along with Blue/Black flecked Wetpour safety surfacing to encourage Role Play and social interaction. We also added several Trim Trail products next to the Jigsaw play tower to add additional physical play aspects allowing even more children to play at one time! Picnic Tables were also installed providing a seating area for both adults and children, especially when they will be needing a much deserved break after all the playing!
The children absolutely love the new playground and the teachers have had some great things to say too.
Blenheim Primary School
Blehheim Primary School got in touch with Creative Play in regards to updating their existing KS1 and KS2 outdoor play areas.
For the KS1 area we wanted to create an impressive play structure that could be used by all the children during break times. With a 4-tower design we were able to include lots of exciting play features, such as an arched timber bridge, net climber, climbing wall and 2 slide, to encourage age-appropriate risky play.
We included two structures in the KS2 area to provide a wider variety of play opportunities. Again a bespoke Jigsaw Play Tower was created in collaboration with the school, this time a 1.5m high one-tower design, along with our popular Jungle Climber Midi. Together these two play structures are ideal for providing physical play in the playground.
Grass mats were used in both areas to ensure all BSEN 1176 and 1177 requirements were met as well as to prevent the surrounding grass for being worn away during play.
With two different custom Jigsaw Play Towers to build, as well as a Jungle Climber Midi, it was essential that everyone at Creative Play worked closely together to ensure everything was installed as Blenheim Primary School had envisioned. The school love their new Tower Systems and will continue to for many years to come!
The Castle School
Looking to develop their KS1 playground, The Castle School got in contact with Creative Play in regards to creating a fun sensory-focused area. Catering for children with a variety of complex learning difficulties, it was essential that we worked closely with the school to include a variety of equipment that all ability levels could enjoy.
Wanting to incorporate a variety of water, musical and creative play opportunities into their KS1 area we included popular sensory items such as our Water Wall, Glockenspiel and Chalk Board. We wanted to include a large number of play items to ensure everyone had a play station to enjoy. A number of playhouses, such as our Cambridge Shelter, Den-Making Teepee and Mound Tunnel, were also added to the design to provide more secluded zones in the playground. Along with input from The Castle School we also included a storytelling area, comprising of our Teacher’s Storytelling Chair and six Mushroom Seats; that could also be utilised for both play and lesson times. The whole development was then finished off with Artificial Grass Safety Surfacing to provide a high quality, tactile all-weather play surface.
Due to the more complex needs of the pupils it was paramount that we worked closely with the staff to ensure we caused as little disruption as possible to their school day.
Overall the installation turned out great and The Castle School now has a fantastic outdoor space that can aid its pupils’ development through play.
Congrats if you made our Top 5! We have loved doing every single one of our projects this year though and extremely excited to be cracking on with all of your upcoming summer jobs and all jobs there after!
If you are looking to update your outdoor play space, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us today, we have a team of friendly advisers waiting to hear from you and offer any assistance we can. Don’t forget we offer a free consultation and design service!
Thanks for being great customers! Here’s to 2017 – 2018 !!!