Heybrook Primary, Rochdale

This one of our stunning playground case studies. Having already worked with the school in creating an outstanding new early years outdoor provision for them, Headteacher Toni got in touch with her focus now on the main playground.

Toni’s biggest concern for the area was the lack of shelter. They had one shelter within the area already but she felt the location was poor as it had been placed right in the middle of the playground, it was not only a physical obstruction for the children but it also caused a visual obstruction for the staff too. In order to combat this we added our octagonal shelter to provide an outdoor classroom setting along with our large shelter with decking, seating and planters which would not only provide further shelter but could also double up as a stage area too.

Toni knew the area was also lacking in equipment to keep the children engaged and felt that there were no clear zones. They had some existing tyres that were not used so she wanted these removing to make space for something that would provide more play value. She really wanted to get some climbing equipment for the children and completely fell in love with our Jungle Hut play tower range the minute she saw it. She felt it was very different to everything else she had seen and offered much more in terms of climbing opportunities as well as providing an imaginative play element too. She liked some pieces of our trim trail range, in particular the wobbly planks, tyre snake and tyre pass so we included each of them as standalone pieces too.

Toni really wanted to have a quiet area where the children could go to escape the otherwise busy and noisy space. For this we added an area of artificial grass with plenty of benches bordered by planters. She knew some of the children loved to play cricket and wanted to give them a designated space for this activity so we added a cricket marking to the tarmac and a cricket wicket target board to the fence. She wanted to have some lanes for the children to race so we adding in some running lanes to cater for even more physical activity.

The school already had an area fenced off for football so to improve on this we added some goals and artificial sports grass surfacing with in laid football pitch markings, the sports surfacing provides a much softer and safer surface to play on than the tarmac.

Approval from the Governors was granted immediately because they saw the value that this development would bring to the children’s everyday lives at the school and the project was completed over the summer holidays. A once dull, uninviting space has now been completely transformed into hub of activity. We created a colourful new space with clear zones allowing for purposeful play.

On returning to site, Toni said the children love the Jungle Hut in particular and that it has really taught them how to be patient with each other and to take turns.

We also got back in touch with Shahida, the Premises and Services Manager at the end of the project she said “ I am really happy with the installation and the team on site – it all took place really efficiently and completed quicker than expected.” We have built a long lasting relationship with Heybrook Primary School and can’t wait to work with them again in the future.