Bespoke Trim Trails at St Joseph’s RC Academy, Todmorden

School profile

The school wanted to improve its existing playground by introducing climbing equipment that would provide children with opportunities to be active, develop physical skills and, most importantly, have fun.

The school contacted ESP Play to discuss its ideas and explore how its existing playground could be transformed within its available budget.

The challenge

The school had previously invested in gym equipment for the playground. However, they soon found that the children were not using it as much as they had hoped.

Rather than continuing with equipment that wasn’t engaging the pupils, the school wanted to replace it with something more suited to primary-aged children.

The school decided that a trim trail would be a better option, providing children with a variety of climbing, balancing and agility challenges that could be enjoyed as part of active play.

The school also wanted to make the most of its available budget.

Gym equipment is generally designed for individual use, meaning that only one child can use a piece of equipment at a time. A trim trail, on the other hand, can incorporate a number of different activities and allow several children to play at once.

ESP Play therefore recommended a trim trail as a more cost-effective and engaging alternative.

The solution

Two age-appropriate trim trails for KS1 and KS2 pupils.

ESP Play met with the school’s PE Coordinator, Gemma, who had the idea of creating two separate trails.

One trail would be designed specifically for younger KS1 pupils, while the second would provide more challenging activities for KS2 children.

This approach meant that children could use equipment that was appropriate to their age and physical development, with the level of challenge increasing as they progressed through the school.

The completed trails feature a wide variety of climbing, balancing and agility equipment, including:

KS1 and lower-level equipment:

• Intermediate Balance Beam
• Intermediate Balance Challenge
• Wobbly Planks
• Intermediate Wobbly Bridge
• Number Snake

KS2 and more challenging equipment:

• Double Sided Split Traverse Wall
• Low Level Traverse Net
• Log Stairs
• Log Stride
• Log Pass
• Advanced Log Weave
• Leap Frog Posts
• Advanced Balance Beam
• Advanced Balance Challenge

The variety of equipment means children can develop different physical skills while progressing through challenges of varying difficulty.

Choosing a Trim Trail Over Gym Equipment

The school wanted to provide children with equipment they would actually enjoy using.

While gym equipment can provide opportunities for exercise, trim trails are specifically designed around active play. They encourage children to climb, balance, scramble and navigate obstacles while having fun with their friends.

Trim trails can also provide better value for a primary school playground budget.

A single piece of gym equipment will often only accommodate one child at a time, whereas a trim trail can contain numerous activities that allow several children to play simultaneously.

For primary-aged children, ESP Play believes that climbing and physical activity should be fun. When equipment is designed primarily around exercise rather than play, children may be more likely to use it in ways it wasn’t intended for.

The trim trail gave St Joseph’s RC Academy a way to encourage physical activity through play while providing a much wider range of activities for the pupils to enjoy.

Safety Considerations

Safety surfacing was an important consideration when planning the new climbing equipment.

ESP Play explained to the school that safety surfacing can represent a significant proportion of a playground equipment budget. However, equipment with a critical fall height of less than 0.6m does not require impact-attenuating safety surfacing.

With this in mind, the school was happy to keep much of the equipment at a lower level.

This allowed more of the available budget to be spent on the equipment itself, meaning the school could include a greater variety of activities rather than dividing its budget between equipment and safety surfacing.

Keeping the equipment low level did not mean that the challenges were simple. ESP Play’s trim trail equipment is classified as simplified, intermediate or advanced, allowing designers to create challenges with different levels of difficulty.

Some of the more challenging equipment has a greater critical fall height and therefore requires appropriate safety surfacing.

The final design carefully balanced challenge, accessibility and budget to create age-appropriate trails for both KS1 and KS2 pupils.

A Trim Trail for Different Ages and Abilities

Creating two separate trails allowed the school to provide different levels of physical challenge.

The KS1 trail includes lower-level activities that allow younger children to develop confidence with climbing, balancing and navigating obstacles.

The KS2 trail incorporates more advanced challenges for older children who are ready to test their balance, coordination and agility.

The variety of equipment also means that children can develop their skills over time. Activities that may initially feel challenging can become easier with practice, while the more advanced equipment provides an opportunity for children to continue progressing.

This makes the trim trails suitable for a broad range of abilities and gives pupils the opportunity to challenge themselves at their own pace.

Adding Learning Through Play

The school also chose to add a Number Snake to the centre of the KS1 trail.

Playground markings can be a valuable way of incorporating learning into outdoor spaces. They can be used to support classroom learning while also providing children with something fun to interact with during playtime.

The colourful Number Snake adds an educational element to the playground while helping to brighten up the existing tarmac.

This means the new area isn’t just about physical development. It also provides opportunities for children to practise early numeracy skills in an outdoor environment.

Installation

ESP Play worked with the school to create two separate trim trails, with the equipment selected to provide different levels of challenge for KS1 and KS2 pupils.

The equipment was carefully planned to make the most of the school’s available budget while providing as much variety as possible.

By keeping the majority of the equipment at a low level, the school was able to avoid the additional cost of safety surfacing for those items and invest more of its budget in the equipment itself.

The Number Snake was then added to the centre of the KS1 trail, providing a bright and engaging feature that can also support outdoor learning.

Once the project was complete, the ESP Play team returned to the school to photograph the children enjoying their new equipment.

The outcome

Two exciting trim trails for active outdoor play.

The completed project has transformed St Joseph’s RC Academy’s playground, replacing the underused gym equipment with two engaging trim trails designed specifically for KS1 and KS2 pupils.

The different levels of challenge give children the opportunity to:

• Climb and scramble
• Improve balance and coordination
• Develop agility and physical confidence
• Navigate different obstacles
• Challenge themselves at an appropriate level
• Play alongside their friends
• Develop physical skills through active play
• Use the Number Snake to support early numeracy

The two-trail approach means that both younger and older pupils have equipment suited to their individual levels of development, while the variety of activities allows children to build their skills and confidence over time.

The school was also able to make the most of its available budget, incorporating a wide range of equipment without unnecessarily spending money on safety surfacing where it wasn’t required.

Most importantly, the new trim trails have given the children a playground feature that encourages them to be active because they want to play. Rather than simply providing exercise equipment, the trails allow children to climb, balance and challenge themselves while having fun with their friends.

The ESP Play team had the pleasure of returning to the school to photograph the children using their new equipment, and it was clear that the trim trails had been a huge success.

The children love their new trim trails and can continue to develop their physical skills, confidence and coordination through active play for years to come.