Chesterfield School, London

Chesterfield Primary School is a nurturing, supportive and inclusive school, where children have a voice and are offered a broad and creative curriculum. The aim is to give children the opportunity to overcome barriers to success and by having communication as a key driver, ensure that children learn unrivalled communication skills and have rich experiences of the wider world. The Executive Headteacher, Zoe Hussain contacted ESP as the playground wasn’t supporting the Chesterfield vision.

The Challenge

The current EYFS provision was uninspiring to both the staff and children and was making EYFS delivery a daily challenge. Previous poor installations had left the area looking fragmented and spatially limited. The school also wanted a key emphasis placed on communication and the dream was to provide the children with access to animals.
The school caters for 500 children and Football was dominating the KS1 & 2 playground during breaks and lunchtime. Outside of ball games, the playground lacked provision for physical activity.

The Solution
ESP completely restructured the EYFS layout and removed the hazardous mounds that dominated the space. The playground was transformed with a natural theme using a variety of sensory surfaces to enhance the learning experience. The hidden gem was the creation of a small animal zone designed within a previous dead space.
Across KS1&2, ESP designed a purpose built multi-use games area (MUGA) to create a dedicated and contained space for PE and sport to be played at all times of the day. A range of equipment was installed across the rest of the playground providing opportunities for climbing, quiet and performance play.