Case study: Cavendish Primary School – Clare Powell, Teacher

CAVENDISH NURSERY PLAY AREA IS TRANSFORMED!!

BACKGROUND

When we first meet with Clare Powell, and are taken around the playground of the nursery on Cavendish Road in Greater Manchester, the issues become apparent immediately. “The play area is a muddy mess in the winter and an uninspiring and unchallenging dust bowl in the summer” explained Mrs Powell.

The nursery wanted to use some of its DFC budget to fund the makeover and this would start with some surfacing. Due to the high wall and orientation of the play area, it was rather shady and the grass was struggling to grow. Pentagon suggested a combination of Playturf and Saferturf – some long pile artificial grass and some shorter pile outdoor carpet with a roadway design in it, as well as some other additions to the playground to stimulate the children and entertain them.

A NEW START

Cavendish Primary School Nursery now has a climbing wall which provides the children with a challenging and active play opportunity, improving gross motor skills and upper body strength. They can also get active by using the bikes & trikes on the roadway. The corner stage is perfect for developing their confidence and for any performances the nursery wants to put on as well as being the ideal imaginative and creative play environment. When we re-visited the children had built a den over the stage and were acting out a pirate scene with milk crates for boats! The mark-making panels were selected to help the children progress with their shape-forming and developing fine motor skills as well, while the covered sandpit does exactly what it says on the tin.

COLLABORATION

“Our nursery now has the Wow factor – new parents tell me they have never seen anything like it. Everyone loves the crafted tree seat too!! The children are now spending more time outside and playtime is more easily structured too” commented Mrs Powell. “We decided to go with Pentagon because their consultant explained the ideas behind their suggested design and advised me of all the options available to us – I had samples of surfacing to touch and feel and could really get a good idea of how it would look”.