Case study: VICTORIA ROAD Primary School
- Mrs Kate Brown, Head Teacher

Happier times at Victoria Road in Runcorn!

BACKGROUND

During the initial consultation Mrs Brown explained that the Foundation Stage play area had been an ongoing problem. Shesaid, “It’s basically not fit for purpose”. The Foundation Stage playground used to have a tall grass mound in the centre of it which was dangerous and effectively left the playground with very little usable play space. There had been a number of attempts to rectify the issue, the mound was dug out and made into a bark pit. This presented hygiene and safety issues so the bark was then removed and replaced with grass. The grass area was still raised, was awkward to maintain and would regularly be ‘out of bounds’ during inclement weather. So Mrs Brown set about rectifying the playground once and for all.

WHAT WAS NEEDED

The school decided to enter a ‘playground competition’ which involved the children designing their own ideal playground that they could subsequently win. Unfortunately they didn’t win this competition but the ideas and concepts formed the basis of the initial brief. Pentagon and a number of other companies were invited to present solutions to the play space issue as well as proposals for adding play value.

They needed equipment that would challenge the children and also provide them with healthy play options. Mrs Brown awarded the project to Pentagon after a stringent selection process. She commented, “Pentagon provided thoughtful designs, and competitive prices but it was equally important to our decision-making to hear from other local schools that had worked with Pentagon before, and these references proved to be extremely positive.”

THE SOLUTION

The main objective was to remove the grass verge and clear the area back to a level playground. A steel canopy was erected as an outdoor classroom and new drainage channels were installed. Pentagon fitted the entire area with a colourful, all weather rubber wetpour safety surface. The safety surface included a roadway design and also bright colours to enhance sensory play. A quiet play area was introduced with rubber mushroom seats away from the active social play zones. The social play zone is set into a small area of artificial grass, which adds a new texture to the playground. The play area was then enclosed with a new, colourful HDPE (plastic) fence with gated entrance. The centrepiece for the playground is a twin tower unit. The twin tower unit features a slide, a fireman’s pole, a ramp, a ladder and a suspension bridge.

Mrs Brown added, “During the installation the children designed and built their own model playgrounds and even came out in high visibility jackets and hard hats to inspect the installation and to take notes and measurements for their scale models!”

When I met Mrs Brown after the installation work was finished she said “We are utterly delighted with the results! The children now have an opportunity to improve their gross motor skills and levels of physical fitness in a safe, yet stimulating, environment that can be used throughout the year. There is free play space as well as zones for quiet and social play, active play and imaginative play. It was always important for us to achieve a balanced design that promoted specific types of physical play but that wasn’t too prescriptive so that the children would still play imaginatively; I’m pleased to say that we achieved the design we wanted! The children are ecstatic”.