School Community Partnership With Playforce To Make New Early Years Playground A Success at Hargate Primary School

When Playforce met with children and teachers at Hargate Primary School, an inner city school in West Bromwich, the school playground was lacklustre and tired.

Helen Penn, a Reception Class Teacher outlined to Fran Brown, Playforce School Grounds Consultant, what the school hoped to achieve.

 “We aim to create a secure, caring, inclusive and friendly environment where everyone feels happy and safe, as we pride ourselves on being sensitive to the needs of every child”.  She went on to say “It’s important that we enhance the opportunities for early years’ physical development”.

The whole school community was involved with generating ideas, with playground designs displayed on walls for children and teachers to comment on, before a final design for a low level timber trail was settled on. Featuring a balance weaver, a suspension bridge, wobble walker and rubber step posts, the timber trail offers balance, co-ordination and co-operative challenges to early years’ pupils, with ages up to five.  The rubber step posts are made from recycled materials and also double up as seats for quieter playtime moments, and the addition of a sliding sandpit encourages social interaction.

Following the completion of the New EYFS Playground design, the children are taking full advantage of the new play equipment, and teachers have commented on the imaginative use of the suspension bridge, as intrepid explorers brave the 3 Billy Goats Gruff bridge complete with resident troll!

“They LOVE it!”

Hargate Primary chose Playforce for the service offered – superb quality products, intelligently designed to aid all aspects of growth, coupled with expert installation and careful after sales care. 

The revamped playground design really delivers the kind of safe yet exciting environment the young children need to complement their indoor learning.