Enchanted Playground Equipment for Middlezoy Primary School

Playforce, the premier provider of playground equipment, has transformed a wasteland into an enchanted outdoor playground for a group of Somerset school children.

The early years foundation stage pupils of Middlezoy Primary School in Bridgwater now have a colourful new play and performance area to exercise their minds and bodies.

"It's fantastic," said landscape architect for Somerset County Council, Michelle Martin, who helped ensure the transformation ran smoothly.

"What was an incredibly small and unusable space is now a colourful, exciting and versatile area with great scope for play and education. The design has opened up the space, the all weather surface makes it useable all year round and it also has disabled access."

The four and five-year-olds the play area was created for were allowed to help with the design. The result is an all weather surface in red, yellow, olive green and blue, with a raised-deck performance area, a small pond, a sensory area, poles for birdfeeders, wind-chimes or ribbons and a story corner with coloured toadstool seats. There is also a outdoor classroom styled pergola leading straight off the classroom to ensure outdoor play is possible regardless of the weather.

"The kids absolutely love it, probably more-so because they had so much influence on what it would look like. And although it is specifically for the foundation stage the playground equipment is suitable for a much wider age range and the rest of the school have been allowed to use it as well," said Michelle.

"The change to this area has been really dramatic and incredibly satisfying," said Playforce consultant Fran Brown. "We transformed an area of brambles and rough ground into a wonderful outdoor playground area."