Special Playground Equipment Reward after Special Measurees Lifted at Nonsuch Primary School
Children at a Birmingham School have been rewarded for their hard work and effort with exciting outdoor playground equipment and outdoor classrooms.Nonsuch Primary School, in the Wood Leasow area, had been on special measures since July 2005 after a poor Ofsted inspection.
But after a huge effort by the entire school community - staff, pupils, parents and governors - special measures were lifted in February and the celebrations have begun.
Head teacher of the school, Rebecca Garratt, who joined the school in September, said she felt it was important to thank the children for their efforts.
She said: "Before this playground equipment was installed the children had nothing to play on at lunch and break times but some old tyres. After a lot of research and consultation with pupils and parents we invited a company called Playforce to come and design something fabulous and challenging, satisfying as many needs as possible on a tight budget. What Playforce has done is fantastic."
Playforce is an award-wining Wiltshire-based company that prides itself on the ability to create outdoor playground play areas that stimulate children's imaginations and improve social behaviour at the same time as stretching their muscles. Each piece of equipment is designed to work on developing specific areas of the body and motor skills.
At Nonsuch School, which is named after one of Henry VIII's most magnificent palaces, Playforce created a timber trail of challenging playground equipment obstacles, a ship-shaped climbing frame for the younger members of the school and outdoor classrooms and shelter.
"We all love this playground equipment, the children literally beg to use it, but we have to stick to a rota because it's so popular. It's the first time they've had playground equipment to help them burn off steam," said Mrs Garratt.
"The timber trail and ship climbing frame have helped develop so many of the children's skills: confidence; problem solving; coping with the unexpected; imagination; social skills; physical skills and most importantly it has made their playtimes fun.
"We have already achieved Healthy Schools Status and now we want to become a Forest School, which means for the younger children as much learning as possible takes place outside. The outdoor classrooms go a long way towards helping us achieve that."
