Background
St Joseph’s is a single form entry, Roman Catholic primary school in Lichfield, Staffordshire, catering for pre-school, reception and year 1 to 6 children. The school contacted ESP Play in July 2019 as they were looking to revamp outdoor provision in their EYFS areas. Following diligent scrutiny of the designs and quotes of three separate playground design companies, ESP was awarded the contract a few weeks after we began liaising with the school.
The Challenge
Val Cartwright, the school’s Early Years Foundation Stage Lead, sought to transform the EYFS outdoor space so that it was better designed to deliver today’s curriculum and could provide a safe and stimulating environment used for both learning and play.
The design and layout of the existing areas were disjointed and this limited opportunities for both learning and play, making them difficult to coordinate. In addition, existing equipment and surfacing looked tired and uninviting, which contrasted significantly with the vibrancy of the rest of the school.
Before Installation
The Brief
St Joseph’s commissioned ESP Play to design and install a new EYFS playground area that was more inviting, stimulating and engaging for its pre-school and reception children. As part of this, the development needed to create distinct zones where play and learning could be better coordinated.
The new area was required to offer a variety of play and learning experiences, including those where children could initiate discovery, have opportunities for problem-solving and take part in free play.
The Project
The initial part of the ESP design process was to visit St Joseph’s to carry out a comprehensive site survey. This was followed by a consultation with the EYFS lead, Val Cartwright, looking at the weaknesses and limitations of the existing areas and to discuss the school’s ideas on what it wanted its new playground to deliver. In light of this, ESP discussed what was practical and would be a good fit for the space, as well as offering suggestions about appropriate equipment options that would meet the school’s needs.
The overall design included a classroom extension, open-ended and flexible zones, natural spaces, climbing challenges and roleplay options. This created a high-value and sustainable proposition that children would enjoy and benefit from for years to come. It would encourage child-initiated discovery and problem solving and provide far more opportunities for coordinating learning and play activities.
During the installation, ESP maximised use of the space by creating distinct activity and learning areas. This included the repositioning of internal fencing and the installation of various surface options and play equipment to create clean, clearly defined zones which allowed provision to switch between fast and slow play-based learning.
The results
Despite being undertaken during poor weather, the installation took place as planned, on schedule and without disruption to the school. The finished EYFS playground design transformed the outdoor space for St Joseph’s pre-school and reception students, providing them with a safe, inviting and stimulating play area in which the EYFS curriculum could be delivered in a more coordinated fashion. The carefully created zones enabled space to be used more effectively and safely while providing a much wider range of age-appropriate activities for children to participate in.
After Installation
The outcome
As a result of the playground installation, EYFS provision at St Joseph’s has significantly improved. ESP has taken a space which was disjointed and tired and transformed it into one with recognisably defined zones equipped with innovative, state of the art playground equipment and surfacing.
The new environment is far more appropriate for the needs of current and future cohorts and better enables staff to deliver the curriculum, with pupils having far more opportunities to learn, play and develop, including increased scope for problem-solving, self-initiated discovery and enjoyment.
Overall, the school was very impressed with the whole process undertaken by ESP. They are feeling extremely positive about how the installation has helped their EYFS provision and the positive impact this will have on children’s development now and long into the future.
