The Customer
Located within Bradford, Wibsey Primary School has always aimed to deliver an excellent education for it's pupils, whilst imbuing their kids with a sense of community pride. With a curriculum that is both engaging and adaptive, the school has created an environment where every child can flourish.
The dedicated team of staff, led by the incredible Mr Nigel Cooper (headteacher), are committed to creating a nurturing and caring space that not only supports academic growth, but also encourages the development of well-rounded, compassionate people.
As a part of their ongoing quest for excellence, the school continuously evaluates it's current facilities and offerings to see if there are any areas that could be furthered developed. After their most recent evaluation, the staff focused on their playground and started to wonder how they could revamp the area to bring adventure and excitement back to playtime!
Meeting The Customer
Mrs J Baker, Office Manager and Business Lead at Wibsey Primary School, and Mr Nigel Cooper started to look online to find a playground design company that could help the school redevelop their playground. After gathering quotes, they came across the Pentagon Play website.
Checking our 5-star reviews and glowing testimonials, the school felt confident that our company was up to the challenge. Visiting the website, the pair were amazed by the wide variety of equipment and services provided by us.
From safety surfacing options to active play equipment, the school made sure to look throughout all of our ranges. As they viewed every product, their confidence grew that Pentagon Play could help to completely transform their playground. Wanting to get an experts opinion, they decided to pop us a call.
After speaking to our wonderful sales team, Mrs Baker and Mr Cooper were put in contact with Tom Hollingworth (a playground consultant at Pentagon). As the pair explained their current situation, Tom was more than happier to provide recommendations and ideas for the school to maximise their play space.
Wibsey Primary explained how they were currently in the process of gathering quotes from different playground companies and were interested to see what Pentagon Play could offer. Professional and friendly, Tom took his time and explained why so many schools across the UK trust Pentagon with their playground installations.
Once the school was happy with all the information, Tom sent over a quote featuring all of the innovative and exciting pieces of play equipment and surfacing options. As the pair reviewed all of the quotes they had gathered, they quickly decided that Pentagon Play was the perfect company to work with.
Over-the-moon with the news, Tom offered the school a free on-site visit and consultation to gather more information on the project and to see if any other ideas could be implemented. Impressed by Tom's dedication to helping the school bring their dream playground to life, they accepted the offer and booked a convenient time in.
Their Objectives
During Tom's visit to Wibsey Primary, Mrs Baker showcased the school's current playground and explained how the staff wanted to establish healthy behaviours and attitudes towards active play. She felt that the current playground wasn't effectively engaging children in active play and believed new active play equipment could help.
On the topic of introducing new playground equipment to the area, the school also thought that creating zones that targeted specific types of play would be a great idea. From imaginative play to performance play, the school wanted to provide and area that would provide opportunities for overall development.
Continuing the tour, Mrs Baker also highlighted how the area needed new playground safety surfacing. Not only did the school want the new surface to be durable and an impact absorbing surfacing option, but they also wanted it to add some colour and vibrance to the area, helping children to fully immerse themselves in play.
Walking across the playground, Tom and Mrs Baker talked about the pupils' attitudes towards sports like football. Like most schools across the nation, Wibsey found a lot of it's students taking up large portions of the playground playing football, limiting space for other forms of play. With the idea of a MUGA being brought to her attention, this primary school felt that a designated area for sports would be perfect.
Finishing off the on-site consultation, Mrs Baker mentioned how she loved the idea of incorporating an outdoor classroom into the final design. After reading some of the benefits of an outdoor classroom, Wibsey primary felt like this facility could make a huge impact on the children's academic performances and engagement during lessons.
Our Approach
Having understood the project laid before him, Tom took his notes back to our Middlewich office to liaise with the relevant departments on this total redevelopment of a playground. Throughout Mrs Bakers journey with us, she was continuously kept in the loop with Tom providing updates on any developments and progress.
Most other companies within the industry would stop here, thinking clear communication is enough, Pentagon Play likes to go the extra step. Our in-house visualisation team will work tirelessly to provide your school with state-of-the-art 3D visualisations and graphics of your proposed playground. These materials are vital for schools like Wibsey primary, who are looking to present proposed projects to boards of governors.
Whilst Mrs Baker and the team were receiving constant support from Tom, our industry-leading manufacturing team were working behind the scenes to locate the highest-quality materials available in the industry. From our thorough quality assurance checks to our innovative production process, it's no surprise why our equipment is in a league of it's own!
Transforming playgrounds at over 15,000 sites, Pentagon Play has established itself as a top-rated provider in the UK for designing and manufacturing playground equipment. Over the years, we've broadened our offerings to become a comprehensive solution for all playground-related needs. Whether you're in need of an RPII-accredited inspection or expert aftercare advice, Pentagon Play is here to assist you every step of the way.
Playground Safety Surfacing
After carrying out the necessary ground works and removal of the previous surface, our team got straight to work on installing our critically-acclaimed surfacing range. Not only did the school select one of our best-selling safety surfacing option, but they ended up selecting our top 3!
Each of these surfacing options massively reduces the risk of a serious injury occurring on the playground, helping to establish a safe environment for children to escape in play. Wibsey Primary loved this aspect of our surfacing, as it would help to encourage children to fully immerse themselves in play without holding themselves back due to fear of injury.
To create their one-of-a-kind area, the school wanted a combination of surfaces to create different areas within the play area to replicate real life environments to allow children's imaginations to go wild!
Wetpour Surfacing
Crafted from high-quality rubber granules, wetpour surfacing is an incredibly bespoke safety surface that provides high levels of impact absorption and durability. One of the key USPs of this surfacing type is how bespoke this surface is, with hundreds of colours and designs being offered.
Wanting to create a "floor is lava" design, both parties agreed that wetpour would be the perfect surface for this design and would provide a safe space for children to engage in active play. After seeing the final result, the school was truly blown away.
Playturf Surfacing
Whether it's being used to create a sense of tranquillity or being used as a sports surface, Playturf Artificial Grass has become a favourite for schools across the UK. Not only does this surface look and feel great, but Playturf is one of our most durable surfacing types, being built to withstand poor weather conditions and heavy usage.
The school were keen to utilise it's natural looks by integrating it within an island-like design, promoting imaginative play and creating a truly memorable look. Alongside this usage, the surface was also used underneath the outdoor classroom to enhance the appeal of the structure and to enhance the natural environment.
Saferturf Surfacing
Combining the colourful nature of wetpour with the look of artificial turf, Saferturf is quickly becoming one of our best-selling surfacing options. Renowned for it's soft touch, Saferturf is the perfect addition to any playground looking to add some vibrance and sensory aspects.
To enhance the look of their island design, the school decided to add Saferturf to further enhance the imaginative aspects, such as a beach and ocean. In addition, the school thought it would be a great idea to use Saferturf as a highlighter, placing small amounts of it in the centre of the outdoor classroom and ampitheatre zone.
Multi Use Games Area (MUGA)
Measuring 20m x 10m, this bespoke 4G Artificial Grass MUGA is the perfect addition to any school that has students who are mad for all things sports (like Wibsey Primary School)! Including white goal posts, 2m high purple mesh fencing and a single gate entrance, pupils can fully engage in a sport without interfering with other forms of play.
Featuring high quality white football lines, the pitch is built to perfectly replicate a football pitch, avoiding any potential arguments for out-of-bound balls. Wibsey loved this feature as it allowed the school to host extra-curricular activities without having to spend time setting up a pitch on the field.
Not only do MUGAs prevent sports from spilling over to the playground, but they also massively reduce the risk of stray balls causing injuries or damage. Due to this, staff could feel more relaxed during playtime, knowing that the chance of an incident happening being reduced.
MUGAs also make a great USP for a school as it showcases a primary school's dedication to promoting healthy behaviours and attitudes towards sports. When it comes to intaking new students, Wibsey can showcase this facility to parents to help them differentiate themselves from surrounding schools.
Amphitheatre Zone
Performance play is becoming an increasingly common type of play within primary schools, with a lot of playgrounds featuring pieces of play equipment that naturally promote it. Wibsey Primary wanted to take this a step further by creating an entire zone where children could escape into their characters and put on memorable performances.
Crafted from high pressure treated 'play grade' timber, the Amphitheatre with Grass-Topped Seats is guaranteed to make an instant impact on your children. With it's imaginative and unique design, children will find it easy to escape into new worlds and put on a play that all their friends can enjoy.
Using the Playturf and Saferturf to create a designated stage area Infront of the Amphitheatre, Wibsey felt like their performance zone was built to absolute perfection. With such a well-designed area, the school was sure to see an influx in students taking part in performance play.
Main Playground
Moving on to the largest part of the project, the main playground needed to showcase all of the exciting ideas and designs that the school had thought of. Due to this, the school decided that they would have three areas present on the main playground, each targeting a different need and requirement.
Imagination & Breakout Zone
Designating the area with the island-like design as the imagination and breakout zone, the school felt like it needed some play equipment that would naturally promote these forms of play with relative ease. From this, the school decided on having two Imagination Stations and three Wigwams installed on the area.
Featuring multiple features, the Imagination Station is a fantastic piece of play equipment that can help children escape into new worlds. Whether they use the den making posts to create a fort like no other or the marking panels to draw their surroundings, children will be amazed by how much is offered by this structure. The school loved the look of the equipment and felt like it was exactly what they needed.
Alongside these magnificent structures, the school decided on adding our famous Wigwams to the area. These imaginative structures are built to help children escape into their imaginations and carry out effective role play. By combining these with the Imagination Stations, the school felt like they had created an effective area for imagination and breakout play.
Outdoor Classroom
Measuring a whopping 7.5m, the Octagonal Gazebo is a fantastic resource for any school looking to incorporate opportunities for outdoor learning on their play area. Crafted from the strongest materials on the market, schools like Wibsey Primary can be assured that this structure will last all year round, through all types of weather conditions and usage.
With artificial grass being used as the primary surface, the design of the gazebo beautifully compliments the surfacing to create a sense of calmness and relaxation, allowing children to focus intently on the lesson and its contents.
After seeing the structure present on the playground, the school were hugely impressed by the quality of the product and how much of an impact it had on the entire playground. Mrs Baker felt that the staff at the school would be using the structure regularly and would become a popular part of the entire school.
Adventure Play Area
The last zone of the main playground was focused on active and adventure play. Having the surfacing designed after the "floor is lave" concept, the school wanted to enhance it further by adding a variety of exciting and unique obstacles. These included:
- Incline Balance Beam Crossing
- Clatter Bridge with Rope Handrails
- Large Stepping Log
- Tightrope Bridge with Rope Handrails
- Large Stepping Log
- Wobbly Log Traverse
- Single Forest Climbing Pole
- Twin Incline Balance Beams
- Horizontal Swinging Log Crossing
- Step Rope Traverse
- Drop Rope Tightrope Crossing
Each of these pieces were combined to form a truly bespoke adventure play trim trail. This trim trail not only featured some of our most engaging pieces of play equipment, but would provide a space where children could develop their physical skills and behaviours.
Wanting this area to be the highlight of the entire playground, the school felt like the finished result was perfect. From the bright colours and the exciting equipment, Mrs Bakers was sure that this area would become a firm favourite amongst the children in the school.
The Results
After a few weeks had passed, Tom reached out to Wibsey school and asked if there was any possibility for a small team from Pentagon Play to visit the school. This visit would allow our experts to understand how much of an impact our play equipment has had on the children. After receiving the greenlight, our team made their way to Bradford.
Entering the school, our team was greeted by the friendly staff of Wibsey Primary School. Throughout the entirety of our visit, the staff were always on hand to provide assistance and help, making us feel right at home.
As we reached the playground, our team spoke to Mrs Baker to understand more about how the new equipment and facilities had impacted the school. Straight away, she told us how children seemed more excited for playtime and were fully immersing themselves during playtime. This total immersion led to children burning off all of their pent up energy, helping them develop a stronger focus during lesson time.
Walking around, a variety of teachers told us how the outdoor classroom was a fantastic asset to the school, allowing teachers to create more engaging and aspiring lesson plans for their classes. The children loved outdoor learning and responded positively to any opportunities to engage with it.
Passing the MUGA, the staff told us how the amount of incidents caused by sports on the playground had completely disappeared since the introduction of the MUGA. Not only this, but the amount of children being seriously injured from football had massively reduced, making parents and stakeholders happier.
Another area we were taken to was the imaginative and breakout zone. As we made our way there, we could see a group of children putting on a play at the amphitheatre, engaging themselves in child-led performance play.
Arriving at the imaginative and breakout zone, we saw a large group of children engaging in role play and creating their own games. The staff told us how this zone had become a firm favourite amongst the children and the school even received positive comments about it.
Finally, we were shown the adventure play area. Both staff and children told us how this zone had become the hot spot for everyone across the school. From it's vibrant "floor is lava" surfacing design to the exciting active play equipment, the school felt that Pentagon Play absolutely smashed the project brief.
Working with Wibsey Primary School was an absolute pleasure and we hope that the playground continues to bring joy and adventure for all the students at the school. We'll always be on hand if you ever need our help again!
