Having over 25 years of experience within the playground equipment industry, nurseries across the UK are starting to recognise how Pentagon Play can help them develop a fantastic area for their children to play in.
Our company has created a wide range of innovative equipment that helps promote a variety of different play styles, but our constructive play equipment has always been a favourite among early childhood education.
Constructive Play Equipment
The amount of benefits that construction play provides to children is endless. From improving fine motor skills to cognitive development, Pentagon Play have always wanted to create play equipment that can support constructive play and help nurseries and pre-schools keep their children engaged, while still having fun!
An effective piece of constructive play equipment should teach children to express their creativity and help them develop problem solving skills. It should also help children improve their self-esteem to try their own ideas and communicate with others on how to bring ideas to life
A nursery in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside saw our fantastic constructive play equipment and were interested in learning more about it and how it could benefit their children. Little Foxes nursery used the Pentagon Play Online Shop and our team got to work.
The Customer
Little Foxes have four nursery settings across Merseyside, caring for children from 0 to 5 years old. Little Foxes believe in blending indoor and outdoor classrooms to create stimulating learning environments. Practitioners take care to provide a range of appropriate resources to encourage development.
Children at Little Foxes learn by playing, exploring, being active and thinking critically. The Little Foxes team place great emphasis on physical development and strongly believe in the many benefits of outdoor play.
The Little Foxes Nursery in Newton-le-Willows has numerous fantastic reviews from parents and guardians, with mentions about how the staff are wonderful and help their children have a great time at nursery whilst contributing towards child development.
Meeting The Customer
During our time at the NMT Conference 2023, Pentagon Play had the pleasure of meeting Sophie Kerr (Nursery Director of Little Foxes). At the Pentagon stall, Sophie was able to see our latest Online Shop exclusive product in-person, the Play Builder Apprentice set.
Our Pentagon Play representatives spoke to Sophie, making sure to understand what areas Little Foxes Nursery wanted to improve upon and how our products (like the Play Builder Apprentice set) could help solve those issues and provide the children with engaging and beneficial play equipment.
"With us having four outdoor areas, it is obvious that (playground equipment) needed to be accessible to all areas of the gardens."
- Alisha Dando, Nursery Manager
From speaking to Sophie, we knew how much this nursery were keen on preparing children for future academic success by developing key skills from a young age. The evening following the conference, we were ecstatic to see an order for the Play Builder Apprentice set had been placed through the Pentagon Play Online Shop!
The Order Process
On the morning after the NMT Conference, the Online Shop sales team called Sophie to confirm the order. Whilst on the phone, Sophie explained how easy she found the Online Shop to navigate and placing an order was a simple process.
During the conversation, Sophie spoke about how she sent the Online Shop product listing for the Play Builder Apprentice set to Alisha (Nursery Manager of Little Foxes in Newton-le-Willows) to review. Alisha said how the Play Builder Apprentice set was exactly what the nursery was looking for and were excited to receive the equipment.
"The online shop was really straight forward and it was really quick delivery too!"
- Alisha Dando, Nursery Manager
Through the entire process, Maddy McGuire and Lucy Cooke (members of the Digital Sales Team) kept Little Foxes nursery updated on the progress of their order, making the experience a lot more personal.
2 weeks after the initial order was placed, we delivered the the Play Builder Apprentice set directly to the Little Foxes nursery. Alisha was amazed by the speed of the delivery and how the equipment was preassembled, allowing their children to start building immediately!
The Play Builder Apprentice Set
Exclusive to the Pentagon Play Online Shop, the Play Builder Apprentice set is a fantastic choice of equipment when it comes to encouraging constructive play.
The Play Builder Apprentice Set consists of 18 pieces including blocks, lids, planks of differing size and ramps. Made from Accoya timber which is an ultra-high-performance, sustainable wood the sets are durable, weather-proof and long-lasting coming with a 25-year guarantee!
The children at Little Foxes nursery were seen advancing a wide variety of skills, from fine motor development to language development. Alisha was over-the-moon to see the early years children developing these skills and was impressed with how effective the Play Builder Apprentice set is.
"The equipment has enabled more of their imaginative play and helped with teaching constructive play with two to three year olds."
- Alisha Dando, Nursery Manager
Not only do Play Builder Sets promote development of skills, but they can help introduce children to new play methods. Play Builder Sets inspire creative play, linking perfectly to topic work whether building a pirate ship, a house or a trail through the deep, dark woods!
Another reason Little Foxes nursery loved the Play Builder set so much was due to how accessible the play equipment is. As the Play Builder Apprentice set is freestanding, children can move the equipment around the garden, positioning it wherever they wish and engaging in child led play.
Whilst young children explore the different materials of the Play Builder set, older children can create structures that help them with imaginative play. From creating roads to a magnificent city or building an aeroplane, the Play Builder Apprentice set is great for encouraging children to escape to their imaginations and bring them to life.
The Results
On our return visit to Little Foxes in Newton-le-Willows, we were lucky enough to sit down with Alisha and get feedback from her in regards to the Play Builder Apprentice set. Alisha told us how much of an impact the Play Builder set has made at Little Foxes and how it's become a fan favourite amongst the children.
"As soon as we put (the Play Builder Apprentice set) out, I feel like it's just enhanced the physical development so much!"
- Alisha Dando, Nursery Manager
Alisha told us how the children's physical development has been greatly enhanced as children use their fine motor skills to grasp and press pieces and walk, skip and jump across their courses. Thanks to the Play Builder, nursery children are given opportunities to demonstrate strength, balance and coordination and can negotiate space and obstacles well when playing.
One moment we loved watching was a young SEN child engaging with the play equipment. The team were told about how this child was often apprehensive and nervous around new equipment and wouldn't engage with most play equipment. However, we saw first hand this child slowly getting used to the equipment and eventually playing! We were so happy to share in the special moment of watching this child push themselves to explore and play more.
Currently children aged 2-3 have access to the set and Alisha is keen to order another set for preschool aged children and to possibly purchase some Role Play Additions to further enhance imaginative play.
"I would recommend it to all the other settings!
- Alisha Dando, Nursery Manager
Alisha loved the accessible nature of the set and the fact it can be used in all four of their garden spaces. It was also fantastic to hear that she would definitely recommend the Play Builder sets to other Little Foxes Nursery settings.
