EYFS Play Area Transformation at St Andrews CE Primary!

The Customer

Located in the heart of Skegby, St Andrews CE Primary and Nursey School provides a brilliant education for the children around Sutton-in-Ashfield. From its strong Christian and British values to the attentive teaching staff, the school has earned a positive reputation amongst parents and local community members.

Having over 370 students attending the school, Mr Ian Snelling and his talented team have created a school environment that the children feel comfortable learning in. During an Ofsted inspection, the inspector even noted how the children feel the environment is "supportive and unique", leading to pupils saying that they "‘love coming to this school".

Not only does the primary school offer an excellent education and learning environment for KS1 and KS2 children, but the attached nursery does a fantastic job at providing early years foundation stage care for the little ones.

Recently, the school wanted to focus on their nursery provisions and how they could improve their EYFS playground to make play time more engaging. After a few debates and ideas, the school decided that a redevelopment of their EYFS play area was the perfect option.

Meeting the Customer

Kate Dubowski, a nursery teacher at St Andrews CE Primary and Nursery School, first got in contact with Pentagon Play in early 2022. As she was looking online for nursery play area specialists, she came across our website and saw the numerous 5 star reviews left by other nurseries and primary schools that we worked with.

Impressed, she headed to our website and browsed the innovative ranges that we offer. From our popular surfacing range to our unique freestanding play equipment, Kate was amazed by the wide variety of products offered by Pentagon Play.

Looking for more information, Kate decided to contact our helpful and friendly sales team directly by mobile. Lucy Cooke, a member of our digital sales team, had the pleasure of speaking to Kate to learn more about the project. Throughout the call, Lucy answered every question that Kate had and provided her with knowledge that only a playground company could have by operating for over 25 years in the industry.

Blown away, Kate was excited to begin her journey with Pentagon Play and bring a fresh lease of life to the EYFS play area. Daniel Young, one of our expert Outdoor Play Consultants, was assigned to the case and a meeting was booked between him and Kate to understand more about the project. Once a time was agreed for the free site visit and consultation, both parties were excited to get this project on the go.

Their Objectives

As Daniel and Kate spoke, it was made abundantly clear that the main aim of the redevelopment of the EYFS playground was to provide a more engaging space for children to play in. Alongside this, the nursery really wanted equipment that would benefit the children and assist in their development.

Surfacing was another subject that was spoken about in detail. Due to the existing surfacing loosing it's colour and visual appeal, the nursery wanted a surface that was bright and vibrant. In addition, it was key that the surfacing type was safe and durable.

Finally, the school felt that the EYFS play area was needing a piece of play equipment that stood out from the rest and would catch the eye of all the children. This equipment should also encourage active play and assist the children in developing healthy attitudes towards exercise.

Our Approach

As soon as Daniel had all the information he needed, he speedily returned back to our Middlewich head office to speak to the relevant departments involved in this project to get things moving as quickly as possible. If any development occurred during the process, Kate was swiftly informed about it and constantly kept up-to-date with the progress of the project.

Whereas most companies would stop here, Pentagon Play always wants to go the extra step and provide our customers with a journey like no other. Our in-house visualisation team created a variety of 3D images and graphics to showcase how the proposed project would look once it was completed. Like most of our clients, Kate and the staff loved seeing these as it helped them understand the impact the equipment would have and made them feel confident with their choices.

Whilst Kate was receiving support from Daniel and other team members, our expert manufacturing team started working tirelessly to locate the best materials in the industry and start producing the required pieces to assemble the equipment. From strict quality assurance checks to state-of-the-art machinery, it's no surprise why our manufacturing process is so highly regarded.

Helping over 500,000 children enjoy playtime every year, Pentagon Play have established themselves as the go-to experts for all of your playground needs. We've worked tirelessly in over 15,000 unique locations to bring dream playgrounds to life and every single time, we've only been met with success.

Once the installation is completed, that doesn't mean your time with Pentagon Play has to finish. We are the one-stop shop for all of your playground needs. Ranging from getting tips and advice from our aftercare team to having RoSPA approved playground inspections carried out by our Inspections and Maintenance team, you're in safe hands when you choose Pentagon Play for your project.

Wetpour & Playturf Surfacing

As the school were stuck on which surfacing type to select, they decided on combining two of Pentagon's most popular surfacing options. Covering the majority of the playground, the nursery wanted the vibrant and impact-absorbing wetpour surfacing.

Crafted from quality EPDM rubber granules, Pentagon Play's wetpour surfacing is durable enough to withstand heavy foot-traffic and poor weather conditions, helping it maintain its bright and vibrant designs for years to come.

Famous for it's impact absorbing qualities, wetpour is perfect for keeping early years foundation stage children safe from sustaining serious injuries. St Andrews were really impressed with this aspect of the surfacing as they wanted to create an environment where children could explore without fear of injuring themselves.

Bespoke in nature, wetpour allows for a variety of graphics to be laid on top of the surface, allowing schools to create their very own designs. St Andrews Primary thought of including a brown road like design on their black wetpour surface, helping children engaged in imaginative play.

Alongside the wetpour, the school wanted a surfacing type that would add more vibrance but create a sense of nature. Woven to high-standards, Pentagon's Playturf Artificial Grass was the perfect solution for the EYFS play area.

Having a state of the art play basework installed underneath the Playturf, the chance of serious accidents occurring on your playground are massively reduced. With safety being a key priority, the school loved the idea of having this surfacing present.

Playturf also allows schools to add exciting graphics and images on top of the surface by using our Saferturf range. This EYFS play area decided to include a variety of colourful blob designs throughout the playground to create a sense of excitement and vibrance throughout the entire playground.

Not only does the artificial grass nicely contrast the wetpour, but our artificial turf has passed FIFA's rigorous durability tests. By having two incredibly durable surfacing options present on the playground, the school felt confident that it would withstand the test of times.

Freestanding Nursery Playground Equipment

St Andrew's CE Primary & Nursery wanted to completely redesign their playground and add a variety of new and exciting play equipment to their area. One specific catalogue of products that caught their eye was out Freestanding Play Equipment.

Freestanding Play Equipment has the unique benefit of being versatile and manoeuvrable. Whereas most play equipment is installed in one solitary spot, freestanding play equipment requires no installation and can easily be moved from place to place to match your desires.

The nursery wanted to create some distinctive zones on the playground and felt that freestanding play equipment would be the perfect way to effectively establish these areas without having to commit any space towards an installation.

Having 13 unique pieces of playground equipment present on the playground, the nursery felt confident that there would be something for everyone. The pieces they chose included:

With such a variety of play equipment available, the school could create an effective zone to focus on a certain area of development. St Andrews created a messy play area by placing the Mud Kitchen, Straight Planter Bench and Early Year Freestanding Water Wall, helping children explore their senses whilst developing a stronger understanding of the world around them.

Each piece of freestanding play equipment that the school purchased has been designed to assist in most areas of child development. From the Giant Playhouse helping children improve their social and communication skills to the Play Builder Set improving cognitive processes, it's safe to say that this nursery playground would help children prepare for primary school.

Pinnacle Hill Climber

Perfect for helping children build their climbing confidence, the Pinnacle Hill Climber is an introductory climbing frame that is perfect for nursery playgrounds. Having a variety of exit and entry points, children will have a blast finding their own ways to navigate this fantastic climbing frame.

Using high pressure treated 'play grade' timber and steel reinforced ropes, the Pinnacle Hill Climber is built to be extremely durable and long-lasting, meaning nurseries like the one at St Andrews don't have to worry about replacing the equipment after a few years.

Watch as children between the ages of 2-4 years old develop their motor skills, balance, core stability and upper and lower body strength as they tackle this exciting challenge. Helping EYFS children develop physically helps them prepare better for primary school and onwards, providing a great starting point.

Unique in its look, the Pinnacle Hill Climber will naturally help children escape into their imaginations and engage in effective role play. Whether the children are adventurers looking through an ancient ruin or secret agents trying to bypass security, St Andrews loved how engaged their children would become in active play due to this equipment.

The Results

After a few months had passed by, we reached out to St Andrews CE Primary and Nursery School if a small team from Pentagon could re-visit the school and see how the completed project looked. Without hesitation, the school were more than happier to accept our proposal.

Once we arrived, we met up with Kate and members of the SLT to discuss how everything had been. Throughout the whole experience, the staff at St Andrews remained friendly and welcoming, making the whole process an absolute joy.

As we entered the playground, we immediately were taken aback by the new vibrant play surfacing and how much more alive the playground environment felt. Katie even stated how the new playground environment had made the children more excited for playtime.

Looking around, we could see groups of children playing with different pieces of play equipment and improving a variety of skills and behaviours. The nursery loved how beneficial this equipment was on children's behaviour and development and felt like it was getting the children ready for primary school.

As predicted, the Pinnacle Hill Climber was a huge hit with the children, with a group of children playing a game in the structure. Kate explained how children were never bored with the climbing frame as they would constantly create a variety of scenarios and ideas to keep playtime fresh.

Everybody at Pentagon Play wishes the absolute best for St Andrews CE Primary and Nursery and that their new EYFS play area continues to help children develop and remain engaged in beneficial play.