The Customer
Providing a fantastic education for over 220 pupils, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Primary School has cemented itself as one of the best primary schools in all of Ashton-under-Lyne. Michelle Woods, the headteacher, and the amazing staff who work at this school are constantly striving to help students not only receive brilliant learning opportunities, but to help children develop and prepare for their futures.
Whether it's how "Pupils know that help is on hand from staff if they find their learning tricky" or how "Pupils benefit from many opportunities such as clubs and educational visits", Ofsted believes that the environment created by Our Lady of Mount Carmel Primary School is a great one for children to flourish in.
Aiming to further improve the school experience for their pupils, the primary school took some time to think about what other facilities could be introduced to create the perfect academic environment. From this, the school quickly identified one area it wanted to massively improve...
Meeting The Customer
Joshua, a year 3 teacher, decided to look online to find a company that could install multi use games areas (MUGAs) in 2022. During this search, he came across Pentagon Play and the plethora of 5 star reviews that we have received from schools, nurseries and commercial settings across the nation.
After reading through them, he headed straight to our website and spoke to a member of our sales team, Tracey Lea. During the phone call, Joshua explained the vision that the school had and what they were looking for in their new MUGA.
Throughout the call, Tracey demonstrated our company's expertise in the industry by highlighting some of our previous jobs and designs. As Joshua was looking through them, he realised that no other company could match the quality offered by Pentagon Play and decided he was happy to continue with us.
Hearing this, Tracey assigned one of our Outdoor Learning Consultants, Sam Shaw, to oversee the job and to gather more information surrounding the job. Excited, Joshua was impressed by the speed demonstrated by our company and was looking forward to experiencing the Pentagon Play customer journey.
Their Objectives
As Sam listened to Joshua, it was made apparent that the school was looking for a MUGA to take up a specific space. This space had remained unused for many years and the school believed that a MUGA would help bring life back to the space.
In addition, the school were imperative that the surface was durable and safe, allowing children to engage in sporting activities without the fear of damaging the surface. In addition, they wanted the MUGA to be a cost-effective solution and prove to be a worthy investment compared to the natural grass pitch being used.
Finally, due to the position of the proposed MUGA, the school wanted the facility to have strong fencing around the sides to prevent any stray balls from hitting the school building or other students.
Near the end, Joshua also mentioned how the EYFS play area needed a piece of play equipment that engaged children in active play. During this conversation, he mentioned that the school would be interested in a Play Tower and believed it held the key to create a more engaging play environment.
Our Approach
Sam rendezvoused with our visualisation team, who got to work on producing 3D visualisations of how the MUGA would look in a live environment. Not only did Joshua receive a fantastic graphic of the MUGA, but Sam put together the proposal in an easy-to-access PDF, allowing Joshua and other members of staff to review it without any issues.
Working for over 25 years within the playground equipment industry, Pentagon Play have built a team of expert MUGA installers. With this expertise, installation times are smaller than most of the competition and our team know how to work around your schedule.
Joshua got access to all of this and more as Pentagon believe that the customer journey is important. We want all of our customers to feel like they are apart of one big family and can always count on us for help and advice. Whether it's getting ideas from our friendly sales team to receiving a playground inspection from our RPII-accredited inspectors, you're in safe hands when you work with Pentagon Play.
Artificial Grass MUGA
Covering a total area of 180m², this artificial grass MUGA is the perfect way for a school to promote active play and sports amongst their pupils! Using the highest-quality materials on the market, any child you steps foot on this pitch will feel like a natural athlete in no time.
Before we could begin with anything though, our team focused on sorting out the baseworks of the project. This involved:
- Removal of turf and organic matter
- Weed suppressant membrane
- 100mm compacted MOT Type 1 stone sub base
- Minimal dusting of grano
- Sport Certified Shockpad
Carrying out all of these tasks ensures that the MUGA will perform at it's best, whilst ensuring that the required maintenance is kept as little as possible. As the school wanted to make a worthwhile investment, the weed suppressant membrane and stone sub base would eliminate the need for regular maintenance, saving the school valuable time and money.
Once everything was in place, our team carefully laid down one of our most premium surfacing option types, 4G Artificial Grass. Woven with quality materials, Pentagon's 4G Artificial Grass is the perfect surface type for a MUGA that wishes to emulate pitch-like conditions. Soft and durable, this surface type also reduces the risk of serious injuries occurring on the pitch, which the school loved.
Finally, to keep stray balls contained and spectators safe, we installed our 2m Mesh Fencing around the entire court. Designed by experts, our Mesh Fencing is a great solution for schools who are looking to keep their play area safe from any stray balls.
Not only will the fencing withstand multiple powerful shots, but it's built in a way to make it near impossible for children to climb. Most fencing offered by companies don't consider the adventurous spirit that children have, which can lead to nasty injuries occurring when children scale them. Our Pentagon Play designers have minimised the chance of this occurring by making it near impossible to grip on to (without sacrificing the looks).
Surfacing For EYFS Play Area
Shifting our attention to the next project, the school realised that they needed a safety surface to go underneath the modular play tower due to the critical fall height. Out of all the options, the school decided to go with our most popular EYFS surfacing option, Playturf Artificial Grass.
Known for it's soft feel and durable nature, Playturf is a fantastic safety surface for any play area that wants to keep a natural feel to their playground. As this primary school wanted an environment that promoted active play, Playturf was a great option as the natural-grass look creates a feeling of excitement and adventure.
Following a similar manufacturing process to our 4G Artificial Grass surfacing, Playturf can withstand heavy usage and poor weather conditions without showing signs of wear and tear, prolonging the life of your surfacing. In addition, the maintenance required for Playturf is minimal, meaning schools and other organisations that choose this surface don't have to worry about constantly maintaining it.
Modular Play Tower Kenilworth
Known for grabbing the attention of children and naturally promoting active play, the Kenilworth Modular Play Tower is the perfect centrepiece for any play area looking to breathe life back into their playground.
Constructed from high pressure treated 'play grade' timber, HDPE plastic and steel reinforced nylon ropes, this modular play tower is built to last a very long time. Whether it's a large group of energetic children climbing all over it to heavy snow and low temperatures, the lifespan of this play tower is unmatched by any in the market.
Due to the unique design of the play tower, not only can children engage in a variety of different activities, but the structure also promotes imaginative play. Children can be astronauts exploring or pirates navigating their ship, the opportunities are endless and all engaging.
The Results
Once a few months had passed, we asked Helen (the headteacher) if we could visit the school and see how the equipment was holding up. After getting the greenlight, our team headed over to Manchester to see the primary school and how the new facilities were making an impact with the children.
We met up with Joshua, who walked us through the playground and explained how the new Play Tower was helping children engage in active play. Not only that, but the new surfacing was also attracting children to the play area and encouraging them to engage with the new equipment.
After seeing the EYFS play area, Joshua took us to the MUGA. Luckily, we were able to see the MUGA being used to play football. Speaking to Joshua and other members of staff, the MUGA was being used by a variety of sports clubs that the school runs, as well as different sports during PE lessons.
Having line markings and recessed goals allowed children to engross themselves into new sports without having the hassle of having to set up a pitch. Since the MUGA was introduced, a lot more children have shown an interest in sports, which has led to an increase in demand for more sports clubs to be established.
After the tour was finished, we headed back to the office and gave feedback to all those involved on how well the project went. Everyone at Pentagon was over-the-moon with the final result, and it was safe to say that the primary school was too! They were so impressed with our service, we actually got chosen to create An Outdoor Classroom For Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
We'd like to wish the very best for Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Primary School and we hope that the primary school continues to get use out of our state-of-the-art MUGA and eye-catching Play Tower for generations to come!
