Hythe Community Primary School

“Flexible in approach, very good ordering and design process. Design was great and all in all a good experience!”
J. Wilson – Finance Manager

What were the reasons for developing your outdoor space?

• Needed upgrading
• Outdated equipment
• To keep up with current requirements for play provisions

How we transformed the play area to provide outdoor learning opportunities for the children:

Providing guidance and flexibility to our customers along their play area journey is something we pride ourselves on. We first met with the project leaders in 2016 and throughout the design process we worked side by side to give the school a balance of what they dreamed of and would get the most play opportunities from. The design had a complete overhaul in early 2017 but being in regular touch with the school which set us in best position to move forward with the new designs. Within the Early Years setting there was an area of grass within a larger tarmac playground. Whilst it gave the school a natural zone for the children it could only be used a minimal amount during the year due to weather conditions. Now, we never like to take natural environments away from the children so we sat down with the school and proposed an area of Artificial Grass to achieve an all-weather play space which still gave the children a natural look and outdoor feel. The leaders were keen on providing a road track area for bikes and trikes so we combined it with an outer ring of Rubber Mulch Surfacing perfect for cycling, triking and scooting! To add more activities to the central grass zone the school chose an Early Years Tunnel, Early Years Teepee and an Elephant Water Play Unit.

How the children will benefit from the new play area:

It is clear from our returning visit that the children are benefiting in many ways from their new roadway and play area. They are increasing their physical activity each day by having a dedicated space for whizzing around on their bikes, trikes and scooters. They now have a safe area with appropriate fall height allowance for their existing climbing equipment helping to develop their upper body strength and hand-eye coordination. The Early Years Teepee and Early Years Tunnel gives them a place to crawl and socialise. The children were also extremely happy to be splashing about and learning through the medium of water using the Elephant Water Play Unit. 

What were your main reasons for working with EPE over other competitors?

“Flexible in approach and design. Local company.”