The little girl’s eyes lit up as she explained the exciting event that had happened at school. “We had a challenge to do and we had to work as a team,” she told her Mum, racing to get the words out. The teacher had come up with a cunning plan to get the class to concentrate on a task to earn enough points for the ultimate prize. The Year 1 pupils had been promised the gift of extra playtime! They were going to be allowed out into the playground early for break by a whole ten minutes and given a free run of the outdoor play equipment before anyone else. No wonder it did the trick.

Children love a challenge and the chance to win something special and what could be better than a blast of fresh air and a burst of exercise? Maybe you have seen a similar method deployed as an incentive. We love hearing stories like this. As school playground manufacturers it is a reminder of the joy our equipment can bring and the innovative ways it can be used, thanks to the imagination of both staff and pupils.

It is always rewarding to see the difference it can make when an old play area is given a new lease of life. Headteacher of Chiltern Primary School in Basingstoke, Phil Clarke said: “Our children were missing out on an outside resource due to the existing trail needing replacement and being out of action.” We added a bespoke Combination Trail which included Balance Weave, Rope Balance, Log Balance, Rope Traverse, Log Crossing and Traverse Wall. Pupils now look forward to playtime and we know they will be having fun while supporting physical development skills such as balancing, traversing, climbing and crawling.

If your school’s play areas are looking tired and in need of transformation call us for a chat on 0808 168 2032 or email info@educationalplayenvironments.com