Watlington Primary School, Oxfordshire

The large school grounds at Watlington Primary School have been given a new lease of life with exciting zones and equipment.

Why did you want to develop your playground?

At Watlington Primary School we are lucky enough to have large, beautiful grounds for the children to play in. We decided that we wanted to develop our playground so that we were making better use of the grounds we have available. We also wanted to ensure that the children were provided with high quality equipment that would encourage educational play and outdoor learning.

What were the key elements that made Playforce stand out from other providers?

When we started to think about planning our playground development, we weren’t really sure where to start. The team at Playforce were very helpful and showed us how we could zone our grounds so that the children’s different interests could be explored. Playforce has such extensive experience working with schools and children of all ages that the team knew exactly what to suggest for us.
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We’ve seen a great improvement in the children’s behaviour.
How are you using the space to deliver outdoor learning & educational play?
Thanks to the suggestions from Playforce we have divided our outdoor space into a number of different zones that include a variety of activities and focal points. There is a space for children to get active and adventurous on the climbing wall and an area where they can release their imagination on the chalk board.

What are the biggest benefits you have seen for the children?
We’ve seen a great improvement in the children’s behaviour. They are much more motivated and stimulated by lessons that are taken outside and they work hard to ensure they get a turn on the equipment. Introducing educational play into our school has been a fantastic way to inspire our pupils and staff.

Can you share any best practice insights you’ve gained?

The most difficult aspect of our development was deciding where to start. We found the best approach was to ask everyone to pitch in ideas and then try to see how we could fit them into the space and budget we had available.
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