A Brand New Nursery Playground at Whitkirk Primary

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Key Points

Featuring a huge variety of playground equipment, Whitkirk Primary School managed to create a varied and beneficial play space for their new nursery.
Using their School-based Nursery Funding, the school was able to create a perfect outdoor environment to help their little ones grow and develope.
With the introduction of new surfacing, a new sense of vibrance and energy was brought to the play area.
Featuring over 15 pieces of unique play equipment, the children at Whitkirk Primary Nursery had a lot of activities to choose from.

Whitkirk Primary School in East Leeds is a welcoming and forward thinking school that places real importance on creating nurturing environments where young children can flourish. From the classroom to the playground, the team are passionate about giving pupils the confidence, curiosity and support they need during their early years.

After successfully securing a government grant to open a brand new school based nursery, the school saw an exciting opportunity to create a dedicated outdoor space to match their vision. With a budget of around £15,000 and some flexibility, the aim was to design a well balanced nursery play area that could be ready for September, or even earlier in the term if possible.

Having previously enquired with us, Whitkirk Primary School got back in touch to arrange a consultation. This led to Jordan Dale, one of our Outdoor Learning Consultants, working closely with the Headteacher to explore how the new nursery outdoor area could be shaped into an engaging, practical and long lasting space that would support the school’s newest learners from day one.

The Challenges

Speaking with Gemma Quarmby, the Headteacher at Whitkirk Primary School, Jordan Dale quickly built a positive working relationship and gained a clear understanding of what the school wanted to achieve. With an exciting new school based nursery opening, the focus was on creating an outdoor space that felt purposeful, welcoming and inspiring from the very start. The team were open to ideas around surfacing, layout and equipment that would support early exploration and active play.

One of the first challenges was designing a brand new nursery outdoor area from the ground up. With no existing provision in place, the space needed to include everything young children would need to play, move and learn outdoors. Inspired by designs they had seen, such as tracks and gentle mounds, the school wanted a layout that encouraged movement and curiosity while remaining safe and easy to supervise.

Another key challenge was working within the grant funding and timescale. With a budget of around £15,000 and a target of being ready for September, Jordan needed to help the school make smart choices that would deliver the biggest impact. Every element had to offer long term value while still allowing flexibility if the space needed to be completed earlier in the term.

The final challenge was ensuring the new nursery space felt future proof. While the immediate goal was to support the opening of the nursery, the design also needed to allow room for growth and development over time. Jordan worked closely with Gemma to consider how the space could evolve, balancing what was needed now with opportunities for future additions.

After the conversations, Jordan pulled together his notes and began shaping ideas that reflected Whitkirk Primary School’s vision while addressing each challenge. By offering practical advice and creative suggestions, he helped the team move forward with confidence and excitement about creating a nursery outdoor space that would support their youngest learners from day one.

The Process

Once Jordan and the team at Whitkirk Primary School were happy with the plans, the project moved into an exciting new stage. Jordan stayed in close contact with Gemma while our visualisation team began turning the ideas into detailed 3D and 2D designs. These visuals played a big part in helping the school clearly picture how the new nursery outdoor area would look and feel, building excitement as the vision started to come to life.

While the designs were being shared and refined, our manufacturing team got to work creating the equipment and features for the new nursery space. Using high quality, sustainable materials, each piece was carefully crafted in our own workshop. This hands on approach allowed us to keep the project moving at a great pace while maintaining the high standards schools expect from us.

With everything ready, our installation team arrived on site and began the transformation. Trained by one of the United Kingdom’s leading playground companies, they worked efficiently and safely, paying close attention to every detail to ensure the space was installed to the highest standard.

Before long, the new nursery outdoor area was complete. What had once been an empty space was now a vibrant, engaging environment ready to welcome children for the start of term. Jordan later arranged to return once the nursery had opened, and the school were delighted to welcome him back to see the space being enjoyed by its newest learners.

The Results

As the new nursery provision settled in, Jordan and a few members of the Pentagon Play team returned to Whitkirk Primary School to see how the outdoor space was being used. From the moment they arrived, they were warmly welcomed by Gemma and the school staff, whose enthusiasm made the visit feel relaxed and genuinely uplifting.

Walking towards the new nursery area, staff shared just how much of a difference the outdoor space had already made. The children were confidently exploring their surroundings, making the most of the new surfacing and equipment. Teachers explained that the layout had helped create a more engaging and purposeful environment, giving children the freedom to play, explore and learn at their own pace.

Stepping into the playground, the impact was clear straight away. Children were fully absorbed in their play, climbing, balancing and moving happily between activities. The space felt bright, lively and full of energy, and it was wonderful to see how comfortable and content the children were outdoors.

As we spent time observing the area, it became clear how thoughtfully the space had been designed. The nursery playground supported a wide range of play experiences, helping children develop key physical, social and imaginative skills. With the children thriving in their new environment, it was the perfect time to take a closer look at the features that helped bring the space to life.

Surfacing

Entering the new nursery play area, the first thing that caught our attention was the design and choice of surfacing. The school wanted to create a playground that sparked imaginations and allowed children to escape into role play scenarios, helping the little ones expand their understanding of the world around them.

To achieve this, the playground was home to an incredible thermoplastic road marking, displaying a variety of road signs. From speed limits to zebra crossings, a staff member told us how this marking had not only helped to educate children on road safety, but also increased engagement on the playground.

Wanting to add colour to the area, the school decided to pick one of our most popular surfacing options: our fifa-approved artificial grass. Adding patches of this safety surfacing around the playground added a sense of calm and nature, helping children detach from their lessons.

A streak of blue Funturf could be seen in one of the patches, resembling a river running under the thermoplastic roads. Gemma explained to us that by creating such a unique and visual play area, children were able to create a number of scenarios to base their play on, making it easier for the little ones to dive into play.

Overall, the new nursery play area featured:

Nursery Playground Equipment

Seeing all of the new playground equipment within the nursery play area, our team were amazed to see what an impact it's had on the atmosphere! Children were running around, exploring their new environment, whilst engaging in a variety of fun and beneficial activities.

The staff explained how the new nursery playground had made full use of the budget by providing a variety of play equipment that targets different areas of development. As a result, the children were developing at a rapid pace, learning new skills inside and outside the classroom.

Stood in the centre of the play area was a bespoke Restormel Modular Tower (measuring 1.1m in height)! Staff explained how this piece of equipment had become a firm favourite amongst the children, being the centre point of many adventures on the play area.

For children looking for a more relaxed experience, they could escape into a Wigwam or head to one of the planter benches. These areas provided a quiet space for the little ones to decompress and engage in quiet play. Gemma mentioned how parents loved this aspect, believing it to be a lovely inclusive touch to an already incredible playground.

Dotted around the area, children could find a variety of different equipment. From Mud Kitchens and a Small Sand Box for sensory exploration, to Drum Seats and a Blue Dual Freestanding Stage for performance play, the children at Whitkirk Primary School Nursery had an endless amount of choices for play time.

Overall, the playground was home to:

Reflection

Working with Whitkirk Primary School has been a genuine pleasure for our team. From the very first conversations, it was clear how passionate the staff are about creating a nurturing and inspiring outdoor environment for their nursery children, and we were delighted to support them every step of the way.

Seeing how confidently the children now use the space and hearing such positive feedback from staff perfectly captured why we love what we do. Thoughtfully designed outdoor areas can make a real difference to children’s wellbeing, development and enjoyment, and this project was a fantastic example of that impact in action.

We wish Whitkirk Primary School every success as their nursery provision continues to grow and thrive. We hope the new outdoor space brings years of play, discovery and happy memories, and we are proud to welcome the school as a valued member of the Pentagon Play family!