Project Brief
- Key Requirements: A dedicated SEND outdoor space that would give pupils meaningful sensory, active and creative play opportunities, all whilst being achieved within a tight budget and without a lengthy design-and-build process.
- Size: A single freestanding package rather than a full playground redesign, featuring eight pieces of movable equipment covering active play, construction, and sensory/messy play! The package is sized to accommodate a class of up to 20 children.
- Budget: The school was aiming to create a dedicated SEND outdoor area that would cost somewhere between £1,000-£10,000.
- Other Problems: With the budget making a bespoke SEND playground redesign unrealistic, and with no existing relationship with a specialist SEND supplier, Stonebroom Primary and Nursery School wasn't sure a high-quality space was achievable. That was until Pentagon Play's internal sales team flagged the newly launched "Play in a Day" packages.
Being an academy within the Christopher Nieper Education Trust, Stonebroom Primary and Nursery School has a strong existing commitment to outdoor learning. With its Forest School programme available to all 225 pupils enrolled at the school, it's safe to say that this Derbyshire school understands the impact learning outdoors can have on young minds!
However, with the recent SEND reforms and focus by the Department of Education, Stonebroom Primary and Nursery School quickly realised that their SEND provisions were lacking. Wanting to create a space to help empower students with SEND, the school looked at designing a new space to achieve this object.
Looking online, the school quickly realised that their budget was the biggest restrictor, with many quotes requiring tens of thousands of pounds for a basic job. Reaching out to Tara Shelton-Lefley (a member of our fantastic Internal Sales team), the school explained their situation.
Our Solution
Luckily for Stonebroom Primary School, they came to Pentagon at the perfect time! Tara explained to the school that recently, our team of product designers and outdoor consultants came together to create the brand new "Play in a Day" range!
Each package within this range has been carefully curated to achieve a variety of goals. From encouraging children to develop their literacy, maths and science understanding, to promoting fine and gross motor skills through active play, these packages are a great starting place for schools who don't know what they need.
The best part? These packages are built to be budget-friendly! Each package comes with incredible savings, from the products themselves to saving on delivery and installation. For schools like Stonebroom who are working on a tight budget, these packages are the perfect solution!
Impressed with the sound of the packages, the school decided that this solution suited them the best! Ordering the EYFS Freestanding Package, the school quickly realised that not only had they just saved thousands of pounds, but that they've just saved weeks of time too! These packages only take a few hours to deliver and install (hence the name, Play in a Day!)
Included Within the EYFS Freestanding Package
- Get Set, Go! Blocks - The Pennine Set
- The Rockies - Dynamic Balance Blocks
- Wooden Mud Kitchen and Mud Box
- Small Covered Sand Box
- Movable Water Wall with Water Play Package
- Play Builder Architect Set
- Group Art Easel
Active Play Elements
Promoting physical development in a wide variety of ways, the Pennine Set and the Rockies give children movable, freestanding play equipment for climbing, balancing and coordination. Not only are these pieces of active play equipment great for neurotypical children, but they're also great for SEND pupils.
Offering repeatable, low-pressure physical challenges that can be approached at their own pace, these active play elements make a great resource for establishing a sensory circuit for SEND students. In addition, the modular function of the equipment, allows staff to create circuits that perfectly suit the ability level of the students.
Sensory & Messy Play Elements
Equipment such as the Mud Kitchen, Mud Box, Covered Sand Box and Movable Water Wall package provide a range of tactile, cause-and-effect sensory experiences, helping all types of students to regulate their senses and understand more about the world around them.
This is especially important for SEND pupils, who benefit from regular sensory regulation opportunities throughout the day. With Stonebroom now having access to this equipment thanks to the Play in a Day package, staff can easily take SEND students outdoors to engage in sensory-based activities to help regulate emotions and ground students.
Creative & Construction Play Elements
Creative play and construction play are fantastic elements to incorporate onto a SEND play area. Items like the Play Builder Architect Set and Group Art Easel allow children to experience open-ended construction and creative outlets. All abilities can engage in this form of play, allowing pupils to form close bonds as they play together.
Supporting communication and problem-solving alongside the more physical and sensory elements, Stonebroom Primary and Nursery School will be able to provide a space that not only creates a relaxing environment for SEND children, but allows them to develop a variety of personal skills.
The Transformation
What could have been a stalled project due to Stonebroom having a genuine ambition for a SEND outdoor space but a restrictive budget quickly became a completed project full of new and exciting play equipment in a single day! Instead of months of design meetings and a phased build, the school now has eight pieces of purposeful play equipment covering active, sensory, messy and creative play, installed with zero disruption to the wider school week.
The freestanding nature of every item also means staff can rearrange the space as needs change, rather than being locked into a fixed layout. This feature is incredibly useful for a SEND play area, as different children can benefit from different configurations of the same equipment.
Most significantly, this shows other budget-conscious schools that a genuinely high-quality outdoor play space doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg (provided that they are pointed in the right direction)! The Play in a Day range exists for this specific reason, allowing schools like Stonebroom to close the gap between ambition and available budget.
