Sankey Valley Primary School, Warrington
Utilising Space at Sankey Valley
If you’re blessed with a reasonably sized playground, one of the best ways to utilise the space is to create some well-defined areas. So when Sankey Valley contacted us to give their play area an update we took their ideas and fit them into several clearly defined areas.
First and foremost there were some drainage issues that we needed to take care of to alleviate puddling problems. Luckily as a one-stop playground solution, we were well-equipped to deal with the issue.
Once that was taken care of we added an area for the children to ride their trikes with a thermoplastic roadway around an artificial grass reservation. The school also wanted some sand and water play elements, so we fitted an interactive water wall and a lockable sandpit with HDPE lids in an open corner space near the roadway.
Before we started, Sankey Valley had a few large planters that had gotten into a little disrepair. However, although there were no plants the children still enjoyed digging through them. So leading off from the opposite side of the roadway we installed a new mini beast area, segregated with timber stockade fencing, with an arched entrance. Inside we installed a willow wigwam, a set of investigation tables and a new large planter for the kids to dig through.
With natural, sand and water play covered, the next step was imaginative play. For this we installed a set of timber drape posts for the children to make dens with using blankets and sheets.
Finally Sankey Valley needed an area suitable for outdoor teaching, further away from the rest of the equipment so that it could also function as a quiet area. Thankfully as the playground at Sankey Valley was formed with the buildings jutting in and out of the space, we were able to find an area that was walled on three sides. Within it we fitted a storytelling chair and a safa deck stage with magnet compatible chalkboard, and surrounded both with stump seats to create a fantastic teaching area for the children.
The finished site allows all of the elements to flow into each other while the grouping of the equipment creates clearly defined spaces that are fit for differing purposes. A wonderful update for the children at Sankey Valley.
