Case study: Childrens’ Place
New Play Space Development for 2–5 year olds
October, 2009
Outdoor and Play Ltd was asked by the directors of Children’s Place to review the outside play areas at their Halifax centre, which provides day care for 0–5s and out of school activities for the older children of NHS employees. The first area for development was for the 2–5 year olds.
Outdoor and Play was asked to design the area to incorporate as a minimum the core elements for the age range, such as sand and water play, climbing and balancing, sensory, imaginative and role- play activities. Staff wished to retain the tree and to keep some slope in the finished scheme, but otherwise was keen for Outdoor and Play to be creative in their design and add some challenge.
Ian Roberts, who designed and managed the project, says ’I wanted to create a play space that offered all of the types of activity required for the ages of the children but in a way that would challenge, excite, and engage them. I wanted there to be a ‘wow’ factor and a sense of discovery which made the children and the staff want to be outside. The layout and the slopes were both a blessing and a curse; it meant I had to be particularly creative to ensure that all the elements worked together as a whole and not just as a disparate set of activities. An awful lot of thinking and planning had to be done before any work started on site.’
Materials throughout the scheme have been chosen for strength, appearance and durability, providing value for money and long life expectancy
Retaining, shaping and terracing were achieved through the use of timber unilogs. This enabled the setting out of other areas, the centrepiece of which is a huge beach themed Sandpit with Scramble Rocks and a Scramble Net to climb up to the higher level and a Board Slide to get them back down. There is a Breakwater and a Tower Platform, which provide props for imaginative activities, and a Beach Hut on stilts with den under and a pulley system over to raise and lower buckets of sand. A Shade Sail over the whole completes the theme.
The Sensory Path is a delight of discovery with a variety of textured surfaces, tunnels and dens to negotiate and explore. This leads to a grassy knoll with bamboo jungle, grass mound and steps, then a log tunnel to a play-bark enclosure with balancing apparatus.
A large self contained separate growing area has been created to allow the children to dig, plant bulbs, seeds and vegetables with the staff.
There is a shallow splash pool for wellies or bare feet fun; a plumbed in Belfast sink for water play and for clean up; an art corner, hooks and poles for hanging and draping, and more, providing children and staff with an endlessly versatile space.
Lynne Roberts says ‘I am particularly proud of the achievement of Outdoor and Play at the Children’s Place. The design of the area means that there are now lots of ‘props ‘within the space for staff to use creatively and flexibly with the children, reducing the requirement for larger portable apparatus. The area is vibrant and exciting’
The children, who had watched the development of their play space with eagerness and excitement, are now enjoying a fabulous outdoors experience.
Jane Sewell, centre manager at The Children’s Place, Halifax says:
“We are really happy with the service from start to finish; the transformation of the garden has been amazing. We were really impressed with Ian’s vision and innovative design ideas. We would definitely recommend Outdoor and Play. They have a real understanding of play value for children in the early years and also the need to expose young children to acceptable risk taking”