Every Housing Estate Should Have A Playground

It saddens me to think that there are children in this country that don’t have access to playground equipment, a bit of green, or somewhere to kick a ball and run around.

Childhood memories are made from the simplest of things. Personally, I don’t remember the first time I got the highest score on a PlayStation game, but what I do remember is playing football at the park with my Dad and playing an exciting game of manhunt with my friends.

I was quite lucky to have lived in a nice, family estate with access to a play area and playing fields, but many children don’t have this privilege.

Housing developments continue to spring up all over the UK and current policies enforce that all new house builders must have a proposal for play and recreation areas incorporated into their development plans. This is great and hopefully will help this country march on in its fight against child obesity and sedentary lifestyles.

Yes, times have changed. The way that children play is different and the price of their Christmas presents have dramatically risen. But I truly believe that the best present you can give a child is the freedom to play outdoors.

Does your housing estate have somewhere that children can safely play outside?

For more information about the work that we do with Housebuilders, click HERE

Once upon a story time....

What was your favourite time of the day at primary school?

Apart from home time, story time was a magical part of mine. It gave my wild and wonderful imagination a chance to delve into the mysterious realms of fiction. From strange Cats in Hats, to Stories that Neverend; my imagination would run away with itself developing friendships with characters that have lasted a lifetime. To this day I still believe that if I ever met a giant he would be big and friendly.

Books may have taken a backseat in recent years to television, film and the internet; and the way technology is developing, books may soon be placed in the same category as slate and chalk. However, I’m sure many people in the world will agree that you can’t beat a good book?

Reading is an important part of a child’s development and growth. It can help them to become confident learners, enhance their communication skills and creativity. It cultivates their imagination and allows them to express themselves. But most importantly of all: they absolutely love it!

Playdale’s Schools and Nurseries range has delivered some fantastic new products this year that are certain to make children’s story-time that little bit more enchanting. The fabulous Storytelling Chair and Toadstools will transform your outdoor learning area into an amphitheatre of dreams, fantasy and excitement.

Make your next story time one to remember!

To request a brochure visit www.playdaleschools.co.uk or click here

The importance of playground designs in creating successful play spaces…

The success of play areas that attract hundreds of children can often be closely linked to effective playground designs. While it may seem unlikely that there is such a thought process behind the layout of playground equipment, this is far from the truth.

Many play objectives can be met through effective playground design such as providing areas for different age groups, accommodating risk and challenge and encouraging social development among children.

The introduction of the Playbuilder scheme in 2008 generated much interest in playground designs; with Play England publishing ‘10 principles for designing successful play spaces’. This guidance provided the basis for many of the new play areas created by the government initiative and suggested that successful play spaces:

§  Are ‘bespoke’ and/or designed to enhance their setting

§  Are well located

§  Make use of natural elements

§  Provide a wide range of play experiences

§  Are accessible to both disabled and non-disabled children

§  Meet community needs and are loved by the community

§  Allow children of different ages to play together

§  Build in opportunities to experience risk and challenge

§  Are sustainable and appropriately maintained for play value

§  Allow for change and evolution

These principles have certainly had an impact on playground designs, but also closely replicate what many good playground designers already factored into their designs. 




3D playground designs help to visualise how your playground might look

  

Every playground is different, serving different audiences, age groups and visitor numbers – some communities may have an idea of how they want their playground to look, while others may be open to guidance and inspiration from specialised playground designers.

What’s important is that the design of your playground is carefully considered; it’s a good idea to hold a public consultation and get the local children and their parents involved to see what they want from the play area – at Playdale, we produce 3D playground designs that can help people visualise how their playground could look. This can prove an effective tool in generating interest for your playground project and to give credibility to any funding applications you may be preparing.

To find out how we can help you devise the perfect playground design for your play project, get in touch or visit our website.