Sand, woodland, dens, climbing trees, mounds and a tunnel

Building works to create better play opportunities for pupils at break and lunchtimes start soon after half-term.

The first phase of improvements will focus around the existing Captain's Ship and fenced off nature area adjacent to Fielding Walk, underpinned by a 'natural' play theme including:

• a large open sand pit surrounding the existing Captain's Ship
• refurbishment of the existing ship, including a new double slide, mast and sail
• grass mound landscapes, stone boulders and a large tunnel to promote travelling around, along, over and through things, 
• 3 'climbing trees' with hand holds to promote climbing at height, along with associated safety surfacing
• large balance logs and log piles for climbing in, over and through
• grass will be left to grow longer, giving the whole area a more natural feel.

The overgrown, wild nature area, which has been fenced off for safety reasons for many years, will also be transformed and opened for play:

• new informal pathway to allow children to access the area with the expectation that they will also play away from the path on the natural woodland floor
• existing trees will be trimmed and thinned out
• wild brambles and other shrubs will be trimmed allowing children to explore and hide
• mini-beast hotels will be added
• materials for building log dens will be available for children

A new partial pathway will also mark the start of a new running circuit around the perimeter of the site.

The playground edge from the sand pit, in-front of Year 1 classrooms will also be extended to give more space (not shown in the plan, below), especially during congested drop-off and pick-up times.

We want to give children more chances to play and explore in a slightly 'risky' way - falling over or off logs, getting messy with sand and mud, or even getting prickled by a bramble.  These improvements will allow children to learn to assess risk in a safe way while enjoying play.

The improvements to the natural area will enable us to create our own 'forest school' experience over time.

Further phases of improvements to our playground and play opportunities for older pupils are also planned to be completed by Easter.

Changes will be shared with children in school during assembly on Monday 7th November.