How to create playgrounds full of learning opportunities
Marco Boi, Founder and CEO of PlayinnovationTM discusses the importance of playgrounds in primary schools and how they can create plenty of learning opportunities… Learning Outside the Classroom (LOTC) provides children with exciting, engaging and more practical experiences to enrich their education and help them learn, but how many schools have playgrounds geared up to support this? Many places can be used for LOTC, from local parks and museums to highstreets and nature reserves, but this often involves considerable forward planning and permission from parents/guardians, meaning it’s difficult to implement on a regular basis. Playgrounds, on the other hand, are always accessible, ready and waiting to bring lessons to life. However, the logistics of taking lessons outside can sometimes be a little tricky, requiring teachers to gather multiple resources, which then need to be set up before the teaching and learning can begin. But what if your playground had been designed for LOTC to create a seamless transition from classroom to outdoor space, with the equipment you need already in place? The great news is that playgrounds are evolving. No longer just places for pupils to run around and let off steam during breaktimes, today’s playgrounds are being designed to promote and support LOTC throughout the school day, and rightly so. According to an Ofsted study into LOTC, “Such hands-on activities led to improved outcomes for pupils and students, including better achievement, standards, motivation, personal development and behaviour.” By combining specially designed equipment with bold, inspiring colour schemes and inclusive physical activity and learning zones, these innovative, modern playgrounds are able to boost learning, interaction and discovery in a way that’s harder to achieve with more traditional playgrounds. The inclusive zones (which we like to call pockets) are particularly beneficial. Unlike the huge, empty playgrounds that many schools still have, zones allow you to offer a much wider variety of activities and learning opportunities to your pupils, both in lessons and during their free time. And while creating zones may sound like a mammoth task, it’s much easier than you might think. For example, adding target games to spare walls and fence systems around your school’s playground or sports court is a straightforward way of dividing a larger space into multiple areas – creating accessible, social environments that cater for as many pupils as possible. Target games designed for covert learning – when not being used during recreation time – are also fantastic teaching and learning tools for lessons. With a bit of creativity, they can be used to achieve a wide range of learning objectives from the National Curriculum. For instance, the majority of target games involve numbers, allowing children to develop maths skills – such as counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication and more – in a fun, interactive setting that inspires a love for the subject. So, why not tick off that Year 2 objective to ‘Count in steps of 2, 3, and 5 from 0, and in tens from any number, forward and backward’ with a target game, or work on your Year 3 class’s ability to solve number problems and practical problems through the strategic thinking necessary with target games? The options are endless, and it might just help to reignite your passion for certain topics. A win-win. By creating a playground full of learning opportunities, you’ll also be achieving an even more outcomes of high-quality physical education, school sport and physical activity, as described by the Association for Physical Education, such as developing self-esteem, confidence, teamwork and cooperation, independent learners and effective leaders, and, importantly, physical and emotional wellbeing. Just as teachers are building LOTC into their lesson planning, it should also be a key consideration for headteachers and school business managers when looking to build, enhance or redevelop their sport and play areas. Providing teachers and pupils with outdoor spaces specifically designed for LOTC opens the door to even more possibilities and makes LOTC much easier to achieve on a regular basis, which, I think we can all agree, is an absolute must if we’re to provide pupils with the broadest scope of learning opportunities possible, encouraging them to feel excited and engaged in their education. Why outstanding playgrounds are essential in primary schools Playground days live long in the memory. Who doesn’t remember the breaktime stampede as pupils squeeze their way through classroom doors to unleash their energy – whether swinging from the monkey bars (a teacher’s worst nightmare) or playing a game of imaginary, swashbuckling pirates – keeping feet off the tarmac as if it were crocodile-infested waters. For most children at primary school, other than Physical Education lessons, playtime is the most active part of their day. It offers the chance to have fun, let off steam, build friendships, follow their interests and, importantly, relax away from lessons, which is good for their mental health and wellbeing. However, there’s much more to playgrounds than first meets the eye. Playgrounds have endless potential for developing children socially, emotionally and intellectually. On a basic level, they’re places for children to enjoy themselves outside of the classroom, but when you start to peel back the layers, they’re places for learning new skills, discovering hidden talents, building self-confidence, being mentally and physically stimulated, and expanding horizons. Absolutely essential for primary schools. Bring Lessons to Life Outdoors Keeping primary school pupils on task within the four walls of the classroom is a challenge at the best of times. After all, experts say that, typically, a child can concentrate well for three to five minutes for every year they’ve been alive. This means a five-year-old should be able to manage 15-25 minutes at a time. But, as every teacher knows, concentration is made all the more difficult when the sun’s beaming down outside and the lesson being taught requires a fair amount of focus (oh how we love the summer! Thankfully, there’s a trick that all teachers can perform… Heading outside to the playground, and taking activities down to a more practical level, allows them to switch up the learning
How the School playground nurtures resilience and encourage physical goals
Rose Hardy, Headmistress at St Margaret’s School shares her thoughts on how the school playground plays a big part of the development of children. Play time is more than simply a part of the day for children to let off steam. While all children need to have regular breaks from the focus and challenge expected in the classroom, play actually gives them an additional way to discover, take risks and challenge themselves without the rigid structure of day to day lessons. Play is imperaive to children’s growth and development, both in body and in mind. It is only through play that children begin to learn more about who they are as a person, their strengths and weaknesses and the differences in personalities between them and their friends or peers. Out in the playground children also learn about taking responsibility for their actions, about what it means to make choices independently as also about how to use their social skills. Play time is actually much more important than it might first appear on the surface because children also enjoy a level of control over their time in the playground, something which is less likely or at least different to the traditional classroom setting. However, this new sense of freedom also has to work alongside playground rules and for many children this is the biggest lesson they must learn. School playgrounds should be designed to offer safe but enhanced opportunities for physical challenge as well as to encourage imaginative and cooperative play to help children learn about goals, perseverance and resilience. Where children are constantly pushing themselves out of their comfort zones and striving to achieve new goals, as well as being around peers who are trying out new physical challenges, also inspires others too and can often give children that extra push and determination to succeed. For many children the playground can be a place of enhanced opportunities. When we speak to children about what they think is important in their own lives, we usually find that playing and spending time with their friends is close to the top of their list. This is for good reason, playing is one of the only natural ways for children to communicate with eachother from a very young age and schools need to continue to give children the space and the freedom to play safely whilst knowing when to intervene and when to take a step back. With different boundaries to those we see in the classroom, the outdoor play environment offers a stimulating haven upon which to participate in physical challenges and also to learn more about imagination, role playing and cooperative play. Most importantly, play is what makes us human and it’s also what makes us happy. About St Margaret’s School St Margaret’s School is an independent day and boarding school for girls aged 4 to 18 years. Based in Bushey, Hertfordshire, the school is steeped in history and is among one of the oldest in the UK dating back to 1749. Offering a range of flexible boarding options for both UK and international pupils from the age of 11 years, the school is set over 60 acres of beautiful grounds and places its renowned pastoral care and proven track record of academic success at the heart of its culture and ethos. With a rich programme of extra-curricular activities, its girls are encouraged to discover their talents in a caring environment that fosters a genuine enthusiasm for learning in an evolving world filled with complex challenges and exciting new possibilities.