Modern Day Playgrounds
Gone are the days of outdoor playground equipment rusting and becoming an eyesore in the park, playground designers are moving their ideas into environmental play areas and green school playground equipment. To add to the changes within play, the new designs are also incorporating the learning of social skills and confidence building of children, alongside working with schools to gain the most out of the spaces they have.
Aside from the integral design of the playground the materials used have changed from that previously used, although there are still wooden structures, but this are sourced from sustainable sources. The steel used in many of the modern green playground equipment is from recycled steel and can contain up to 89% of recyclable material. The use of plastic bottles and other material which would otherwise be added to the dumping ground or incinerators have undergone reinvention and are now moulded into areas within the playground equipment such as handrails or tiles on playhouses.
Schools are seeing great benefits from investing in their pupil’s leisure time and sports pursuits, with the integration of play and learning rolled into one. The design of multi use games areas (MUGA) and multi-activity spaces give children the ability to learn at play time and within PE lessons. The introduction of skills play involving mathematics and sports excites children to learn without realising they are actually performing equations in their heads. This in turn leads to better performance in school lessons.
The MUGA equipment has enable schools to have football, basketball and netball in one outdoor space, rather than separate areas. Freeing up extra areas in the school grounds for outdoor classrooms and wildlife areas, also sensory gardens to help children experience things on another level. As some schools have had to reduce the amount of land they have for pupils, this type of school playground equipment is vital for a good all round PE lesson and for essential play.
New eco-friendly playground equipment really helps in reducing a child’s carbon footprint from an early age and also encourages the child to think about their overall impact on the environment. The designs of the equipment are such, that confidence in play can be seen when the children are using traverse beams or from the climbing walls and rocks. Social skills are developed in the team activities of the MUGA and this works its way towards learning activities in the classroom. Overall they are more than just environmental benefits to new playgrounds, they harness a child’s learning abilities and help schools and parks in being eco-friendly.
Written by Pete Tooley, a former teacher who now designs outdoor play areas for schools using eco-friendly school playground equipment. The use of outdoor classrooms can have amazing results and a opens up a whole a new way of teaching.
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