Churchstanton Primary is a small school in a unique rural location, surrounded by beautiful countryside in the heart of the Blackdown Hills. A proud member of The Woodland Trust with a strong focus on outdoor education, they focus on creating an environment where children can grow in happiness and confidence, becoming enthusiastic learners.
The school had an existing low level Trim Trail with safer grass tiles that had come to the end of its life expectancy, no longer acting as an effective safety surface. There was also weathered play fencing around the perimeter of the area which needed to be replaced.
The area needed a refresh, that would maximise the space and create a wow factor. All this additionally needed to be achieved within a relatively tight budget.
We designed a new circular free flowing low-level Trim Trail, including more challenging trim trail items such as Swinging Logs and a Climbing Wall Traverse. This would help the children to develop core strength and balance, as well as encouraging more outdoor activity as a whole.
In order to help the customer save money, we left all existing rubber step posts in situ and designed the trail to fit between them, reusing any holes in the ground from the previous equipment if possible.
We also incorporated into our design an Avocado shaped Mound in the centre of the trail to add interest to the space and give the children a new landscape to navigate. The Avocado Mound was linked to the main Trail by a Balance Beam and the existing Rubber Step Posts.
To add vibrancy to the area we incorporated blue Play Grass into the green Just Like Grass to create the impression of a river running through the space. This could be used to spark ideas for creative play, as well as adding an extra splash of colour to the space.