St John’s C of E Primary School
Utilising an unused corner of the playground and transforming it into a ‘reflection’ area was the main aspect of this brief.
About the Project
One of our first jobs was to turn an unused corner within St John’s C of E Primary School, into a Reflection Area for the children to come and relax and take time out from the stresses of the Classroom and playground.
A water feature place centrally with this area, really set the tone. The water feature helps reduce stress levels and can increase mindfulness and well-being. As well as a water feature we surrounded the area with planters for the children to dig and plant their own flower, herbs and vegetables. This activity is also known to help improve mental well-being.
By helping to reduce stress and having a place to reflect on their experience, children can continue to develop effectively. This will also help improve their concentration and focus within the classroom.
In additional to the Reflection Area, we installed our Cleopatra Stage for the children to perform and role play to build confidence and improve their language skills in front of their peers. As well as this a Story Tellers area where children can tell stories, read poems and listen and learn from others was installed on the field to extend the usable space on the playground.
Recently we’ve added a large felt roof shelter with bench seating to allow the school to take the class outside. The large structure had half height side panels and later had glazing panels added to enclose the space further. Perimeter bench seating creates seating for a full class and there is also a centre picnic table for smaller groups of children to work or socialise.
One of the biggest challenges at the school was to make use of a delapidated over grown area located just outside some of the EYFS classrooms. The natural stone walls were made safe again by a local craftsman and then we got to work on making this space a useable area once again. After big clear out we were left with a clear but narrows space on multiple levels.
The first relatively flat area outside the nursery was mulched to allow access with a natural timber fence with gate installed to create a divide between the other class. The next area became a large storytellers area with double chair, modular bench seating and mushroom seats. Bonded rubber much surfacing again allowed access all year round and to improve the aesthetics of the area, we clad the newly strengthened supports for the stone walls.
In the last section of the space, around the corner of the building, we used the varying levels to create a tiered garden to be used by multiple classes to in the school. Using playgrade sleepers to create safe steps between the levels and large digging/growing beds along with freestanding planters.
- Reflection Area
- Cleopatra Stage with Bench Seating
- Artificial Grass Surfacing
- Timber Tree Seats
- Round Timber Picnic Tables
- Storytelling Area
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