Norwood Green School
A Bespoke Sensory Play Area To Encourage Outdoor Learning
The School
A repeat customer for us, Norwood Green Infant and Nursery School, located in Norwood, London, already has some outdoor play equipment and a play house from us. They were keen to provide some outdoor play and learning facilities for the younger EYFS children.
Sensory Play Area – The Concept
Norwood Green Infant and Nursery School decided to introduce a sensory play area, particularly for the younger children at the school. Our sales consultants and CAD design team provided a selection of visuals and concepts to the school which had been designed to stimulate all the senses (visual, tactile, hearing etc.) of the EYFS and KS1 children.
A Stimulating Outdoor Play Area – Even For the Youngest Children
Water was the key focal point around which the final design centred. It included a water pump, flumes, spirals and buckets to offer the children interactive water play. We also incorporated transparent bowls so the children could easily see how the water swirled and spiralled as it flowed. Balancing chutes were also built into the equipment to introduce the children to the concepts of weight, motion and balance. We used a wide range of colours and textures to develop the visual and tactile senses of the children. To ensure the children gained maximum benefit from their new equipment, everything was built at a low height level to ensure even the youngest children could reach all the equipment.
All the play equipment was designed, built and installed in our UK factory by our own school teams.
The Revisit
Norwood Green School contacted AEL as they wanted an area for imaginative play for their KS1 students. The ‘Trim Trail’ and ‘Action Station 12’ previously installed in 2015 proved highly popular and the standard of product, service and installation was deemed ‘excellent’.
AEL created an exciting new design to suit their requirements and space on site, whilst complementing their existing equipment.
The ‘Everest Haystack’ encourages children to combine strength with agility, and builds self-confidence, coordination and balance whilst developing imagination, independent decision making and risk assessment. Colourful thermoplastic playground markings finished the area making it more lively and attractive, allowing the children to use all their skills whilst providing stimulation both mentally and physically.
