In a health promoting school, the playground is just as important as the school building. You spend nearly a quarter of your school day in the playground, so you want it to be exciting and attractive.
Remember that playgrounds:
- give visitors their first impressions of a school
- are welcoming if they are well looked after
- are a wonderful area for exercise and play
- are for relaxing and playing with friends
- help you to have fun and enjoy breaktime
- encourage pupils to play together more
- give you a chance to learn outdoors, which can be even more fun than learning inside
- give you hands-on experience of the natural world
- offer lots of chances to learn about nature and the environment
- help prevent vandalism by giving the community a sense of pride in the area.
Developing your playground
You may be lucky enough to go to a school where the playground is already attractive and interesting, or it may be a large concrete surface with little to do.
No matter what your playground is like, there are things you can do to make it better.
- Talk to your headteacher and class teacher about the playground.
- Involve as many people as possible in improving the playground.
- Make sure all pupils have the chance to say what they think the playground should be like: your pupil council can be involved.
- Decide on the best way forward and put together an action plan
- Try to get support: contact Grounds for Learning – they may be able to help and advise you.
Playground ideas
Some ideas for improving your playground include:
- making special areas for different types of playground games
- marking games like hopscotch on the ground
- putting in new play equipment
- creating friendship benches, where children can sit when they need someone to talk to
- plant a garden area with flowers, shrubs and trees
- put up bird boxes and feeders to encourage birds to visit
- building log and rock piles to provide hiding places for insects and minibeasts
- building a pond to encourage lots of different plants and animals.
When you are planning your playground, be sure that:
- pupils can give their ideas and opinions at all stages
- everyone is kept up to date
- the plans are practical and can be completed
- the grounds can be easily looked after
- the local community helps you.
Most of all enjoy your playground – and show that you really care for the environment!
