Your best ideas for primary school playground

[Hathor]

Primary school is planning to redesign the playground. What do your primary-age children enjoy most in their playgrounds? Any ideas from your own school times?

I enjoyed lots of running around space on the tarmac and field and a wall to play ball games against, tennis balls and skipping ropes, but that is all we had.

Climbing frames

Ours has got lots of things painted on teh floor - number squares, hopscotch, mazes, giant snakes and ladders. Also some targets painted on a wall for ball throwing etc.

Anyone got any mazes? How are they made? Was thinking cheap options, e.g. paint or wooden sunken blocks?
What about activity trails - do the children use them much?
What is the favourite thing? (Ours is the football field and the climbing frame/scramble net)

Somewhere to sit down, our pta bought those picnic benches for the infant playground.
Not all dcs are into running around at playtime. My ds used to like to play top trumps etc

Hopscotch markings are popular at our school as is the climbing wall. The little children love the pirate ship. They have lots of skipping ropes and they enjoy using those a lot. The reception children have their own space with some great trikes that have room for a passenger.

Ours has a big wooden shelter with benches inside. At playtime it is the "quiet area". And at hometime it is somewhere for us to wait out of the rain!

We also have a wooden "adventure playground" - little course to go round - log stepping stones, balance beam, chain to walk along, and one of those things that's a little house inside but you can also climb up the steps over the roof.

Thanks everyone. Any more ideas - what do you children enjoy best about their playgrounds? What about all the age ranges?

Big sandpit for KS1. Boys esp love to dig.

I and a small team of parents build a playground in our village 8 years ago.

You need to ask the children what they'd like. It's really important.

Pub style bench tables with chess boards on the top. Not widely used in the reception playground . Not allowed climbing frame as too dangerous apparently.

They used to have a climbing frame, but a rung broke and it was dismantled. They're moving to a new site soon, so it's not been replaced.

DD1 still talks about how lovely it was having a climbing frame, two years after it went.

we recently got a pavilion (thats what we call it anyway) like a big wooden round bandstand gazebo thing that the children sit in and chat "meet you at the pavilion!" is what i hear them all shout

its been worth every penny

Wwe have a little stage with benches round it for dcs to perform little plays and dances. We also have a sort of target board where children can throw balls for various scores.

A while ago we had something we call our "ace space" built on a spare patch of grass which has a special surface under it. It has tyres, ropes, beams, wobbly bridges, things to clamber over, bars of different heights etc. They love it. Classes have a rota where they are allowed to use it and one of the teachers on duty supervises.

Ours have a little garden "story" area which is FAB. It's a little garden with paths in and trellises and hidey plant areas, and a mosaic circular bench thing in the middle where they can sit. They use it to tie in with certain lessons and are allowed in during some playtimes, but there is a strict rule of no running in that area.

Really nice, imo and great for kids to escape to if they want to sit down for a bit out of the way.

ours have a tyre park. man made hil lto run up and doll, roll down etc. outdoor musical instruments, inc drums and chimes.

somewhere for the children to climb

a boat/pirate ship to imagine sailing across the sea in your lunchtime

a quiet area

living willow sculptures are lovely

I think play equipment is equally as important though, elastics, skipping ropes and large jump ropes, learning the old clapping games and rhymes

Using the adults who supervise as resources themselves that instigate games and not just walk around talking

a large sandpit is great with buckets and spades not all children ever get to the seaside.

an area for curriculum gardening. I did a dig for victory garden with my year 4's and you would be amazed how concerned they were with the success of their plants (we were trying to grow a tomatoes for a sandwich for our head, they were mortified when their sweetcorn was snapped, they ever tried to repair it!)

A dirt pit that can be used (weather dependent) for cars, machinery, trucks and diggers.

I would also suggest that boiler suits be worn so children would be free to play, explore, have fun and experiment without the worry of getting their uniforms dirty. (we have these at ds's school)

Like the idea of a dirt pit and boiler suits!

they are fab! they are filthy by the end of the week but the uniform is immaculate when they come out of school so i don't mind one mucky thing to wash.

School could buy class sets through pta or if you think the parents would go for it buy their own.

means the children really concentrate on playing rather than worrying about their uniform.

a bit of shade is good too

OUrs was redesigned about 2 years ago and has 2 raised beds for plants, an apple tree, a polytunnel where they grow tomatoes etc, a wooden shelter thing (like nailpolish's pavilion), a "friendship bench" (beautiful wooden bench that children sit on when lonely so someone will come an play with them), stepping stones (these are individual cement slabs - each child in teh school and all teh staff made their own sticking in glass beads, broken crockery etc )
We have a low set of monkey bars but were told we couldn't have any other play equipkment for "health and safety" reasons (so teh children climb on the metal railings instead..)

Climbing wall, tires embedded in floor, climbing frame, games painted on floor, dens/play houses - our school has all the above. It's great.

A willow tunnel if it is maintiained is a great place for shade and great for adventure!!!

Again, I would reiterate that the children's views should be sought. When we had ours built we used the advice of the Playing Field's Association in our county. We devised a simple questionnaire for the children and they filled it in, even the little ones, with the help of their parents.

You need children's buy-in to give them ownership. If they feel ownership, you will have fewer problems with graffiti and vandalism.

Re, not having frames for health and safety reasons. If in doubt, talk to RoSPA, who have some very sensible advice about risk assessments. Their view is that children will climb and it is better for them to climb on specially-designed climbing frames with proper safety surfaces. If they fall from one of these, they may suffer a broken arm/collar bone. If they fall from something else not designed for them, they may break something more serious.

Climbing frame is single most popular 'man made' item in playground. BUT I would advise against monkey bars - ours have a set and they have caused innumberable bumps, sprains and 2 broken arms to date.

Though actually the favourites are the things that they are NOT suposed to do ... skidding down a steep slope; digging mud with sticks (and, er, weeing in it to get right consistency) ...