Lidget Green Primary School – Bradford
Lidget Green is a large inner city primary school in Bradford with a children’s centre which is managed by the governing body.
Project Brief
Our brief was to create a bespoke, natural landscape within the grounds of the Lidget Green Primary School, for use by Foundation Stage children. The area was largely tarmac and the school wanted to introduce some natural landscaping and materials into the playscape.
The nursery decided to opt for Playgarden’s specialist Landscape Design workshop which involved spending time with the Landscape Architect, looking in depth at how the space could be utilised to maximise play value. At the end of this specialist service, Lidget Green received a comprehensive 3d design and layout for how the new look Playgarden could be.
Development
The new playgarden at Lidget Green Primary School is highly multi-sensory including the elements of water and sand, stone, wood, vegetation and other natural materials.
A large sandpit has been installed because children just love to explore, play and discover all the learning opportunities which are offered with sand. In its dry or wet form, sand offers limitless play opportunities, especially when loose resources such as buckets, watering cans and tools are added. Different sized boulders around the edge present great seating and jumping platforms. A free standing crane in the centre of the sand area enables the children to experiment transporting and building with the sand.
The pipe shelter is an exciting cave-like feature in the playscape. This allows the children to hide and have their own secret space. Shallow depth means that children can feel secure with enough light for them to see out.
The tactile path has several surfaces that allow the children to work on their locomotion and co-ordination skills. This is located next to the gravel pit which provides many play possibilities, linking to schemas such as transporting and enveloping.
The design includes a number of sensory planting areas. As well as providing strong emotional attachments for children, they provide lots of potential for laying down interests and healthy habits for life. The planting changes with the seasons giving endless new experiences and a fuller understanding of what happens in the world and why.
Equipment: Playground Pump, Sand Crane, Slide
Landscaping: Sandpit, Pebble Playscapes, Pipe Shelter, Gravel Pit, Tactile Path, Boulders, Mounding, Planting