Plumberow Primary Academy has won an award in the highest category for their outdoor play area for children. The school in Hockley, Essex achieved a platinum award for their outdoor playground, which was described by OPAL as "a happy, joy-filled environment for the children”. The play area features craft, music, water imagination and digging zones, as well as a giant mud kitchen and sandpit. Children can also enjoy dressing up, a fleet of scooters, den-building equipment, and a range of sporting activities from table tennis to basketball.
OPAL, outdoor play and learning, is a school improvement programme, helping schools to improve the quality and sustainability of their play areas.
"We are so lucky at Plumberow as we have so many things to choose from at lunchtime, we are really spoiled!" Ava, Year 2
"Things are so much better here now as all the different zones mean that all personalities can find something fun to play with" Oscar and Nellie, Year 4
In awarding Plumberow ‘platinum’, the team told the school they had “created a happy, joy-filled environment for the children,” adding that “so much amazing play happening at lunchtime” with “creativity of the children”.
Tom Bottrill, Principal at Plumberow Primary Academy, said that it had taken the team two years to build this "fantastic outdoor area", noting that "it was really important to us all that children were able to play, create, problem solve and use critical thinking whilst they play."
