In May 2014 it was exciting to learn that Sport England had released funding for a project called 'Primary Spaces' and were looking for contractors to design, manufacture and install brand new play spaces for schools across England. We were very keen to get involved and are proud to say that we were successful in winning many of our designs submitted through the tender process.
£1.8m and £18m have been invested by Sport England and The National Lottery respectively, to improve primary school Physical Education (PE), sport and activity facilities. After extensive research was undertaken from visits to around 3,000 primary schools in the United Kingdom, they realised that the majority of them had very little or no outside space which could be used for physical education or sport, making it difficult for such sessions to take place. From this research, they established the Primary Spaces fund to help primary schools to enhance their outdoor play areas and create fun environments for their pupils to play and learn.
Following a pre-qualification stage, Playscheme was chosen as one of the Approved Contractors to help 'roll out' the projects in five waves over a 12 month period.
In July 2014 we were delighted to hear that we were successful in winning all the batches tendered for, winning around £2.2million worth of projects over the five rigorous tender stages. This evaluation was based on tender price, technical compliance with the specification, delivery programme and presentation of our tender response. Because of this, a large part of the last two years at Playscheme was spent developing, designing and delivering the various projects in line with Sport England's vision for the programme and its components specification.
In total, we designed, manufactured and installed 82 Primary Spaces projects nationwide, they include Chester, Wolverhampton, Nottingham, Leeds, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Sheffield, Merseyside, Lincolnshire, Bradford, Brighton, Hove, Derbyshire, Manchester, Gateshead and Northumberland.
The projects themselves were all bespoke and specific to the individual school sites. The schemes were designed so that they could be incorporated into small spaces and sites where space was not an issue, to enhance the school's existing facilities. Games areas ranging from 42m2 to 180m2 were installed, incorporating mini goals, basket ball hoops with ball walls in either treated timber or powder coated and galvanised steel. Activity surfacing, floor markings and graphics panels were also included to enhance the sport activities further. Those with more space were provided with custom-designed meander trails, activity tracks and traverse bouldering walls.
Playscheme has received glowing reports from the individual schools, not only on the quality and workmanship of the installations but also on how the new facilities have had a positive impact on their children by encouraging active play and improving interaction, health and general well-being.
"Playscheme have transformed our playground, giving us a multi-use games area to enhance the enjoyment, fitness and learning of our children. They are thrilled with the results. Thank you." - Skipton Parish Church of England Primary School.
"We were delighted with the service provide by Playscheme from start to finish. We would have no hesitation in using them again or in recommending them to others." - St. Paul's RC Primary School.
"Playscheme were enthusiastic in their approach. They understood our needs completely and worked swiftly and professionally to get the job done. The children are delighted!" - St. Mary's Catholic Academy.
Here are some images from just a few of our finished schools from up and down the country.
For more information on the work that we do here at Playscheme and to arrange a no obligation consultation, call 01904 607677 or email mail@play-scheme.co.uk. We'd love to hear from you!