Woodland View Primary School celebrate new outdoor space

During the summer holidays, the extensive, secure outdoor area used specifically for the school’s youngest children, was transformed into a magical space full of awe and wonder to spark their curiosity, develop their physical, cognitive and social and emotional development, and encourage learning through play.

Dan and Josh from Pentagon Play have been working with the school nursery and reception team and Transform Trust’s Early Years Education specialists since January. They were delighted to be invited back to see how their months of planning and preparation have impacted the children – and they weren’t disappointed. As Dan said:

“Outdoor spaces for Early Years have come a long way. We are really pleased to be here today to witness the children having such fun using the facilities and accessing all the zones in the way we hoped they would. When you design an area as simple as a mud kitchen it’s important to get it right. Done well it can provide multiple role-play features, great for communication and interaction with peers. Due to the extensive space available, the generous dimensions of this mud kitchen can also facilitate play for large groups of children, further promoting teamwork.”

Miss Roberts, Head of Early Years at Woodland View Primary School and Nursery was keen to expand on the many wonderful facets of the new space

“We are so fortunate to have such a vast amount of outdoor space across the whole school – and this wonderfully safe and secure space for our Early Years. Our bespoke new area has been designed to serve the needs of our youngest children. Each element plays a significant part in supporting their physical, cognitive, social and emotional development while providing extensive ‘learning through play’ opportunities that are vital in the Early Years.

“The Pentagon Play team has fully understood our brief, and has created the perfect balance of safety and challenge that all children need. For example, our ‘Get set go! Blocks’ are perfect for our nursery-age children who are just starting to climb properly. They help develop key balance and coordination skills through play. All children are unique and develop at different times. I love the flexibility and adaptability of our facilities. We can rearrange the blocks into different routes daily to challenge and build confidence in every child’s ability. The ‘Trim Trail’ timber play frame is a great space for confident climbing practice helping to build solid muscular strength and perfect for children who are still learning the art of balance and coordination. Communication is also key on this climber, especially when they are encouraged to help one another navigate their climbing route which can be quite challenging. Working together, our children are building key personal, social and emotional skills. We were also keen to ensure our children are actively engaged in cross-curricular learning through hands-on experience and the ‘Water Walls’ provide that perfect blend of fun and learning. Designed to encourage scientific discussions about gravity, flow, the water cycle, source to mouth and kinetic energy, it’s great for boosting children’s curiosity and confidence through sociable, interactive play.

With previous experience in the role, Saul Ratcliffe became the new Headteacher at Woodland View Primary School in September.

“Outdoor learning doesn’t require vast amounts of space, but it does require knowledge and experience. We are fortunate that our Early Years provision has both the space and the expertise to ensure our youngest children have the best start to their school life.

“I’ve been so heartened by the warm welcome I’ve received by the entire school community. Today, it was really positive to welcome back into school a former pupil, and also a member of parliament, Lee Anderson. We fall into his constituency and so it was fitting that he came along to see this wonderful new outdoor learning facility.”

Lee Anderson said “I used to come to this school. I’m really impressed with the staff and the children – the staff are clearly devoted and have the right energy to make things happen and great leadership with their new headteacher, Saul. The children are so happy and confident and have such wonderful facilities within their stunning grounds. I’ve been challenged to a trike and scooter race this morning by 3 year old Jaden and 4 year olds Kobi and William. I think they let me win, what super kids.”

Chair of Governors, Sarah Sayer, was also delighted to be invited and said, “It has been a real pleasure to spend time with parents, staff and former pupils - as well as our youngest children -today. This school has the wellbeing and development of children at its heart and works so hard to be inclusive for all – and this new outdoor space is a prime example of this. Wow, lucky, lucky children (and staff!). As a parent who knows how important having a fantastic school within your community is, I would encourage new families to come and see this school’s incredible facilities for every age and stage of nursery and primary school life – including an onsite pop-up swimming pool – and the wonderfully caring and expert staff.”

The benefits of outdoor ‘learning through play’:

1. Physical Development: Our outdoor space offers children the freedom to move in ways that are not always possible indoors. Running, climbing, jumping, and balancing help develop their gross motor skills, coordination and strength. The varied, open environment encourages children to be physically active, which promotes a healthy lifestyle from an early age.

2. Cognitive Development and Problem-Solving The outdoor environment presents children with constantly changing stimuli and challenges. They learn to observe, question and think critically, fostering problem-solving and cognitive development. Whether they are building, or figuring out how to navigate the trim trail, it sparks curiosity and creative thinking.

3. Social skills and collaboration- Outdoor play involves larger groups of children working together. It offers natural opportunities for children to practice communication negotiation and teamwork. Sharing resources, cooperating on task or taking turns on our new equipment helps children develop essential social skills

4. Sensory exploration Our new area provides a rich- multisensory environment. Children engage with natural textures sights, sounds and smells which enhances their sensory awareness. This sensory engagement is vital for brain development and helps children learn about the world around them in a meaningful, hands-on way,

5. Emotional well-being The new and improved environment helps foster independence, resilience, and self-confidence. Children have begun to take more risks with their climbing, learning to manage new physical challenges and celebrate successes, which builds their emotional resilience.

6. Boosting creativity and imagination the natural world is an open-ended resource that stimulates imaginative play. Whether children are pretending a tree is a castle, creating artwork from leaves, or playing make-believe in the sand kitchen, the new and improved learning environment encourages creative thinking. This free, unstructured play is crucial for cognitive flexibility and problem-solving skills.

7. Encourages Risk Taking and independence- safe opportunities for children to engage in risk-taking behaviours such as climbing or exploring unfamiliar areas. This helps children develop independence and self-regulation as they learn to assess the risk, make decisions and push their own boundaries within a supportive environment.

8. Supports all areas of learning- as well as physical development, outdoor learning also helps develop literacy, numeracy and communication skills. It helps integrate and enhance learning across multiple areas of the EYFS curriculum.