Wainwright Primary Academy opens '˜bespoke' early years activity space

Following months of development the outdoor play area opened to the children on Monday, January 15 and saw excited faces testing out the new equipment.

The academy has completed a significant investment into the facilities on its Harrop White Road site to benefit the early development of children from the ages of 3-5 years old within its foundation stage.

The new facilities include a range of large-scale wooden play equipment such as sandpits, a shop and construction hut for role-playing, a mud kitchen, outdoor crafting area and resources such as stepping-stones, ladders and tyres.

Mrs Lucy Spacey, academy principal, said: “We are delighted to be able to open this superb outdoor space for our existing pupils and those children looking to join Wainwright Primary in the future.

“It is so important to be able to offer children the chance to explore and play outdoors – we have worked with Early Years education experts to create a bespoke environment that supports early childhood development.

“It will help children to develop key skills in areas such as communication, turn taking, writing, numbers as well as developing physical and core motor skills too.

“All of these are linked to the curriculum and support children as they move into year one and beyond.

“It has been very exciting seeing our children take to the equipment for the first time today – we hope they enjoy it as much as our staff team enjoyed developing it.”

The academy’s foundation stage classrooms also boasts an “impressive range of resources”, including space for creative and messy play, interactive white boards and tablets, water play, musical instruments and dedicated reading areas.