St Ann’s School transformed outdoor play with a grant from children’s charity Merlin’s Magic Wand
All our students have severe learning difficulties. Their needs vary, ranging from challenging complex behaviours to health conditions that make them deteriorate over time. A large majority are non-verbal and communicate through devices, gestural acts or noises.
There is no culture of parents at the school gates here, as the children arrive and leave by minibus. We don’t have a PTA, but we raise money through our charity, the St Ann’s Foundation, which the parents are involved with. In 2023, we applied for a grant to transform our playground from the children’s charity Merlin’s Magic Wand, which partners with Merlin Entertainments, which operates theme parks such as Legoland. As a result, our playground is now an interactive, educational mini-Merlin World, closely linked to our curriculum.
The charity’s designers went further than we could have dreamed, creating a play area themed around London Sea Life that also features classic London icons, such as post boxes and skyscrapers. The design is completely play-based and addresses our children’s sensory needs. For example, looking into the spinning wheels reduces a child’s anxiety as they can focus on the repetitive nature of the activity rather than on the world outside.
The play area is equipped with wet pour rubber flooring, which is perfect for when a child wants to jump up and down or lie on the ground, since it’s safe for them. Our students often need privacy when they’re going through an anxious time, so the area also includes a brightly coloured screen that maintains their dignity and safety. They also love to climb, but they don’t always know the proper way, so the playground provides opportunities for them to explore in this way, too.
It took about 18 months from bidding for the grant to project completion. In addition to the design team, which included staff from Madame Tussauds in London, Pentagon Play came on site to handle the build. More than 20 Merlin corporate volunteers helped with the painting. They became actively involved in the school, supporting our Christmas fair and getting to know teachers and pupils.
We didn’t pay a penny towards the £35,000 equipment cost, but as the headteacher, I always worry whether expensive projects such as these will work. Luckily, as soon as the playground was opened the children were all over the equipment. A total success.
All pupils use the new space, but it’s accessible via our Alium class, which includes students with a low developmental cognitive level. They do a lot of exploring with their mouths and they enjoy messy play. We think of the playground as an extra classroom.
- Timmy Holdsworth is headteacher at St Ann’s School, Hanwell, London (120 pupils aged 11 to 19)
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