SCG’S BIG COMMUNITY BUILD
Mereside Primary Academy.
What is SCG's Big Community Build?
Over the 2024 school summer holidays, we embarked on a mission to turn a local primary school playground, Mereside Primary Academy, into a world of fun and creativity for 2-5 year old's.
Learning through creative play and exploring new environments is essential for a child’s development and exactly why we were so passionate about transforming a playground into five extraordinary learning zones.
How Did We Build the School Playground?
After liaising closely with the primary school, we assembled a team of willing SCG employees and enlisted the help of local tradespeople, PGA Contractors to assist with the larger aspects of the build.
The build took place over five days and included:
- Sanding, painting and decorating 2 wooden pallets to create a music wall. The music wall features a timeline of how music has transitioned through the years (from vinyl to Spotify) and includes musical instruments which the children can use to make their own music.
- Sanding, painting and decorating a wooden pallet to create an art wall. The art wall features handmade bunting and hand painted designs painted onto wooden slices.
- Sanding, painting and dressing the Little Dreamers' Library. The outdoor library now contains children's books, jigsaw puzzles, building blocks and soft toys. Two picnic benches now sit outside the library so the children can explore their new books and toys comfortably.
- Sanding, painting and dressing the curiosity shed. The shed now comprises many unique and interesting items (such as Russian dolls, a boomerang and a vintage typewriter) to spark the children's curiosity.
- Repainting a tired cycle track to give it a new lease of life.
- Building 2 sand tables to encourage messy play.
- Replacing worn structures with new chalk boards.
- Building a construction zone from scratch to enable the children and early years to explore the benefits of construction play.
The children now have access to a construction zone, an outdoor library, a music wall, an art wall and a curiosity shed to ignite their imaginations!
What Was the Aim of the School Playground Build?
The aim of our big community build was to help the primary school adhere to the Curiosity Approach, a practice under the Early Year Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework.
The EYFS framework sets the standards that early years providers must meet to help children gain the knowledge and skills they need to begin school.
Founded in 2017, the Curiosity Approach is a creative and innovative approach to support child development in the early years.
"I am so proud of what we have built for the children and our local community."
Debbie's Story
"The first time I ever discussed this idea, I was sitting having lunch with a friend. When I went to pay the bill, I discovered that a lovely couple (complete strangers!) on the next table had paid for my lunch and I couldn’t understand why.
The only reason I could think of was that they were “paying forward” because they believed in this idea as much as I did!
After pitching the idea to everyone at Spencer Clarke Group, they were as enthusiastic as I was - and so, we got to work!
Having never built a playground before in my life, I spent a few weeks planning to make sure that everything was child friendly, weatherproof and as sustainable as possible.
It was quite a long process but having seen the final result, I am so proud of what we have built for the children and our local community.
I can't thank the whole team enough for helping my on this project - they really went above and beyond to bring my ideas to life!"
Debbie Holden, Head of Marketing
TESTIMONIALS
What the School Said.
Is the Playground Sustainable?
Sustainability was a fundamental pillar in the design process. Making use of what the playground already had to offer helped us in this mission.
Instead of replacing three existing sheds, we lovingly restored the sheds through many hours of sanding, painting and replacing the hinges.
We even got our creative juices flowing with our employees painting wooden tiles for the art wall. Head of Marketing, Debbie Holden, also handmade the bunting, adding a splash of colour to the library and art wall!
Where possible, we used charity shops, Vinted and Facebook Marketplace to ensure that we were offering a new home to pre-loved toys and books.
The Curiosity Approach promotes the use of natural materials such as wood, sand, grass and bark. Not only are these materials environmentally friendly, they are also the perfect way to create a safe and fun environment for the children to explore.
