7 Curriculum Areas boosted in the Playground

Play based Curriculum Activities – 7 Curricular areas boosted in the Playground

Play based curriculum activities are a great way to emphasise classroom routines. Your playground is one of the biggest assets your school has, but too often is overlooked. Here we explore how to boost how 7 key curricular areas with a properly designed playground. 

Too many schools look at their playground only as a space where children can let off steam. A space where children can have a quick break from learning before heading back to the classroom. However, whilst play is great exercise, there is a lot more going on. So many essential skills are being taught and honed in children. This makes the playground an essential asset to your children’s education.

To give an idea of what we’ll achieve in your playground, here’s a list of seven curricular areas that benefit from outdoor play equipment.

Communication and language

Communication skills are vital in life, and the earlier they are learnt the better. The playground is the perfect informal area to help boost the development of speech and expression of opinion. A simple way of enhancing these opportunities is by including a role play area in your playground. You can use this during lessons to act out sections of a reading book, for performing plays, music, dance and poetry. Plus, you can make as much noise as you like without disrupting neighbouring classes!

During break times, outdoor stages become natural focal points, where groups of children will create their own plays in front of friends. They provide a great impetus for pupils to communicate with those who are watching. The behind-the-scenes conversations created by discussing what and how they will perform are also valuable in team-building, vocabulary and the skill of conveying ideas.

Physical development

Physical development is an obvious curriculum area boosted by an inspiring playground. We offer a huge range of active play equipment that will encourage participation in physical activity in a natural way. Play equipment enables many physical development areas. From upper and lower body strength through to hand-eye coordination.

Our range of Clamber Climbers are a hugely popular and cost-effective way of aiding physical development in your school. They provide excellent play value and enable many children to use them simultaneously. Trim trails are also a great option for use at play time as well as during PE. They are fantastic for developing stamina, balance and coordination.

Personnel, Social and Emotional development

Social interaction is one of the key ingredients in driving personal, social and emotional development. There are many ways to encourage social interaction in the school playground. In fact, almost all types of play boost this curriculum area by virtue of the fact that play is often a group activity. Play has the unique ability to bring children outside of themselves and engage with others. Shy and quiet children can make a surprising amount of noise once they have come out of their shell!

Literacy

A key curricular area, developing literacy is a major focus for every school. To enhance and expand your literacy provision, give pupils the chance to participate in English lessons outdoors. Outdoor Classrooms are a popular way to facilitate this.

Working outdoors can be a great inspiration when undertaking creative writing tasks. With correctly-designed outdoor learning areas include the whole class, small groups or one-to-one work for pupils who need extra attention. You’ll also find that our range of educational panels and writing tables are perfect for outdoor handwriting activities. Something children may want to do during break times.

Mathematics

Another key curriculum area is mathematics. Installing numeracy focused activities is a great way to make learning enjoyable, free from the confines of the classroom. Our Educational Play range enables you to cover everything from basic sums to symmetry. They are ideal for collaborative group work and for whole class active lessons.

Also, you’re bound to keep the learning going through break and lunchtimes too. These naturally interactive pieces will keep children engaged and entertained even during their free time.

Understanding the world

Seeing nature in action fascinates children. Understanding the world and the things within it creates lots of opportunities for play based curriculum activities. Giving children access to nature in your outdoor play area is a great way to encourage learning, whilst enabling teachers to deliver essential elements of the science curriculum.

You can achieve this by installing a Nature Play Area, which will enable you to create your school’s own nature garden. With our wide range of science-based, outdoor equipment you can study plant growth and insect life cycles, grow food, feed birds and investigate soils.

At the same time, you create a natural space in your playground which gives children much-needed access to nature, whilst encouraging respect for wildlife and the environment at the same time.

Art and Design

Children love being creative, but there never seems to be enough curriculum time available to satisfy their appetite. However, it is now possible to give your pupils the chance to do some playground painting during their free time – by installing something from our range of creative outdoor activates.

Using our Art Stations, dry wipe boards or a painting station, children can take inspiration from the outdoors to exercise their imaginations and develop their creative skills. They are also ideal for using in art lessons, especially when the sun is shining and you want to take advantage of the great outdoors and natural lighting.

Create a curriculum boosting play area at your School

As you can see, there are many ways to channel play to extend the lessons of the classroom into fun and active development time. Your playground is one of the biggest assets that your school has, yet for many schools it may be under used. With a little bit of investment, you can turn your playground into a fully functional, outdoor learning resource to utilise during lesson times and be a source of fun, excitement and extended learning during playtime.

Contact us today to discuss a play area that engages your pupils with play based curriculum activities.