Frontline heroes

Superheroes open a new school playground

When the staff at Our Lady of Walsingham Catholic Primary School asked some of its youngest pupils (3 5 years old) who they would like to open their brand-new playground, they were both delighted and surprised to hear the children wanted their heroes to do the honours - their heroes being doctors and nurses!

Expecting to receive answers such as footballers or singers, the staff couldn’t have agreed more with the idea of having parents who work on the front line to come and officially open the new outdoor play area.

A fireman, two policemen and four nurses, came to the school to do a fantastic socially distanced unveiling.

The playground boasts a new climbing frame, a balance beam, sand pit, a den, weaving poles, a water wall and an outdoor reading area too! It was created by Creative Play and the design was done in conjunction with the EYFS Lead, Nikki Lindsay.

During lockdown, the school became increasingly concerned about the physical wellbeing of its pupils, so it has invested in developing this new playground to ensure that they can play outside in all areas and improve their mobility.

Headteacher, Claire McKinnon said: “We are absolutely thrilled with the development of the playground and we know it is so important, even at an early age, to be able to spend time outdoors. There is nothing better than to be able to play in an exciting and engaging space with your very best friends!

“It was fantastic that our new playground was opened by true life superheroes! We owe all of our local frontline workers a debt of gratitude for keeping us safe, especially over the last 12 months, so it was lovely to be able to thank them in this very small gesture by making them our very own VIPs.”

Being active is widely encouraged at Our Lady of Walsingham Catholic Primary School and it was particularly important that staff and pupils continued to be active during lockdown. With so many benefits for both mental and physical health, the school is keen to keep conveying this message and, therefore, created this wonderful space so that nursery and reception pupils can still play outside in all weathers.

Claire added: “The playground is part of our continuous provision in nursery and reception and so it will be used all day. We are really looking forward to when our parents and families can come onsite so that they can share it too, as well as our friends in Key Stage 1!”