Footprints Day Nursery, in Macclesfield, is an Ofsted Outstanding day nursery that caters for the under 5’s. The play facility caters for 3+ year olds.
The Issue
The outside play space was made up of a tarmac area wrapped around the Nursery building. This meant that the space needed to be carefully designed to maximise the area and create different play zones that fluidly link.
The area was previously lacking in colour and equipment that promoted physical activity. The requirements were to focus on encouraging movement and play whilst ensuring that the proposed area is fun and dynamic.
The Resolution
Footprints Day Nursery had a free consultation with Area Manager, Andrea Southern, to help turn their vision into a reality. Andrea and the team discussed various options to ensure all of their requirements were met by Sovereign.
Andrea visited the site to talk through their visions or any concerns that they had for their outdoor space. The Nursery wanted to ensure the outside space was practical and suitable for the small children who use it whilst also creating an impact. The main aim was to create an area that the children would be excited to play in.
The children loved using their scooters and bikes, so a wetpour roadway needed to be incorporated into the design to focus on the need for developing gross motor skills and imaginative play. In addition to this, a quiet seating area with sand and water play elements were also integrated into the design.
The Process
Designs were initiated and Andrea and the team created plans to show a visualisation of the area to help combine all the desired components required by the Nursery into a functional and active space.
Andrea visited the school on three separate occasions to ensure the designs were exactly to the Footprint Day Nursery’s specification and included all items they requested. Once the designs were finalised, work could begin to transform the area.
The Installation
Installation started and the space began to transform. The installation team ensured time was taken to guarantee that the final design was installed to the highest standard.
The final vision was brought to life with a fun design, which integrated our Mound Everest surrounded by imaginative wetpour; themed as a shark-infested island. Other items included; a bespoke trim trail with beach inspired wetpour, artificial grass areas for relaxing, a colourful seating area incorporating Sovereign’s imaginative rubber toadstools, wetpour roadway and stepping stone markings. To help with EYFS, numbers and lower case letters were incorporated into the scheme.
The Results
The final outcome encompasses all the desired features, which has significantly improved the outside space.
The wetpour provides a safe, all-year round weather surface for walking and playing on, whilst injecting some much needed colour in the area.
The different equipment promotes safe play and encourages activities to help develop balancing and co-ordination, as well as encouraging physical activity.
”We are delighted with the transformation of our outdoor environment that Sovereign completed. Andrea was so helpful in adapting our ideas and bringing them to life. The installation team were excellent and great care was taken with the work. The children, staff and parents are over the Moon with it and it will go a long way to helping us remain Macclesfield’s favourite family Day Nursery.
Yvonne HuntingtonFootprints Day Nursery
