The Vision
Caloo carried out this Dagnall playground refurbishment to bring the school’s play area up to date for a growing age range. The existing playground served younger children only and no longer met the needs of the whole school.
Having recently taken on Key Stage 2 pupils, the school needed a playground that could serve older children alongside its youngest, with genuine physical challenge rather than early-years equipment alone. In addition, the school wanted a dedicated performance area with a stage, giving it a space for outdoor assemblies and events as well as play.
Key objectives of the Dagnall playground refurbishment included:
- Providing genuine physical challenge for Key Stage 2 pupils alongside EYFS and KS1.
- Clearing worn play equipment and carpet surfacing.
- Resurfacing the whole playground within the existing fence line.
- Installing a trail and playframe that would flex across the full age range.
- Adding a dedicated performance area for outdoor assemblies and events.
The Solution
Caloo built the new layout around a timber play frame and a full timber trail, with a Corner Stage with Roof forming the performance area at the heart of the layout. Finally, Caloo resurfaced the whole playground in artificial grass, edged it in treated timber, and backed the surfacing with a 7-year warranty.
Key installations included:
- Timber play frame
- Roll-over bars
- Monkey bar log
- Wobble bridge
- Climb net
- Corner Stage with Roof
- Whisper Bench (1.4m long)
- Timber Large Toddler Shelter (3-sided)
- Artificial grass surfacing (7-year warranty)
- Treated timber edging
Key Considerations
The site sloped away at one end, which shaped how Caloo set out the new layout.
The Impact
Overall, this Dagnall playground refurbishment gives the school a space that works for everyone, not just its youngest pupils. As a result, the artificial grass surfacing is safer, lower-maintenance and more durable than the worn carpet it replaced, and the layout leaves room for the playground to keep working as the school grows.
Project outcomes included:
- Real climbing, balance and movement challenge for older children.
- A dedicated performance area for assemblies, performances and imaginative play.
- Safer, lower-maintenance, more durable surfacing.
- A layout built to keep working as the school grows.
Why Caloo Was Chosen
- A playground designed to work for the whole school, with the trail and playframe built to genuinely challenge Key Stage 2 as well as EYFS and KS1.
- A dedicated performance area added into the design, beyond the standard trail and playframe brief.
- Durable, low-maintenance materials, with the artificial grass surfacing carrying a 7-year warranty.
- A flexible design process that worked from an open brief through to options the school could choose between.