The new space was purchased with a combination of school funding and money raised by the Friends of Stanton Vale Group, made up of parents, carers, and friends of Stanton Vale School.

The design, specially created by Daniel Young and his colleagues at Pentagon Play, includes a bespoke timber canopy, an active play climber and a swing with a group seat for the pupils to enjoy.

Stanton Vale is a special needs school for children aged between 2-19. They’ve recently moved their EYFS area to another section of the school where there was very minimal outdoor play, leading to the need for a brand-new play space!

It was crucial to the school to have a space where outdoor play would be consistent year-round, but that would also be fit for all purposes, as the majority of their pupils are ASD or have complex medical issues.

Tarina Chow, Stanton Vale’s School Business Manager, said “We have a very active friends of Stanton vale group who agreed to fund the project to give children in the school a new swing, climbing frame, den, trim trail, and outdoor canopy so they can access outdoor play all year. With help from pentagon play we have a design that will give the children an exciting outdoor play area.”

Stanton Vale is part of the Esteem Multi-Academy Trust and had their new play space installed in October.