How do great playgrounds lead to healthier pupils?

Based just on the edge of the South Downs National Park in the heart of Hampshire, Hand Made Places has seen huge growth since its inception in 2000. We started life in a garage with one man designing, making and building everything almost single handedly. Our Hand Made home now is a 30,000 sq ft building that contains our traditional yet modern workshop and offices. Hand Made Places is a division of Broxap Ltd, enabling us to provide a one-stop solution for not only playground equipment but also street furniture, shelters and sports equipment.

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Encouraging children to be active and play outdoors is becoming increasingly difficult as they opt to spend time indoors on a variety of technological devices. The lack of outdoor activity has contributed to the increased obesity amongst children. According to figures from the NHS, around 10% of children are obese in their first year of school. We at Hand Made Places specialise in designing, manufacturing and installing high quality timber playgrounds to encourage outdoor learning and play at schools, and here we explain why we do what we do.

Play is crucial to children’s healthy development and exercise. It provides a form of exercise and promotes physical development. Unstructured play experiences, which a well-designed playground can provide, is one of the best ways for children to stay both physically and mentally healthy. Active play helps to stimulate the mind.

A well-designed playground, consisting of a variety of playground equipment and trim trails encourages children to go outdoors and take part in physical play, helping them to stay active and healthy.

Trim trails are versatile and consist of a range of different challenges creating an exercise circuit. They include a range of challenges which develop upper body strength, balance, coordination and agility – all contributing to a healthier pupil. Trim trails can be designed to fit within any available space.

Meanwhile, timber playground equipment is well-suited to schools and nurseries, as it is aesthetically pleasing. It fits in with any surrounding environment and provide a natural and welcoming feel, encouraging children to use the equipment.

Encouraging children to be active not only helps pupils to take part in exercise, which has a long term effect on their health, but it also has a positive impact back in the classroom with academic achievement. Physical play increases self-esteem, reduces stress and increases concentration and motivation levels.

Providing a welcoming and well-designed playground can have positive impact for any education establishment. Encouraging outdoor play at school is important, as children may not get the opportunity when at home, due to the number of playgrounds being closed down. Outdoor play at school may serve as an important factor of helping to combat obesity in children. Being healthy, both physically and mentally from a young age can have a long term positive impact on an individual. Playground equipment, provides a fun and exciting way for children to engage in outdoor active play, without partaking in strenuous exercise.

By providing safe and supervised places and time to play, schools can play an integral role in increasing children’s time outdoors, and potentially in reducing children’s risk of obesity. As members of the Association of Play Industries (API), we specialise in the design, manufacture and installation of timber playground equipment. Get in touch to see the improvements discussed above!

Visit www.handmadeplaces.co.uk or contact [email protected] / 01420 474111 for more information.