Charity supporting people with learning disabilities builds new playground equipment for primary school in Cramlington

Service users and support staff from the woodwork department at Blyth Star Enterprises, which provides living support and day services that reflect real working environments for people with complex mental health needs and learning disabilities, designed and built the equipment for Shanklea Primary School.

The school’s previous outdoor play equipment had to be removed on health and safety grounds, but the playground has now been furnished with new play structures built from sustainably sourced materials.

Laura Ritson, headteacher at Shanklea Primary School, said: “The play equipment that we had originally in the school playground was very old so it was not a great surprise when we were advised to have it removed, however it did leave us with a very empty, uninspiring outdoor play area.

“We started a fundraising campaign in school, planning activities like school discos, glow in the dark football sessions, and break the school rules days to raise money towards the purchase of some new equipment.

“I had worked with Blyth Star Enterprises before at my previous school so I reached out to them to see if they could support us with this new project.

“The end result has been fantastic. The staff and service users at Blyth Star took our ideas and turned them into something better than we ever imagined.

“The attention to detail on the car in particular is just amazing and the children love it. We really cannot thank them enough.”

So far Blyth Star has installed reading tipis, mud kitchens, a water play balance beam, a role play shop, and a full-size car.

The equipment was designed in conjunction with staff and pupils to encourage cooperative play and help the children develop their motor skills.

Neil Hedley, day services operations manager at Blyth Star, said: “The project is one of the most ambitious we have taken on to date, but our service users have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and have learned lots of new woodworking skills through the process.

“It was great to see the children’s happy faces when they saw some of the finished play structures for the first time and we hope that they will continue to enjoy them for many years to come.”