From the Front, From the Top, From the Sides (Foundation work, 2005-06)

As a result of the ‘Shapes of Play’ project which happened in Nursery in 2005, the teachers and children wanted to develop an outdoor role play area in the playground at the back of the school. The Reception and Nursery worked with an architect called Phil Bixby and a visual artist called Abi May, from Heads Together Productions, our Creative Partners, to design this role play space.

Having an outdoor role play area will provide a space where imaginative play is encouraged. Young children learn through play and speaking and listening, story telling and cooperation will all be developed by providing the children with this space. The space will be available for the children in school, nursery, the Children’s Centre and ‘out of school clubs’.

Abi and Phil worked closely with the teachers and many parents to help the children to explore the ideas of design. Much of the children’s activities were based around looking at objects from different angles, which is how the project inherited its name! The children were involved in a variety of activities, such as painting, drawing, printing and pastel work. They worked on different scales, individually and in groups to produce some excellent work.

In March 2005 a selection of the project work was exhibited at The Cooper Art Gallery in Barnsley. The launch of the exhibition was very successful, with dozens of parents and children turning up to support the opening.

The work with Phil and Abi was funded through Creative Partnerships. The next step was to seek funding for the actual building of the role play space.