For over 12 years PlayBoard has been working to improve children’s school based play experiences through a range of training and play support programmes. This includes PlayBoard’s Positive PlayGrounds programme which has been delivered in over two hundred and fifty primary schools giving children, teaching and non-teaching staff the opportunity to explore a wide range of issues relating to play including play theory, play types, playground policy, the playground environment and co-operative games.

Building on the experience gained through Positive Playgrounds, in 2015 PlayBoard developed the ‘TOPS’ Quality Assurance Programme and Award for Outdoor Play aimed at supporting schools to bring about a comprehensive transformation of the school environment in order to encourage and support outdoor play.

Through both the ‘Positive Playgrounds’ and ‘Quality Assurance’ programmes schools are able to work towards a fuller utilisation of the outdoor environment in order to enhance opportunities for play-based curricular learning; broaden active and social play; and better meet children’s natural play needs.

Twenty schools from across Northern Ireland have been selected to participate in a new play programme funded by the Department of Education. 

The play programme which focuses on Covid-19 recovery, will support the schools to enhance their outdoor play offer and improve children’s school-based play experiences during this academic year. Ten schools will complete PlayBoard’s Taking Outdoor Play Seriously (TOPS) Quality Assurance Award and ten will take part in Positive PlayGrounds.

We are delighted to be one of the ten schools awarded the opportunity to improve our outdoor play through the Taking Outdoor Play Seriously Programme. We look forward to working with PlayboardNI and are ready for the transformation of our outdoor play.