Campaign to Make Cardiff Children Have ‘Better Breaktimes’ at School

18th Jun 2019

12th November 2018

Cardiff-based development management company, Lee Wakemans, has completed its second playground transformation as part of its community outreach initiative to enhance children's outdoor spaces and provide them with greater opportunities for fun and interesting play-times.

The company selected Pendoylan Church of Wales Primary School in Cowbridge as its second focus, and after meeting the school and finding out what they needed, set about working in teams to plan how best to deliver their requirements.

Teams from Lee Wakemans' restored an eco-garden, including reinstating a pond, planting a sensory garden and installing a 'Potion Station', enabling children to role play making potions from mud and water. They also developed an outdoor classroom including a reading and art area, as well as building a version of a Maori marae (a New Zealand meeting ground). A marae is considered to be a place where a family or tribe stand and belong.

Tom Woodward, Project Manager at Lee Wakemans, who managed the project said, "This was a very rewarding project to be involved in. The team here put a lot of thought into maximising the potential of the areas they were developing, which resulted in delivering some fantastic results on the day. We were so pleased that the school and children loved the end product, and receiving a heartfelt thank you letter from the school really made our day."

Paula Vaughan, Headteacher at Pendoylan Church of Wales Primary School said, "It took my breath away when I saw the results from the day. Lee Wakemans have uncovered things we didn't know we had, because the area was a bit unused and hidden. The children's reactions to the playground have been a joy to see and we are very grateful for all the help we received. Outdoor learning experiences are so important to a child's development, so these new areas will be of great value to our school and community."

Tom added, "We were very grateful for the support received from some of our business contacts in helping deliver the initiatives. Of particular note was the input of Trafalgar Business Interiors - www.trafalgarbi.com - who provided two qualified electricians for the day to help bring power and lighting to the outdoor areas, as well as equipment. We also hugely appreciated the support of Carter Lauren Construction, who donated some of the seating equipment we installed during the day."

Lee Wakemans says that it is planning its third 'Better Breaktimes' initiative, working with local schools to make playtimes more fun, and encouraging learning through play with a focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) activities. Gabalfa Primary was the first school that benefited from the campaign, and having completed the transformation at Pendoylan Primary, the company is looking to find another school to work with.