Sandling’s Playgroup

Sandling’s Playgroup in Woodbridge were awarded £36,125 under the Armed Forces Families Fund: Early Years programme to support the development and revamp of the playgroup’s outdoor space.

The provision is located on a military base, with Service children comprising over 98% of attendees. Despite having extensive outdoor spaces, time constraints and existing budgets posed a challenge in transforming the neglected outdoor classroom into something that could enhance the overall experience of the Service children attending.

Project Outdoor Classroom has transformed the outdoor area into a safe, stimulating space for children to explore and engage with nature independently. A key priority was to replace the existing fence to ensure the children’s safety while adopting an environment that encourages exploration, creativity and independent learning.

This new, welcoming space has been completely revamped thanks to this funding, with new and diverse resources, including climbing frames, water walls, a creative station, music areas and a sensory garden.

Staff at Sandling’s will receive professional development through training, emphasising the significance of seasonal outdoor learning. They’ll also implement action plans to ensure that outdoor classrooms positively impact children’s care, learning and development, supporting both current and future families at Rock Barracks.

Sandling’s manager, Hannah Hall said: “The main impact and learning to come from the project has been around the staff and child interactions and engagements in the outdoors. Due to the safety factor of having the new fence, staff are now able to have more meaningful interactions with the children. We have found the children are happier with the freedom of exploration in the new outdoor areas, improving mental health.”

Hannah adds: “Providing new allotment beds has allowed children the opportunity to grow and eat the food we produce. From observing how much this has been enjoyed, we have created a weekly gardening club for children to learn all about planting, growing and outdoor maintenance.”

The garden further enriches their outdoor experience, allowing exploration of nature through smell, taste and sounds, developing confidence, independence and self-esteem.

Sandling’s are now looking ahead at promoting outdoor sleeping among the children, supported by scientific evidence highlighting its positive effects on cognitive development.

Hannah concludes: “We are exceptionally grateful for the grant and without this grant we wouldn’t have been able to make such a difference to the outdoor spaces in the time we have had. We know that the impact with the children we currently have is only the beginning of what we have observed and are excited for more MOD families and children to have the opportunities in the outdoor spaces that are now on offer at Sandling’s Playgroup.”