Indooroopilly State School

Set amongst the gum trees, the Year 3’s and 4’s at Indooroopilly State School are loving their new playspace – a mixture of climbing, balancing, upper body twirling, music and social play.

The Jungle Climbers range from Playdale was a natural choice for this setting with the intent to blend in with the natural environment and provide graduated challenge for this age group.  Children have the opportunity to challenge their own skills and bravery with graduated challenge that improve motor skills and develops physical and coordination ability.  Additional climbing opportunity was incorporated with climbing hand-holds built into the wall of the existing dragon themed mural – the namesake of this “Dragon Playground”.  Children can negotiate this in different ways and challenge themselves to complete more difficult routes across as their skills and strength improves.

And because not everyone loves to climb, Twirling/Pull Up bars were included and a “wobble log” – a balance beam with a difference that is far more challenging than it first appears.  We were able to retain a small castle lookout from the original playground where children can gather for social and imaginative play, and some outdoor musical drums have been added by the mini amphitheatre, creating an additional creative social space.

It was a sheer pleasure to see the children “all over” the equipment at its opening play break, tackling it in different ways, thinking about how they’re going to master the next level.  And then perhaps even more rewarding was listening to the comments of the School and Vice Captains as they clambered over, around and through the playground for these photos – they were challenged, they found it a little ‘scary’, and best of all in between the laughs commented how much FUN it was!

The school P&C’s Playground Committee has been working hard to achieve better play opportunities for the school, and their mix of professions in child psychology and development, occupational therapy and recreational space management has made them a pleasure to work with – as they strive to deliver outcomes that truly meet the physical, social and mental needs of developing children.