Introduction
What makes a playing place?
Inspiring/Informative playing places
Kippen Skate Park
Gorgie/Dalry Community Park
Mugdock Country Park
The Yard
Giffnock Primary School
Garnethill Community Park
Balornock East Youth Centre
The Spire Park
Conclusion
References & Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
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Where is it? What's it like? What's the story?
Giffnock Primary School

Giffnock Primary School is an example of the progress of the design process in a school that is beginning to make changes for play. They are finding out how complicated it can become when you really do invite participation from the children and parents and staff.
Where is it?
Academy Road in Giffnock (East Renfrewshire)
What's it like?
The original school building is Victorian. The school grounds are quite large, and the building has been extended twice (in the 1960s and in 2001) and (long term) temporary classrooms have been removed, increasing the space available for play. The playground is mainly tarmac with a small grass area.
What's the story?

Giffnock Primary is not unusual in having a large school roll (296) and a virtually empty tarmac playground. The building and playground were reorganised in 2001 when the building was extended to link the two older buildings. At that time the temporary classroom units were removed, and an area for parking was fenced off. The playground was restricted during the construction period.
The playground was on the agenda of both the Parent Teacher Association, and the schools Senior Management Team.

A consultant was employed (by the PTA) to advise on playground development, and to consult with parents, pupils, and school staff. From the very beginning of the process it was clear that the ambitions of all three interested groups were quite different. The parents want to encourage more play for the children, they accept that the children do have space to play in but need some stimulus to encourage active varied play. The Senior Management Team at the school want to enhance curriculum work and accept that play is important. The staff who supervise the children in the playground had their own ideas too. Some of these workers had attended playground games workshops but wanted support from teaching staff to help teach the games.

The pupils at the school have all sorts of ideas about creating a skate park with tree houses overlooking it, and seats and shelter and swings, in the playground.
Pupils (and their teachers) throughout the whole school were given an introductory presentation about playground design, and the importance of working on a specific design for the specific situation at Giffnock. A series of five workshops were designed for the primary five children. Parents, playground staff, and teaching staff were represented at the workshops. During these workshops the children worked through the design process, and produced drawings, text and models that could be used to show their findings.
The key elements of the design process were:

Looking at what's already there (and asking others their views)
Assessing what is good and bad about what's already there
Putting together ideas for change

At the end of the design process workshops, a power point presentation, which showed what information was found, and what design outlines have been proposed, was given to all pupils. Members of staff were invited to these presentations, and the presentation was shown throughout the evening at the School Open night to which all parents are invited. Parents, pupils and staff were invited to chat informally with the consultant, and to the primary five pupils who had produced the work, at the Open evening. The next part of the process is to agree how the proposed designs should be developed, and put together details of plans for costing and offering to contractors.
The playground belongs to the local council who will have to be approached for permission to make changes. The maintenance of any construction or planting will have to be taken into consideration by the school staff in conjunction with the council specialists. The work at Giffnock was part funded by The Lighthouse National Architects and Designers in Residence programme funded by the Scottish Arts Council Lottery fund.