The Bythams Primary

The Bythams Primary Case Study

The Brief:

The Bythams Primary School approached Eden Play to create an outdoor learning space for their Reception class that reflected the school’s unique local character and values.

The school wanted a playground offering open-ended opportunities for play and discovery, helping children take ownership of their learning while building independence. Their vision focused on extending learning beyond the classroom, encouraging creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork.

Their headteacher Martin Sutton was also passionate that the design should incorporate connections to the school’s local heritage, including the nearby railway line and Castle Bytham’s rich history.

Our approach:

Our approach centred on collaboration, listening carefully to the school’s ideas, and creating a space that promotes independent learning, creativity, and exploration. We worked closely with staff to ensure each element reflected Bythams’ local heritage while offering engaging, open-ended play opportunities.

Key bespoke features included a Role Play Train to inspire curiosity, storytelling, and imaginative play, and a Role Play Castle Sandpit, complete with open drawbridge, nodding to the school’s connections to the local area. Alongside these, we incorporated independent play equipment that encourages problem-solving, collaboration, and self-directed activity.

We also ensured the design was adapted based on feedback from the school during the design process, creating a flexible, personalised space that truly met the school’s vision. Every element was tailored to feel unique to Bythams, celebrating the village’s railway connections and historic castle while delivering a stimulating, imaginative outdoor learning environment for their Reception pupils.

Before

After

What we delivered:

The Reception outdoor learning space was transformed into a vibrant, imaginative environment that encourages creativity, independence, and hands-on exploration. Bespoke features like the Role Play Train and castle-themed sandpit provide tactile, interactive spaces for storytelling and imaginative play.

To further support self-directed learning, we installed an Interactive Water Wall, a Construction Station with loose blocks and a construction Skip, and a Mud Kitchen with a Belfast Sink accompanied by a Materials Storage unit offering three different play options. These elements encourage children to experiment, problem-solve, and engage with open-ended play. Additional features, including Mark Making Boards and a Sensory Wall Panel, stimulate curiosity, fine motor development, and sensory exploration.

The playground is designed to be safe, inclusive, and engaging, celebrating Bythams’ local heritage while offering children opportunities to lead their own learning. Every feature encourages exploration, collaboration, and imaginative thinking, providing a rich outdoor learning environment for their Reception pupils.

The Outcome:

The completed outdoor space at the Bythams Primary School has exceeded expectations, creating a safe, engaging environment where children can explore, play, and learn independently.

Bespoke elements like the role play train and role play castle sandpit inspire imaginative storytelling and tactile exploration, while the interactive water wall, construction station, and mud kitchen support hands-on problem-solving and open-ended learning.

The school particularly valued how Eden Play listened to their ideas, adapted the design throughout the process, and delivered the installation efficiently with minimal disruption to the school day.

The result is a personalised, community-connected space that celebrates local heritage while offering limitless learning opportunities.

Their children now have a stimulating environment to develop independence, creativity, and collaboration, making the outdoor area a vibrant extension of their classroom and a memorable part of their school experience.

Perfect partner

"I couldn't be happier with the EYFS area I have now, from start to finish, Eden Play have been the perfect partner to create a wonderful space for our pupils to explore, engage with and learn through play. From the initial visit to assess the space, which included detailed discussions surrounding possible options, I really felt that they listened to our ideas and, unlike other companies we met with, had solutions that linked with our concept for the space and how it linked to our community. Their detailed initial designs perfectly explained to us how our space would look and feel, and they were more than happy with any feedback we gave to tweak things slightly. The time from confirmation of designs to installation was speedy, and the build was scheduled at a time to minimise the impact on the school day. The guys who came to install were excellent, their knowledge of the site and build was extensive, and they worked with enthusiasm, especially with some of the pieces we had ordered, notably the train and castle! One thing that impressed me was that they also made adaptations to the design based on feedback from the first day; nothing was too much trouble. Even after the installation, the after-service has been amazing. I would recommend them highly to any school looking to develop their play spaces or EYFS area."

Martin Sutton, Headteacher, The Bythams Primary School

View more of our pictures from Bythams below…