Playgrounds UK recently completed the installation of a sea and 'pirate' island wetpour concept for Rowner Infants School.

Originally the area - a link between two other playgrounds - was covered in gravel which not only led to slips and falls for younger children but also saw gravel being scattered all over the area.

Karen Bainbridge, head teacher at Rowner, identified the problem and asked Playgrounds UK to help. We designed - based on input from the children themselves - a blue sea area with a pirate island (where 'X' marks the spot!).

Karen said "Although the area has a pirate theme, the children can use their imagination to make the area become whatever they want. The kids are very happy with the new area - especially as its based on what they wanted".

"The installation went very smoothly. We lost one day due to heavy rain but it was completed quickly and efficiently".

Rowner Infants had had a previous disaster when using a different company to surface one of their play areas. "The previous job was supposed to take a week in November. It was actually finished in February of the following year! They had used subcontractors and it took ages to sort the problems out. When we spoke to Playgrounds UK, the first question I asked was whether they used subcontractors!" said Karen.

As we only use our own highly trained teams of installers - all CRB checked and with many years experience - we never subcontract. This means that all our projects are done on time, quickly and efficiently, with any problems addressed immediately.

Karen concluded "I would recommend Playgrounds UK to any school looking to install safety surfacing in their play areas"