Case Study

Pre-school Classroom at Dickleburgh Primary

Building type: Early Years
Project price: £45,000
Completion date: 2011

At Dickleburgh VC Primary School there is plenty of room to play and learn outside in their new classroom extension.

A new extension at Dickleburgh VC Primary School has given Early Years pupils the extra space they need to enjoy learning and play in the great outdoors. Pre-School Chairman Molly Ball tells us how their new outdoor classroom has inspired the staff and children.

Why did you want to extend your outdoor classroom?

Since our opening in April 2010, uptake for Pre-school spaces has exceeded our expectations, and we needed to provide extra space to enable us to accommodate as many Pre-school age children from our community as possible. Rather than build a brand new classroom, we wanted to extend a building that had previously been installed by The Learning Escape. This extension would allow us to accept more Early Years pupils comfortably and to give them an inspiring place in which they can work and play.

What were the key elements that made The Learning Escape stand out from the other providers?

We have developed an outdoor classroom with The Learning Escape in the past, and we were so impressed with the service that we decided to ask them again. The team knew all of the details about our previous build and were able to design the extension to match it exactly. With The Learning Escape it is possible to work on a development in stages, this is particularly good for charities, like us, that need time between builds to raise the funds.

What are the biggest benefits you’ve noticed for the children?

The impact that our extension has had is amazing. Now that we have more space we can enjoy a wider variety of activities and the children have more space to play and explore. The children are inspired by their natural surroundings and it is incorporated into all aspects of their day.

"The eco-friendly building has encouraged even our youngest children to be more aware of their environment and the importance of looking after it."
Molly Ball
Pre-School Chairman