Children at Fitzjohns primary school in Camden met Hattie and Tim Coppard, the Designers of snug, who attended the school in the sixties as they relived childhood memories at an official opening ceremony on Friday November 28th.
Governors, parents and other local schools attended the launch of the snug kit at the school which is the result of 15 years research and observation into what makes a good playground.
Research has shown how bleak environments create aggressive and stressful children and how well designed playgrounds can become the creative and social hub of the school.
Hattie says: “I was so excited about going back to my old school, it’s where it all started and I have such great memories of the playground.
Now I hope snug can help create fantastic memories for current and future pupils of Fitzjohns. “Snug is a completely new approach to school playground design, creating a flexible environment for play and learning which changes the psychology of the playground. Children work together to build their own wonderful playscapes and this encourages their cooperation and creativity.”
Head teacher Rob Earrey comments: “from the moment snug arrived the children were intrigued and literally couldn’t wait to get on it. As soon as the last screw was turned the bright green mound became home to all sorts of imaginative play. “The moveable parts are used to great effect and the amount of imaginative play that now happens during the day is staggering – a very tangible result of this is the fall in the number of lunchtime complaints and incidents”.
“Snug is creative, imaginative, intriguing, enticing, but most importantly fun. I love it and so do the children.” Hattie’s playground design company, Snug & Outdoor also launched a new campaign to bring creativity to school playgrounds and are offering five schools a free playground consultation.
