Early Years Play Equipment Your Community Will Love
Updated on: January 22, 2024
Whether planning for a play space in a park, school playground, nursery or other public setting, it’s tricky to know which types of early years play equipment to choose.
There’s a wealth of apparatus available and you know play in the early years is about more than free time. The need to support cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development through play makes equipment selection for EYFS children more complex.
We’re a top UK supplier of outdoor play equipment for early years settings across the UK. Our experienced team are great at finding creative and innovate ways to promote the development of learning through play.
Each piece of our early years playground equipment, which includes playground markings, is designed to provide rich play experiences. A good way to approach the selection of outdoor play equipment for children is to consider the 6 main types of play.
6 Main Types of Play:
- Sensory play: children engage in multi-sensory stimulation from the natural world around them. They use their hands, ears, eyes and more to learn more about the world in which they live. A good example of this is garden play.
- Social play: children play group games with set rules and defined roles. Role play equipment for example, enables children to explore real-world scenarios through play.
- Active play: children explore their physicality with vigour, engaging in energetic physical activity. Ball court or track playground markings are good examples.
- Creative play: children engage freely in self expression through the arts. Outdoor musical instruments are a great example.
- Reflective play: children may prefer to play alone or in a small group. They spend their time engrossed in a single activity. Lots of equipment supports reflective play as well as a wide range of outdoor furniture.
- Imaginative play: children enter imaginary worlds of their own making. In these worlds, children explore ideas and concepts through role play. For example, our dinosaur play tunnel is a great stimulus for imaginative play.
Now you have a better idea of the different types of early years play you need to consider, let’s take a whizz through some of our most popular ideas for younger children for each one.
Sensory Play
Today, we know better than ever, the value of outdoor play for children. Our mud kitchen equipment is a great way to promote numerous types of play. Stimulating children to engage with the world around them through the familiar setting of a kitchen means every child can get involved.
Removable mixing bowls, knobs to turn, an interactive washing machine and more, make the mud kitchen unit a favourite choice. You can find it in the Sand and Water Play Tables Collection which also includes exciting sand and water table designs.
Social Play
We have a huge range of early years play equipment that can support social play. Our Dance With Me playground markings for example, are great for children who love to dance with their friends.
Meanwhile, playground markings for traditional games, such as duck, duck, goose, what’s the time Mr Wolf and snakes and ladders are always popular.
Here at Fun & Active Playgrounds, we create traditional playground markings that are an update on standard designs. Always promoting open-ended play, we like to look at what could be improved from designs of old.
For us, it’s so important our final designs are imaginative and exciting. We believe play should be both educational and fun for all children, so we don’t do away with the traditional game. Our final designs are an upgrade on anything you would have seen in the past but remain 100% the classic game you know.
And that’s one of the reasons why traditional playground games are so important for EYFS children. Classic games are universally known so all children can access them. Meanwhile, they still promote important social and emotional skills such as turn-taking and learning to manage disappointment.
Our 3-Way Hopscotch for example, enables more than one group of early years children to enjoy hopscotch at the same time.
Any of our playground markings or equipment can be customised. For example, you might want one of the hopscotch grids to go up in 2s. Or you may decide to stop your snakes and ladders grid at 50.
Our design team are highly experienced so why not get a group of children involved in the design process? In the past, we’ve designed custom playground markings to match specific topics, school values and more. More about bespoke design.
See all Hopscotch Playground Markings
Reliable Playground Equipment For Early Years
All of our playground markings and other apparatus are weather-resistant so children can enjoy them all year round. We make our playground markings from thermoplastic which is a superior grade of outdoor marking material.
In addition to weather, thermoplastic playground markings are more vibrant and long-lasting. From scuffs to scratches, thermoplastic stands up to heavy use. It’s the same for our playground apparatus which are made from robust, recyclable HDPE.
Children can play safely on our playground markings in all weathers. Thermoplastic markings are non-slip, won’t fade and last ten times longer than playground painting of old.
Our play equipment delivers an equally high level of performance. You’ll enjoy strong, safe play apparatus that won’t fade, crack or warp over time.
Active Play
If your early years playground is smaller, supporting active play can be tricky. Our trail playground markings and Mile a Day playground markings can help.
Trail playground markings are compact designs which promote lots of physical movement within a confined area. If you don’t want too many young children tearing around a busy play space, trails may be the ideal solution.
Supporting multiple areas of physical development, children run, jump, hop, weave and wind their way through the trail.
Similarly, our Mile a Day playground markings can help you to allocate longer parts of an early years playground for active play. Single lines, double single lines or block tracks can all aid you as you support energetic play safely within a busy space.
For wheels, take a look at our Roadway Markings, which provide similar assistance for fast-moving EYFS vehicles!
Reflective Play
We want all children to be active. For younger children who prefer reflective play, it can sometimes be difficult to know how to encourage them to get moving whilst still engaging in the type of outdoor play they enjoy most.
Small stimuli such as the Throw From Here Playground Marking can be a great way to encourage quieter children to move around a bit more. The bright marker gives children an idea of what to do plus the safety of a defined space to return to.
Having a specific starting point will motivate children to throw further each time, whilst their peers will notice and join in.
Language Development
One of the biggest areas of development at EYFS involves language. Our Letters Playground Marking Collection includes lots of creative designs to help young children as they navigate the alphabet and phonics.
Designs in lower and upper case letters plus others to promote knowledge of vowels and different stages of phonics, will provide daily visual reminders that support more formal learning. If you think about it, any of our letter designs can be used for the various types of play listed above too, including imaginative, reflective, social, and active play!
Find all these and more in our popular collections of exciting outdoor play equipment and markings for children.
Jess Sparks
Jess is deeply committed to supporting our mission of positively impacting UK outdoor play environments to promote healthy lifestyles in children.
With a CIM Level 6 Diploma in Sustainable Marketing, Jess channels her passion for sustainability into her marketing role, using her skills to promote eco-conscious practices and raise awareness for our initiatives.
Jess’ experience within the industry is instrumental in driving engagement and supporting connections with those who require ultra-durable, high-grade playground markings both locally and internationally.