A Look Back at 2024
Updated on: December 11, 2024
As 2024 comes to a close, we’re reflecting on a wonderful year at Fun & Active Playgrounds. It’s been a year filled with exciting new partnerships, memorable team moments and innovative product launches. Here’s a roundup of our 2024 highlights.
Over 300 UK School Playgrounds Transformed
Our mission is at the heart of everything we do; to make a meaningful impact on UK outdoor play environments by delivering innovative playground marking designs and equipment that encourage healthy and active lifestyles, which in turn supports children’s physical and mental well-being.
This year, we’re thrilled to have collaborated with hundreds of primary schools, play companies, local communities, and nurseries to achieve this goal. Together, we’ve transformed over 300 outdoor play spaces, creating environments that inspire play, learning and inclusivity for children across the UK.
Learning Through Partnerships
Partnering with The Children’s Literacy Charity
This year, we proudly partnered with The Children’s Literacy Charity, an organisation who is working to close the literacy gap for disadvantaged children.
The Children’s Literacy Charity works with schools across the UK to provide school-based Literacy and Reading Labs which aid and educate children with all literacy skills including; writing, comprehension, listening, reading and speaking.
In September, we offered an incredible opportunity for one of their partner schools to win one of our literacy playground markings. This partnership is close to our hearts, as it aligns perfectly with our mission to encourage learning through active play.
We were pleased to announce that the winning school of our literacy playground marking is Harlesden Primary School in Brent. We’re proud to support this incredible organisation and its mission to empower young learners, and we look forward to seeing how the winner will benefit from this exciting opportunity.
Expanding Inclusion with Widgit
This month we announced our partnership with Widgit to bring a new range of Widgit Symbol playground markings to schools and inclusive play areas across the UK.
Widgit Symbols are designed to create engaging and accessible play spaces for children of all abilities, especially those with communication challenges such as autism, learning disabilities and speech impairments. By integrating visual symbols into playground designs, we’re helping schools create more inclusive and accessible spaces where every child can learn and play.
By combining our expertise with Widgit’s widely trusted symbols, we’re excited to offer solutions that help promote an inclusive and fun playtime for every child.
See our full range of Widgit Symbol playground markings and place your order today.
A growing team and memorable moments
Welcoming New Team Members
2024 was a year of growth for our Fun & Active family! We were delighted to welcome back our Marketing & Design Assistant, Rebecca from maternity leave. We also welcomed several new team members who have brought fresh energy, ideas and expertise to the table: Becki our new Graphic Designer, Jason our Installation Supervisor and George one of our Playground Installers.
Their contributions have been invaluable in helping us deliver exceptional service and innovative designs to schools across the UK.
Sadly at the end of this year, we will be saying goodbye to Chloe, our Operations Assistant, she’s been an asset to the business and we are grateful for all of her hardwork. Wishing Chloe the best of luck for her future endeavours.
Team Holiday in Spain
In September, we took a well-earned break and enjoyed a team holiday to Benealmedena in Spain. It was a fantastic opportunity to unwind, bond and reflect on our successes as a team.
From quad biking and beach outings to team dinners, the trip left us feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the second half of the year with renewed energy.
Climate Action Success
This year, we’ve continued our commitment to supporting Gold Standard and Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) projects on a monthly basis to help offset our carbon footprint. These initiatives have played a crucial role in preventing tonnes of CO2e from entering the atmosphere.
Whilst we actively work on reducing our own emissions, partnering with carbon avoidance projects allows us to address unavoidable emissions. Through these efforts, we’re supporting vital climate solutions that not only prevent greenhouse gas emissions but also help restore natural ecosystems and uplift local communities across the globe. This dual impact ensures we’re contributing to a more sustainable and equitable future for everyone.
So far this year, we have supported the following climate projects:
- Peatland restoration and conservation in Indonesia
- Protection of the Matavén forest in eastern Colombia
- Avoiding methane emissions from landfill in Brazil
- Solar power project in Morocco
- Repairing water boreholes in Eritrea
Overall, we’ve avoided a total of 144 tCO2e which is equivalent to 110 long haul flights, 43㎡ of sea ice saved or 357,264 miles driven in a car.
Find out more about these projects on our Ecologi profile.
In addition to offsetting our emissions, we’ve also donated 1,200 trees. The trees have been planted in locations around the world that are particularly vulnerable to climate change including Madagascar, Ethiopia, Peru, Kenya and Mozambique.
Trees are essential to maintaining our climate and biodiversity. What’s more, they contribute to the global environment by improving air quality, conserving water, preserving soil, the livelihoods of the local people as well as supporting wildlife.
See our Sustainability page for more information.
Free Playground Markings For Two Lucky Schools
In January and September, we gave away free playground markings to two lucky schools who won our competitions. Harefield Primary School in Southampton were the lucky winners of our Blue Monday competition and now have one of our colourful Today I’m Feeling playground markings to use as an outdoor resource for helping pupils express their emotions.
In September, Harlesden Primary School in Brent was the winning school of one of our literacy playground markings, in partnership with The Children’s Literacy Charity. As a business, we are pleased to be able to give back to local communities, gifting playground markings that inspire outdoor play and learning for schools that may not have otherwise had the budget for.
Thank You for an Amazing 2024!
We’d like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our customers and the schools we’ve worked with throughout 2024.
As we look ahead to 2025, we’re excited to continue creating vibrant, inclusive and engaging playgrounds for children across the UK. Whether you’re planning a new project or just looking for inspiration, we’re here to help bring your vision to life.
Happy New Year from all of us at Fun & Active Playgrounds!
Rebecca Occomore
Rebecca is a seasoned marketing professional with over 10 years of experience. With a diverse background in copywriting and social media management across various industries and sectors; Rebecca brings a wealth of knowledge and creativity to her work.
Rebecca is passionate about Fun & Active's mission to positively impact UK outdoor play environments through advanced playground marking designs and services. Through her dedication and expertise, she strives to create engaging and innovative content that inspires children to play, learn, and thrive in their outdoor environments.
