Excitement at town primary school as new sandpit installed

Youngsters at a town primary school were excited when their brand new sandpit was officially opened.St Martha’s Catholic Primary School in Lynn have a new sandpit for children to use during lunchtime thanks to funding provided by pharmaceutical company Bespak.The firm also installed some floodlights in the school’s MUGA (multi-use games area) so that after-school and evening events can take place.

It comes as St Martha’s is on its way to becoming an Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) accredited school.The installation of the sand pit has provided the 400 pupils at St Martha’s with “opportunities for exploratory and social play”.OPAL curriculum lead, Hannah Bredin, said: “Since starting OPAL, we have seen children of different ages mixing and playing together. OPAL has enabled children to engage in different play types such as water play, fancy dress and den building.

“Children are playing less outdoors than they would have done 20 years ago so OPAL provides play opportunities children may not otherwise have. It is so lovely to see children taking the lead at lunchtime and making choices about the play they want to engage with.” The youngsters are already impressed. Aiden, who is in Year 6, said: “The sand pit is really fun because I can use my creativity to build things.“It is really relaxing on a hot day as the sand is super cold, which is perfect.” The grand opening saw children from across the school playing in the sandpit for the first time, along with representatives from OPAL, Kevin Reid, head of operational quality, Lawrence Burke, Kiri Gray and Mark Prosser.Bespak staff got stuck in and made sand castles along with the children, proving you’re never too old to play.Darren Hodkinson, Bespak’s chief operating officer, said: “This is the type of support we want to give to our community.“It is good to see the children enjoying a new play area and St Martha’s being able to offer additional after-school events from the floodlit MUGA.”