Playgrounds in the sky a fun bonus of $6 billion schools program
Release date: 05 July 2018
Students at Homebush West Public School will enjoy playing on the roof and great views when their school becomes among the first to receive a rooftop playground as part of the NSW Government’s $6 billion school investment in new and upgraded schools.
The play area in the sky will provide students with a range of active play options, including soft fall mounds and hills that incorporate slides, balancing beams and a teeter tunnel.
The rooftop playground measuring 1600 square metres is a novel feature of a major upgrade being delivered at Homebush West that will add 26 new classrooms when completed later this year.
Similar rooftop playgrounds are going ahead at Penshurst Public School, Ultimo Public School and Parramatta Public School as those schools are transformed with totally new facilities.
Education Minister Rob Stokes said the playgrounds were a smart solution from architects designing new or upgraded schools in inner city area on complex sites.
“Rooftop playgrounds offer an innovative approach to maximise play space in a part of the school that would otherwise be unused,” Mr Stokes said.
“I can’t wait to see how students enjoy them when these exciting school projects are completed,” he said.
Penshurst Public School will feature an innovative rooftop play area of more than 3100 square metres, part of a project adding 47 teaching spaces expected to be finished in 2020.
The Ultimo Public School project involving 30 classrooms to be completed by 2020 will feature rooftop play areas of nearly 4000 square metres.
Parramatta Public School’s 1400 square metre rooftop play and learning area will feature activity-based learning spaces both in the sun and under shade. It’s part of a project involving 40 new classrooms. The project is to be completed by late 2019.
In all projects with rooftop play spaces, high, non-climbable fences will keep students safe.
The playgrounds are part of the NSW Government’s $6 billion program to deliver more than 170 new or upgraded schools over four years. This is the biggest investment in public school infrastructure in the history of NSW.
