The education communities of seventeen city schools are redesigning their playgrounds to add more greenery, make them more coeducational and open them up to the neighbourhoods by joining the playground transformation programme during the current school year. The ‘Transformem els patis’ programme is promoted by the Directorate for Education and is implemented by the Barcelona Education Consortium, with a municipal investment of over 3.5 million euros.
The seventeen schools currently engaging in this process are:
- Escola Castella
- Escola Tibidabo
- Escola Mercè Rodoreda
- Escola Rubén Darío
- Escola Mas Casanovas
- Escola Enric Granados
- Institut Escola Mirades
- Escola Aldana
- Escola Gayarre
- Escola de la Concepció
- Escola Mossèn Jacint Verdaguer
- CEE Sant Joan de la Creu
- Escola Elisenda de Montcada
- Escola Molí de Finestrelles
- Escola Turó Blau
- Escola El Sagrer
- Escola Farigola del Clot
In line with the Education Consortium and with the support of the Institute for Childhood and Adolescence, some common criteria have been established for projects of this type. Playgrounds must:
- Form part of the education project at the school to favour equal relationships.
- Offer diversity in play-based and creative activities, in free play and shared play.
- Guarantee contact with nature, greenery, earth, sand and water, with as many natural elements as possible for much of the playground environment to act as garden space.
- Be comfortable and functional, with accessibility in the inner space at the school and its surroundings.
- Have evenly distributed spaces with various ambiences of good quality.
- Be conducive to various play-based uses, fostering community during and outside of school hours as an open facility in educating neighbourhoods.
According to these criteria, the playground transformations should:
- Include play elements to provide maximum diversity in the possibilities and surroundings for free play, shared play and versatility, including natural materials, springs and water games.
- Plant trees and vegetation in significant numbers to green up spaces and the boost possibilities for contact with nature and natural elements.
- Generate shade from vegetation or with structures to improve temperatures and create various ambiences.
- Add more spaces with soft paving to gain permeable ground as a garden, in all cases ensuring compatibility of use for physical education and sport.
All transformations will be carried out according to the guide Cocreació amb els infants i la comunitat educativa. Based on the experience of transformations at twelve school playgrounds during the 2020-2021 school year, this guide should help the joint creation processe for the transformation of playgrounds.
Besides these schools, next summer will also see work at two more schools: the Escola de les Aigües and the Escola Pau Casals. With the seventeen playgrounds taking part in the programme this year, the total number of schools that will have changed the design of their playground will reach forty next summer.