EYFS Play Areas

Engage, Inspire & Teach

Importance of Play for Early Years

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) covers the education of children aged 0-5. Outdoor learning and play are crucial to early year’s development. Play improves the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and young people. Through play, children learn about the world and themselves. Having a stimulating environment which delivers rich learning opportunities through play, is crucial to building the foundations of many physical, social and emotional developments.

Fairy tale wall graphics design at Grosvenor Primary School featuring the 3 bears, a witch and much more.

Imaginative Design

Wall graphics use visual imagery to transform the environment. The aim is to create an immersive space which inspires the imagination of children. The wall graphics provide a great opportunity to feature images to reinforce key themes and subjects. At a stage when pictures play such an important roll. It is also important to create a design that engages. We want to create a design which has lots to see and explore. As children will see the designs every day, it is important to use scale to add little details, so they will continue to spot ‘new’ things within the designs. Our wall graphics are made to last.

Design Themes

Hive can use any theme you wish to create a bespoke design for your EYFS play areas, classrom or hall. It is important to consider what you feel would benefit your school most and take some time to select the most appropriate theme. Then our illustrators can take your brief and turn it into reality. For any design theme, we would suggest adding key vocabulary in child friendly text, to support phonics and early reading. We have put together a list of the most common themes below:

Seasons – A favourite for EYFS play areas are the seasons, as we can visually capture each period of time, using multi-cultural events, seasonal activities and weather to set the scene for each season.

Traditional Tales – Another engaging theme is traditional tales, fairy tails and stories which are a focus within Early Year curriculum. Anything from the three little pigs and Jack and Jill, to scary witches or trolls to colourful unicorns, fairies and rainbows.

Animals – Animals are another theme which is often used, from mini-beasts, to large jungle animals and of course farm yard animals.

Outdoor Stage – Creating a backdrop for an outdoor stage area, provides a wonderful place for children to create and put on a show. This is great for developing self-confidence. It also encourages children to engage with one another, building communication and social interaction skills.

Nature – Beach and seaside scenes are also another great addition to an EYFS play area. This theme can really enhance any outdoor sand and water play areas you have.

Take a look at a few colourful EYFS projects we have completed below.