Thursford
October 12, 2026
Thursford
Funding is one of the biggest hurdles for schools developing outdoor space for their children. Many state schools struggle with their budgets, and the SEND crisis in the UK has made things harder still. Since Covid there has been a huge rise in mainstream schools of children needing an EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) and having very high learning needs. That has put pressure on school funding in many ways, and it has narrowed the options for making a school more fun and more inclusive. Finding solutions is difficult right now.
The outside spaces of many schools have been neglected and are uninspiring at best, yet the need for outdoor play and learning has never been greater. You can test your own school here with our audit tool.
Pete Dean, CAP.CO's Head of Happiness, has come across many amazing fundraisers and extraordinary PTAs on his travels around the UK. In most schools with great outdoor play and learning spaces, the PTA is essential. It is the driving force that builds up a pot of money and makes something exciting happen. Sometimes those funds are spread across lots of smaller projects, but often a school has one big vision and builds towards it. Nearly every time, that big vision is play. Governors, senior leaders, staff, parents and, above all, the children put it at the top of the list.
On his very first visit with CAP.CO, Pete met Rose Levein at a project on the Mannington Estate in Norfolk, where she worked. They got chatting and Rose explained that she was PTA Chair at Reepham Primary School in North Norfolk, with a background in fundraising. She shared Pete's and CAP.CO's belief that children should be outside having fun, taking risks, socialising and learning through play.
That conversation led to Pete and the team visiting the school to understand the grounds and create a masterplan for transforming them into something magical and fun. The first stage was the old, tired courtyard used by Reception children in EYFS. It felt like the right place to start, and so the vision and design began there.
Once Rose saw the masterplan, she decided it was going to happen, declaring loudly, "Go big or go home!" It was not an empty promise. She set to work on a huge gala fundraiser at Thursford in Norfolk, with a dream of 150 guests, corporate sponsors, a silent auction and a raffle.
Through skill, experience and sheer determination, Rose created an event that will be remembered for a very long time. She filled the room with corporate tables from across the local area and plenty of guests who had bought tickets, and she stocked the silent auction with brilliant prizes. Guest speakers connected to play, including the Guardian's Chief Sports Writer, inspired and entertained the room. A stilt walker, a magician and a jazz band created a mood of play, awe and wonder. As the photos show, the evening was simply magnificent, with Pete as MC and Head of Happiness for the night, keeping things running smoothly with a good dose of humour and fun.
The ambition for this project was huge, and the school needed to raise a large sum to make it happen. The event raised £15,000, an extraordinary amount for a medium-sized primary school in North Norfolk. The emotion, the determination and the cause inspired guests to give generously towards the school's ambition of turning a tired courtyard into the best EYFS learning space in the country.
When this project happens, and it will later this year, the blood, sweat and tears behind it will be a marker for other schools. Put your mind to something, get people to believe in it, and anything is possible.
The evening was not only a fundraiser. Rose had also brought together a line-up of speakers who could speak to why the cause mattered, and their contributions gave the night real depth.
Therese Hoyle spoke first about the importance of play and making time for it. Therese is the founder of Positive Playtimes and has written extensively on the value of games and play. She spoke with real passion about how little play children get at school today, and her mission to help school leaders put play back into the curriculum and firmly onto every headteacher's priority list. Drawing on stories from her work across the UK and her time in New Zealand, she reminded the room how much impact play has on children everywhere, and how much more schools could be doing. Playful children learn better in class and develop hugely from the chance to play, take risks, socialise and have fun.
Amber Ogunsanya-William was Rose's special keynote booking, a play therapist who works with Play England and is an advocate for play both in the UK and internationally. Amber believes deeply in the role play has in supporting children's mental health and wellbeing today. Her own story was remarkable: a childhood in which play, championed by her father, ran through everything she did, followed by serious health struggles she overcame, and, through it all, the part play has had in shaping who she is now. Amber has presented to MPs at the House of Commons, travelled the world with her work, and built a huge following along the way. She spoke about children's right to play, how little time modern life leaves for it, and the effect of too much screen time and too little boredom. Her point that children and adults alike need time to be bored, in order to learn how to be creative, active and resourceful, landed powerfully with the teachers and parents in the room. Her energy was infectious, and everyone who heard her left inspired.
Dr James Wallis, Rob Ferley and Barney Ronay closed the evening as a panel focused on elite sport and how best to engage every child in taking part. Dr James Wallis (Lecturer in Sport at Brighton University), Rob Ferley (a former county cricketer and lecturer at Bradfield College) and Barney Ronay (Chief Sports Writer at the Guardian) made for a compelling late-night discussion, interviewed by Reepham's headteacher, Caroline. They spoke about how central play is to top-level sport, and how children need room to be expressive as they develop. Creative, playful learning, they agreed, is essential for producing the sports stars of the future. Amber joined them on stage, adding to a captivating and powerful conversation about the power of play. Between all the speakers, the audience left in no doubt that this was not simply a fundraiser for Reepham Primary School. It was a spotlight on play itself, and why it matters, at school and far beyond it.
Well done, Rose Levein. An inspiration to us all.
