Making and maintaining friendships in the school playground; the role of the fixed play equipment

In the background of recent research which recognises the ‘ubiquitousness’ of outdoor school breaktimes in the UK (Baines and Blatchford 2023) and the acknowledged role in play being key to peer friendships (Carter, 2022), this article focuses on the location where these breaks or playtimes are spent – the school playground. The data is drawn from the author’s thesis (Hughes, 2023) which was based in an international school Key Stage One playground (5–7 year olds) in Ethiopia. This article uses a new typography of play equipment: joining-in; belonging; building of community; contemplation and independence; with the aim of highlighting the important role that pieces of fixed play equipment can have in supporting children with developing, enhancing and maintaining friendships. The article focuses on three pieces of equipment: bars, sandpit and fitness trim trail (tricky trail), interweaving observations, mapping diagrams and extracts from both teacher interviews and pieces of speculative writing by the author. Breaktimes play a key role in providing time and space for children to build friendships. This article concludes with a set of proposed questions to help educators practically reflect on how the fixed play equipment, in their own setting, is facilitating children to develop, enhance and maintain friendships.