Direct Answer
Look for companies that prioritise discovery before delivery. They should learn your community, values, and goals before proposing solutions. They need real play expertise, compassion and cultural fit with your centre, and practice-led design where process and pedagogy inform the drawings—not the other way around.
The Four Essentials
Discovery Before Delivery
They should learn your community, values, and goals before proposing solutions. If they're showing you equipment before understanding your context, they're product-first.
Real Play Expertise
Understanding play theory, child development, and playwork—not just labelling equipment as "gross motor." They should speak the language of childhood development.
Compassion and Cultural Fit
They should reflect your ethos, honour your context, and design with humility. The playground should represent your community, not their portfolio.
Practice-Led Visuals
The process and pedagogy should inform the drawings, not the other way around. Pretty renders mean nothing if the design doesn't support how you work.
Red Flags to Watch For
Child-First vs Product-First
Beware of designers who lead with catalogues or pretty pictures before understanding your practice and context. The child belongs at the centre of design. If they're showing you equipment before asking about your children, your philosophy, and your community, that's a red flag.
Other Warning Signs
- Cookie-cutter designs: Every proposal looks the same regardless of the client
- Equipment-focused conversations: They talk about products, not play experiences
- No questions about your practice: They don't ask how you teach, supervise, or engage children
- Rushing to quote: Pricing before understanding scope
- Limited sector experience: A school playground and a childcare playground are very different
Why Sector Experience Matters
Early childhood, schools, and public parks have distinct regulations, usage patterns, and durability requirements. Choose designers with direct experience in your sector.
Early Childhood
- NQF and state-specific requirements
- Supervision ratios and sight lines
- Age-appropriate challenge scaling
- Daily operational flow
Schools
- Different age groups and usage intensity
- Break time patterns and flow
- Curriculum integration opportunities
- Long-term durability needs
Public Parks
- Unsupervised play requirements
- Community accessibility
- Vandalism and weather resistance
- Multi-age, multi-use design
The Value of Practitioner Insight
Designers with lived experience in education understand:
- Daily operations: How the playground fits into your routines
- Supervision realities: Where educators need to stand, what they need to see
- Flow patterns: How children and adults move through the space
- Programmatic needs: How outdoor time supports your curriculum
This is knowledge that product-focused suppliers often miss. They can sell you equipment; they can't necessarily tell you how it will work in your specific context.
A Holistic Approach
Seek partners who:
- Respect your community: They listen first and propose second
- Honour your vision: Your values shape the design, not theirs
- Understand your pedagogy: The playground supports how you teach
- Adapt to your context: No two playgrounds should be the same
- Know the standards: Fluency in Australian playground standards without compromising play richness
The Right Partner
The best playground companies see themselves as partners in your vision, not suppliers of their products. They bring expertise, but they also bring humility—recognising that you know your community better than anyone.
Key Takeaways
- Discovery first: They should understand your community before proposing solutions
- Real play expertise: Play theory and child development, not just equipment labels
- Cultural fit: They should reflect your ethos and design with humility
- Practice-led design: Pedagogy informs drawings, not the other way around
- Beware product-first: Catalogues before context is a red flag
- Sector experience: Early childhood, schools, and parks are all different
- Practitioner insight: Lived education experience understands daily realities
Looking for a Child-Centred Partner?
We start every project by understanding your community, your values, and your vision. Book a free discovery call to see if we're the right fit for your playground.
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