Redaccion
THE BILBAO CITY COUNCIL PUBLISHES A GUIDE TO MAKE PATIOS MORE EDUCATIONAL
- It is a tool for educational centers to design their playgrounds in a participatory manner among all users: students, teachers, non-teaching staff, families, community
- It has already been sent to all infant, primary, and secondary educational centers in Bilbao, and the Municipal School Council has launched a Commission to promote this transformation of playgrounds, environments, and school pathways
- “From the Education Area, we are working on 5 playgrounds: Zamakola, Tiboli, Intxixu, Deustuko Ikastola, and CEIP Deusto. An investment of 47,000 euros is being made in each one,” said Eider Bilbao, Councilor for Education in Bilbao.
The Education Area of the Bilbao City Council has published the guide «Reimagining playgrounds: Conceptualization of inclusive, green, and open playgrounds for infant and primary education centers in Bilbao» with the aim of continuing to advance in its commitment to make playgrounds more educational.
As explained by Eider Bilbao, Deputy Councilor for Education in Bilbao, «this guide reflects the work carried out in compliance with the mandate of the Plenary session last May, which urged intervention, through existing participatory bodies, in playgrounds and school environments, to make these spaces of inclusion and well-being facilitators of positive coexistence.»
It is a tool for educational centers to design their playground in a participatory manner among all users: students, teachers, non-teaching staff, families, community. To this end, it has already been sent to all infant, primary, and secondary educational centers in Bilbao in Basque and Spanish; and the Municipal School Council, as a participatory body for the entire school community in Bilbao, has launched a Commission to promote this transformation of playgrounds, environments, and school pathways.
Specifically, the document seeks to conceptualize and define the necessary what, how, where, and when to act in the transformation of current school playgrounds in Bilbao into inclusive, green, open, playful, and educational spaces, as social and environmental infrastructure of the city. «The environment where -girls, boys, and adolescents- live their experiences, explore, and question the world around them is a «third teacher» that contributes to their socialization with their peers, teachers, families, and adults with whom they live. Expanding these «recreational places» is a felt need to make Bilbao an educating city» emphasized Eider Bilbao.
IN DEVELOPMENT IN VARIOUS EDUCATIONAL CENTERS
The Education Area is already working with the guide «Reimagining playgrounds: Conceptualization of inclusive, green, and open playgrounds for infant and primary education centers in Bilbao» in five playgrounds in the city: Deustuko Ikastola, CEIP Deusto, Zamakola, Tiboli, and Intxixu with the aim of refining the tool. At the same time, two of them (Deustuko Ikastola and CEIP Deusto) are experimenting with the guide with pilot projects.
«An investment of 47,000 euros is being made in each one. All actions are agreed upon by the educational community, and the goal is to reinforce the investment in school playgrounds in response to the demand of the educational community» explained the Bilbao councilor.
It is worth noting that Bilbao has 33 public infant and primary schools. More than 100,000 m2 of green, sports, and recreational areas. The playgrounds are generally paved almost entirely, with few exceptions. Most of the playground space is usually dedicated to sports courts, generally for playing soccer or basketball. There are also playground equipment and residual spaces, and in some cases, school gardens. It is common to see unequal use of playground space among students; between those who play on the sports court and those who do not (because they don’t like it, because they are not allowed…), as well as by gender (main spaces more masculinized, and residual spaces more feminized).
PLAYGROUND COMMITMENT
This guide adds to other actions of the Education Area of Bilbao that seek to advance in school playgrounds as open spaces for coexistence open to the public outside of school hours.
Thus, the last academic year 2024-2025 saw the successful development of the first edition of the «Open Playgrounds» pilot project, an innovative initiative promoted by the Education Area of the Bilbao City Council, in collaboration with Lanbide and Bilbao Ekintza in the educational centers of Indautxuko Eskola and Basurtuko Eskola, offering inclusive, safe, and dynamic spaces for play and coexistence outside of school hours, especially on weekends, to families. Each month, nearly 2,000 girls and boys —accompanied by over 300 adults— participated in the initiative.
The project has been selected as one of the 14 Spanish finalists in the prestigious European Innovation in Politics Awards, which recognize bold and innovative public initiatives that improve people’s lives and strengthen democracy. In this edition, over 300 projects from 22 countries were submitted.
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