Robin Ashfield

Managing Director of Hand Made Places, Robin Ashfield said, "We are delighted by this year's response to our play setting and especially being presented with the Gold Award for the second year running.

Managing Director of Hand Made Places, Robin Ashfield said, "We are delighted by this year's response to our play setting and especially being presented with the Gold Award for the second year running.

Robin Ashfield, MD of Hand Made Places, wins ERA Outstanding Achievement Award.

Robin Ashfield - Hand Made Places

We are proud and delighted to announce that Robin won the 'Outstanding Achievement Award' at the Education Resources Awards on Friday 10th March.
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The winner of the Outstanding Achievement Award 2006 is Robin Ashfield of Hand Made Places Ltd."Robin Ashfield is our managing director and is one of a kind within the world of outdoor play equipment.

Since forming the company in his garage in 1998 with only himself on the payroll, he has transformed Hand Made Places into the fastest growing playground manufacturer in the UK.But that isn't what makes him special.It's how he conducts his business and his never ceasing passion to create play spaces that that challenges children mentally and physically, but at the same time always providing heaps of fun.

Client schools often say they decided to work with Robin because he's not in it for the short term, but is keen to develop ongoing relationships (clients receive plans for the project in hand, but also on request a three-five year development plan).Some head teachers have even said they like working with Robin because he gets down on his knees and views the world from a child's perspective.Others like the fact every customer is treated as an individual, the company isn't about regurgitating an off-the-shelf, suits all solution.

Hand Made Places' products are all timber framed and Robin believes that the children using the equipment should, whenever possible, be involved in the process of creating their play space.To this end, Robin recruited the industry's first and only education officer whose role is to work with schools to develop customised planting, willow, design and site surveying and engraving workshops.This activity works on various levels, it provides additional learning opportunities, it enables pupils to take ownership of their new play space, the potential of vandalism is dramatically reduced and perhaps most importantly, the children love being involved.

Steve Tysom of Romans Field School in Milton Keynes says of their engraving workshop, "Robin and his team held a workshop which had as its theme different means of taking a journey.
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As Robin says, "it is only through consulting with experts that we gain the insights that are critical to making truly inclusive play environments for SEN children."

In terms of the philosophy behind running Hand Made Places, Robin is a firm believer that all members of staff have a voice and have the right to be heard.He also feels passionately that employees work hard and therefore should be justly rewarded for their efforts.Taking this belief and turning it into something tangible, Robin has put in place a scheme whereby half the company is in trust for the employees (employees are part of the scheme from the day they join) and this will be paid out at such time as he decides to retire, or sell the company.

Part of his motivation for setting up the scheme is the prospect of seeing other people's lives being changed.As he says "When the time comes to sell the company, it will mean there is a group of people who will be able to pay off their mortgages, or make other significant changes to their lives, and that will give me such a buzz."

Charitable support has always been a major part of the company's and Robin became involved with Spurgeon's Childcare, a charity working to enhance the lives of Romanian orphans back in the company's early days.Teams from Hand Made Places have been out to Romania on nine occasions to create playgrounds and the next trip is planned for later this year when a playground will be installed at an AIDS hospital.

Robin is also a founding member of the Playground Designers Network.He believes that going forward such organisations will provide the forum to advocate best practice and encourage the development of innovative, non-prescriptive play spaces that allow children to unleash the potential of their imaginations.

Attached Documents/Files:

Robin Ashfield, Managing Director and founder of Hand Made Places, the UK's fastest growing playground company, has been recognised by the Education Resources Awards organisers, who have presented Robin the award in the ‘Outstanding Achievement' category. The award was presented to Robin (centre in picture) at a gala dinner hosted by TV's Paul Ross on Friday 10 March, in Birmingham.
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Robin was nominated by staff and industry representatives including a play inspector, head teachers and head of Spurgeon's Child Care, a charity Hand Made Places has supported since the company's foundation in 1998, supported his nomination.Ray Barker, director of BESA, says of Robin's award success: "Robin has made his company into one of the fastest-growing specialist play-equipment manufacturers in the UK and his nomination was supported by testimonials from many of the schools with which he has worked.
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Robin says of the award, "We're delighted to have won this award, but it's not just about the outstanding achievements of one person.

Managing Director of Hand Made Places, Robin Ashfield said "We are delighted by this year's response to our play setting and especially being presented with the Gold Award for the second year running.