Hornimans Adventure Playground

Hornimans is an open access Adventure Playground which was set up in 1969 by local parents in the North Kensington area. We provide a free play resource for children and young people aged 5-16 years.

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Hornimans has been around since the 1960’s, the playground was set up unofficially by local parents in 1969, a time when the use of junk, corrugated iron sheets and scrap wood were order of the day.

Hornimans is a charity 802220 we rely on donations, funding from trusts and foundations and are commissioned by RBK&C.   This is how we keep  Hornimans as a free, safe play space for children and young people aged 5 – 16 years.

The playground is run by a trained staff team of playworkers.  Lorna – Senior playworker, Weezy Deputy Playworker, Marta, Dominic and sessional playworkers Jonny and Wesley along with our wonderful volunteers Amena and Peter who give their time throughout the year  to help us run the playground.

We have a large, spacious outdoor adventure playground, with large wooden play structures, some of which we are looking for funding to replace as they are old and Timber Play’s Carousel swing and balancing swing scales had to be removed because they rotted well before their time.  We want to raise funds for traditionally built structures as they survive and are hardy when well looked after.

We have a ground floor building which has one large main hall, art room, office, store room, computer design/music room, toilets and a disabled toilet with shower. We also have a well-used kitchen where many a cooking clubs take place during the holiday periods and also a daily tuck shop.

At the back of the building there is a quiet garden with an area that at present Amena and Marta are re-establishing as a nature area.  We also run a kitchen garden where the children and young people work alongside Marta to grow their own produce for use in the kitchen.

Directly outside the building we have a small concrete play area where the children can play games such as Champ, badminton, table tennis and volleyball. We have access to a sports pitch which forms part of Hornimans Pleasance park which we use for dodgeball, cricket and tennis.

Hornimans gives our children and young people an opportunity to learn and develop in their own time, in a play space where they are supervised and cared for by our playworkers who enjoy their work and are happy to be supportive.

Planned activities/workshops in arts and crafts, sport, cooking, drama and music, alongside free play are on offer as well as a mini library and  dressing up boxes.  Our environment encourages the children to build self confidence, to embrace different cultures, test their abilities and by just being here and playing with other children they learn how to share, to negotiate, how to be tolerant, and of course, to have huge amounts of fun.

Our activities take into consideration inclusion and mixed ability levels of the children and are flexible enough to understand as play workers that for a child to develop at their own pace and feel justly proud of personal achievements made, they need to know they’re supported and cared for.

Senior is in the office from 11am.

From 3,30pm during term times.  The office phone is for playground business and we don’t appreciate sales calls.  The playground answer machine is on when the staff are on the playground, one of the staff team will get back to you as soon as we can. The office phone and answer machine is NOT for leaving messages for your children unless it is an emergency.

All children must be registered to be able to use the playground. and your child MUST be aged 5 yrs from the 1st September following their fifth birthday to register here.   If you pop into the playground one of the playwork team will give you a registration form to fill in, these are not handed to children. This must be signed by the legal guardian of the child/ren.  Please make sure you come to the playground with them to register.  It’s nice for staff to meet the parents and to ensure that you know where your child is and with who they are being supervised by whilst on site.

We are an open access adventure playground, which means unless you tell your child to stay onsite, they can come and go as they please.

All photographs on this web site are used with permission of parents.

Charity Number: 802220

Term Time:
Tuesday – Friday 3.30 ~ 6.45pm
Saturdays 11am – 4.45pm

Holiday Periods: 5 days a week:

Monday’s we open at 12 noon – 6pm
We have a staff meeting every Monday during the holidays

Tuesday – Fridays 11am ~ 5.45pm
Closed Saturdays during the holidays

Tuck shop: Term Time – from 4.30pm as and when we can open it dependant on staffing

Holiday Tuck: 12 – 1pm approx. Providing a range of healthy eating options for a small contribution from our children.  The past few holidays we have been fortunate to have been supported by The Felix Project

Hornimans is as an open access adventure playground.  Hornimans is supervised by a staff team who enjoy their work and who provide a secure and stimulating environment for all children and young people, including those with special needs and disabilities.

Please remember that sometimes, an open access environment may not be right for your child as Hornimans is run as an open access playground and this means that children are not restricted and can come and go as they wish.

Healthy snacks and refreshments are provided by Tuck and can be bought at a low cost or sometimes for free; your children are welcome to bring their own food and drink.  We have a water fountain and we don’t allow glass bottles onsite.  We try to encourage where we can re healthier choices and alternative we don’t sell fizzy sugary drinks.

On your first visit parents/carers are asked to complete a registration form for the school aged age group stated and must complete the details in full.  Please get to know your playworkers.

Please contact us if you have playground business.  Sales calls will not be tolerated.