The project gave local children an opportunity to contribute to Hartwood Playpark through a sign design competition, strengthening community engagement, a sense of ownership and creating a stronger local connection.
The playpark was being used but there was no identity or name for the park. Hartwood is a small village with no school, and the Community Partnership Officer designed a competition newsletter and presentation that would be launched during assemblies to the whole school in the two catchment schools for Hartwood in Shotts, namely St Patrick’s Primary and Allanton Primary.
Assemblies took place at the start of June 2025 with the Community Partnership Officer raising awareness of the Local Development programme and how the park came about, highlighting that young people were involved in the design of the playpark and it now needs a name and logo for a new sign.
The pupils of St Patrick’s and Allanton knew of the park with some of the young people stating they use the park on a regular basis. The young people were shown pictures of the park before and after the installation. Over eighty young people from both schools entered the competition, during the school summer holidays and the entries were judged in August 2025. On completion, winners were announced and presented with certificates.
The standard of the entries was fantastic with pupils from P3 to P7 entering the competition.
Over 80 pupils participated in the process of producing a name and a design for the sign. The sign was manufactured with the names of the young people involved in the winning entry and certificates were given out to the pupils.
Page last updated:
16 Jul 2026