Team building activities on the playground are crucial to the healthy social development of your students. However, many schools lack the equipment and provisions important for self-directed social playground games. Self-directed play is any form of activity that students engage in without prompting from supervising adults. This is especially beneficial to the development of independence, social capacity, and friendships in EYFS students. Follow our guide to incorporate team building exercises into your students’ playtime with playground equipment. Team building through Sports and Active Play ..read more

Does your school playground lack creativity? The right equipment is your solution to encourage and inspire arts and crafts ideas for kids of all ages. Students can brighten up their play spaces and outdoor classrooms in unique ways with our top creative play ideas. Creative play, by definition, involves experiencing fun and art together. Schools can encourage creative play through a variety of methods. The best is to provide the right equipment and settings for creativity that they can use in self-directed play. This helps develop social skills as well as independence, self-expression, and sel ..read more

Outdoor fun in the sun is an important part of the school day for children. Enjoying play outdoors at break times aids in healthy physical development and improves students’ moods. However, in the Summer, limiting harmful sun exposure should be a key consideration for any outdoor play session. A shaded area for fun helps children enjoy the Summer in a safe way. Therefore, sail shades, canopies and other outdoor shelters are crucial features of any playground looking to limit sun exposure while still providing a safe space to play outdoors. Learn how to stay safe outdoors in the sun with our p ..read more

The School Playground Company is a favourite professional playground equipment supplier across the Midlands and surrounding regions, providing top-quality services to: East Midlands West Midlands South Yorkshire Leicestershire Northamptonshire Nottinghamshire Oxfordshire Doncaster Staffordshire Contact us today to get your free quote on our playground equipment and work with our UK Midlands playground experts to create a play space your students will love for years to come! Helping Local Schools Access Funding Having worked with schools for over 25 years, we know that finding room in school ..read more

Wooden shelters should be a consistent, safe, and secure place on the school playground. Whichever type of shelter, large or small, a covered, multi-use space is a great investment for any space where children need a place to read, play, and rest. To provide our clients with the best quality shelters that will remain a central feature of their play areas for years to come, The School Playground Company’s in-house team provides professional construction services and premium timber materials for all of our shelters. What is Glulam Timber? Our construction experts use glulam timber for all wooden ..read more

1. Develop Gross Motor Skills through Free Play. As children play and run around on active play and outdoor gym equipment they develop both emotional and physical independence. Creating a space for free play with varied and fun equipment helps kids develop balance, coordination, and other gross motor skills without having to focus on it. This is important for young children, especially those entering school who experienced limited opportunities for this sort of exercise and exploration during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Early Years Primary School PE Lessons should focus on developing these key sk ..read more

Keeping kids safe and engaged on the playground involves a lot of different elements: ensuring they have varied, safe equipment made from suitable, long-lasting materials; providing appropriate supervision for play and sports activities, and also installing high quality safer surfacing options. Our top recommended playground floor materials include: Wetpour Artificial Grass Rubber Mulch Thermoplastic Playground Markings Safer grass mats Play Carpet Does your outdoor play area meet our top criteria for a safe and fun playground flooring design? 1.    Fall protection Underneath ..read more

Outdoor learning opportunities push forward ideas of a holistic approach to learning based on free play and independence as key to health development for kids. Educational outdoor play equipment is essential to provide learning experiences students will thrive with and enjoy. Schools should provide a fun and active environment for their students while reinforcing their passion for learning and providing room for exploration and experimentation with educational toys and activity areas at their own pace. Get your students outdoors on the playground or in outdoor classrooms with these educational ..read more

Embrace nature in a child-centred learning environment with Forest School lessons at your school. The Forest School Association (FSA) has been working to bring their ethos of hands-on learning and independence building in the fresh air in the UK since 1993. Joining in with the FSA to explore this unique approach to learning and play can help promote and build self-esteem and confidence while gifting kids a fun and special experience connecting with the natural world in new ways. If you are inspired by our ideas about Forest Schools or bring any of our recommendations to your school, let us kno ..read more

Keeping the playground safe in the winter can be a difficult task. With icy surfaces, cold outside weather, and strong winds, keeping students safe and happy in outdoor play requires special attention to playground design. Keeping Kids Warm Stay up and active Active play with plenty of opportunities to run, jump, skip, and clamber on the playground encourages kids to get out into the fresh air even in the winter season. Getting moving with sports equipment or outdoor gym stations specially designed for full body movement with rowing, cycling, and tai-chi actions in a combined multigym cir ..read more