Schools are now expected to incorporate therapeutic spaces including sheltered outdoor spaces to better reflect SEND teaching practices and a more inclusive school environment.
The government made changes to the Area guidelines for SEND and alternative provision: BB 104 in February 2026 around providing spaces beyond the classroom.
These include quiet rooms, calming zones, specialised therapy rooms, safe sensory areas and outdoor areas including those that are sheltered and can be used all year round.
At the same time, the government committed £3 billion over five years to build these adaptations and extensions to create 50,000 specialist SEND places in mainstream schools.
The updated guidelines complement mandates in the Children and Families Act 2014 for local authorities to provide personalised SEND support so that everyone can access education including outdoor learning.
Why children with SEND need therapeutic space
Children with SEND can have a range of problems with communication and interaction, cognition and learning, social, emotional and mental health difficulties or sensory and/or physical needs.
These can range from autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to learning or physical disabilities, making learning in a mainstream school very difficult for the pupils and their teachers.
SEND pupils can often find the school environment overwhelming or overstimulating because of noise and bright artificial lights which is why the government has outlined the importance of schools providing a safe and quiet place for them to calm down.
The importance of hard informal and social areas
The BB104 guidance states that hard informal and social areas should be used for outdoor creative play and to bring learning outside by using the space as an outdoor classroom, especially for primary schoolchildren.
These can take the form of fenced off areas directly next to the classroom for activities like music, theatre and dance or hard surfaced areas for play and games with a quiet zone with seating with wheelchair space.
It can also be used for fixed adventure and play equipment with safety surfaces and for older pupils, can be used for vocational learning.
Providing outdoor space with shade and shelter
The guidance recommends schools use outdoor space directly accessible from nursery and reception classrooms and for older children who need a place to cool off, which should be partly sheltered from the rain and the sun.
For older pupils, it recommends providing sheltered outdoor space to complement indoor vocational learning space for courses such as construction.
In addition, any quiet social spaces should be separate, protected and include some shelter too.
Spending time in nature all year round
The guidance also suggests the use of soft informal and social areas outside to spent time in nature and for activities like gardening, and sensory planting.
These include grassy areas, sand or bark mulch for play or to sit and socialise as well as shrubs and planted areas which need to be safe and provide shade from the sun and shelter from the rain.
Outdoor areas can also be used to support the curriculum by bringing the lesson outside and for those on vocational courses who need to work outside.
Being able to use the outdoors all year round
Many schools have installed canopies and shades sails in order to increase the amount of year-round useable space.
Shade sails come in a variety of shapes and vibrant colours and protect children playing and learning outside from the sun and light showers.
Canopies can be standalone or attached to a building and are typically made of aluminium frames and roofs providing shelter from the rain and the sun.
They are also significantly cheaper than an extension and don’t usually need planning permission which means they can be installed quickly.
Yet they are long lasting and easily adaptable meaning if a school’s needs’ change then you can add walls, lighting and heating to create a different space.
Talk to the experts
Schools use canopies and shade sails for a wide range of activities from an extra dining or social area to walkways and outdoor classrooms and messy play areas.
They are also used to protect specialist play equipment from the elements and allow children to play outside whatever the weather.
If you’d like to find out more about the installation process of either canopies or shade sails, contact us.
