Playground Canopies & Shelters - Outdoor Learning

Playground Canopies & Shelters for Schools

Outdoor learning and play has a crucial role in pupils' development and teachers are increasingly looking for ways to incorporate the natural world into their lesson plans.

Spaceshade playground canopies offer an extension to the classroom, allowing teachers to take pupils outside regardless of the weather.

 
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Outdoor Learning Canopy

Benefits of Our Playground Shelters & Canopies

Playground shelters provide schools with valuable covered spaces, allowing students to enjoy outdoor learning and play even in challenging weather conditions, when they might not otherwise be able to go outside.

Space Utilisation

Make better use of your available space year round by installing canopies in your playground. Keep children safe and allow teachers to take children outside even in bad weather.

 

Safe, Smart Design

Spaceshade® canopies'  modern, minimal design featuring built-in downpipes and guttering looks great alongside modern and traditional school buildings, and built-in safety features such as a non-fragile roof and concealed fixings help to protect pupils, giving peace of mind.

 

All Groundworks Included

We offer a turnkey, end-to-end solution, including all groundworks, installation and final clean-up, giving you a single point of contact throughout and making the process easy and stress free.

Customised to Your Needs

The modular design of our Spaceshade® canopy range makes it compatible with a wide range of extra features, including glass or polycarbonate side walls, built-in lighting or solar panels. 

 

Case Study

Sunshine Every Day at Castle Primary School

The new teaching block at Castle Primary School was designed with two playground canopies featuring coloured roofs. Red, orange and yellow were selected to provide 'sunshine on any day' as well as a valuable covered outdoor learning area.

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Primary School playground with playground canopies

Case Study

Safe, Flexible Outdoor Space at Paddock SEND School

Paddock SEND School's new building features multiple canopies providing much needed covered outdoor space for their students to use.

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Paddock SEND School - Spaceshade canopies with post protectors (6)

Case Study

Brightening Up A Dark Corner at Great Bedwyn Primary School

A new Spaceshade canopy with a coloured roof has brightened up a dark, sunken play area and made it usable for outdoor learning and play year round.

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Great Bedwyn 2

Features of our Playground Canopies

Choose from side walls, lighting, heating or even solar panels to create a school playground shelter customised to your needs.

Side walls

Side Walls

Choose between clear glass or tough polycarbonate side walls to provide weather protection and add extra flexibility to your space year round.

Built-in Gutters & downpipes

Built-in Gutters & Downpipes

Protect your drainage channels from flying balls with our built-in gutters and downpipes. The smooth post surface with no protroding parts also discourages climbing.

Standing underneath a school canopy with a red, orange and yellow roof

Coloured Roofs

Add rainbows to your playground every day by choosing a vibrant coloured roof for your canopy. Our canopy frames are also available in a wide range of colours.

Canopy Infrared heaters

Heating & Lighting

Make your canopy more comfortable in the winter with our safe, built-in LED lighting and heater options.

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Solar Compatible

With the option to fit solar panels during the initial installation or retrofit later, a Spaceshade canopy offers the opportunity to cut energy costs while also reducing your school's carbon footprint.

Post Protectors

Post Protectors

Add colour and additional protection to your playground by installing foam padded post protectors to the legs of your canopy.

Playground Shelters to Improve Learning Skills

Outdoor learning is on the rise but research shows the biggest barrier is often poor weather. Spaceshade canopies allow schools to make better use of their outdoor space, allowing children to learn outside year round, enhancing the learning environment and giving teachers more flexibility. 

In addition, outdoor learning and play has well documented benefits to vital life skills, social skills and emotional wellbeing, making pupils happier overall and more likely to enjoy school. 

 

Case Study

Playground Canopies provide flexible covered space at Hacton Primary School

Spaceshade canopies with retractable blinds provide a weather protected and flexible outdoor teaching space for students and teachers at Hacton Primary School. The blinds are controlled via a remote and can be raised or lowered as needed. 

 
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Spaceshade Lux with Enclosashade (Blinds up)

Playground Canopy Uses

Playground shelters enhance the delivery of education and make better use of the school's outdoor areas by providing covered space for outdoor learning and activities. 

 
  • 1. Year-round Outdoor Play: 
    The benefits of outdoor learning are well-known and schools are increasingly aiming to take children outside as much as possible. Canopies provide weather protection and allowing children to get outside in winter and summer.
  • 2. Space Utilisation: 
    Playground canopies offer multi-functional outdoor space and enable teachers to make better use of resources & alternative teaching methods.
  • 3. Calming & Self-regulation: 
    For children with SEND in particular, spending time outdoors helps them self-regulate, calm down and learn better. Canopies ensure outdoor time can happen all year round.
  • 4. Safeguarding: 
    Keeps children safe from the sun and helps avoids slips and falls from wet ground in winter.
 
 
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'Couldn't have been more impressed'

'We appointed Kensington Systems to install a Spaceshade canopy at Cotham School and couldn't have been more impressed.

From the initial design meeting all the way through to the end of the project Kensington have been great.

Our students really enjoy this new covered space that can be  used all  year around.'

Ed Carpenter
Cotham School

'A very special place'

'Our canopy is still looking fabulous, solid structure, the great roof colours create a very special place when the sun shines.'

Paul Piontecki
OSG Swansea Campus

'Very nice'

'Very nice, sturdy, aesthetically pleasing and fits well into the area it was planned to go, also well fitted & finished.'

Helen Fielder
St Marks CE Junior School
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Castle Primary School Coloured Canopy 3
Walkway Canopies

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Let's transform your outdoor space

Contact us today to discuss your needs for a playground canopy.

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Accreditations

Our team of ISO 9001-accredited experts deliver high quality canopies and shelters to delighted customers within the education, commercial and healthcare sectors, throughout the UK.

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Playground Canopy FAQs

Find the answers to your questions in our FAQs.

What is a playground canopy?

A playground canopy is a covered structure installed in a school playground, often adjacent to a classroom. It's intended to provide a space for pupils to play, learn and take part in outdoor activities in all weathers.

Schools are aiming to get pupils outside wherever possible, and canopies improve their space utilisation and give teachers more freedom and flexibility to include outdoor learning in their lesson plans year round. 

 
 

Do you need planning permission for a playground canopy?

Unless your school is in a conservation area or falls under requirements for planning, in 90% of cases a playground canopy will not require planning permission but falls under Permitted Development guidelines.

Permitted Development guidelines may apply if the structure is less than 5m from the school boundary, and is less than 25% of the total footprint of the building or less than 100 sqm (whichever is less) and has a total height of less than 5m. In most cases, however, playground canopies do not exceed these dimensions and therefore do not need planning.

If you are unsure, we can help you investigate your council's guidelines (which vary) and if necessary, submit a planning application. 

 
 
 
 

What are your lead times for playground canopies?

Depending on the time of year, from order and deposit to groundworks and installation our lead times are generally 4-8 weeks. 

The lead time can be dependent on colour choice and other bespoke items; a non-standard colour choice will add a couple of weeks to the lead time.

 

 
 
 
 

How much does a playground canopy cost?

Our playground canopies start at approximately £10,000 ex VAT - including design, foundations, drainage, project management and waste disposal. 

The price of a playground canopy depends on the chosen size, colour, and any additional customisation.

To find out how much your playground canopy project will cost, let's talk. Contact us today at sales@kensingtonsystems.co.uk

 

 
 
 

Do you have DBS accreditation?

Yes, our installation teams hold enhanced-DBS accreditation, enabling them to work onsite unsupervised if required.

 
 

Why install a playground canopy?

Playground canopies increase children's access to the outdoors year round.  Getting outside as much as possible not only supports their mental, physical and emotional development but is encouraged by Ofsted (particularly in early years through the EYFS framework) to support children's learning, development, wellbeing and conclusion. 

 

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