Shade Sails for Playground and Commercial Uses

Enhance your playground or commercial area with our vibrant shade sails, designed to create a striking focal point while providing up to 98% UV protection.

Our high-quality shade sails not only offer a safe and comfortable environment for children at play but also serve as an attractive addition to outdoor commercial spaces.

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Benefits of Our Shade Sails For Your School

Enjoy colourful, flexible playground shade solutions while protecting students and staff from the sun.

Versatile Usage

Provide sheltered areas for dining, play, and events, maximising outdoor space functionality year-round.

Increased Outdoor Time

Promote more outdoor play, essential for physical and emotional development.

Cost-Effective Solution

More affordable than permanent structures, shade sails are durable and require minimal maintenance.

Aesthetic Appeal

Available in various colours and designs, shade sails enhance the visual appeal of playgrounds.

UV Protection

Block up to 98% of harmful UV rays, safeguarding children's skin during outdoor activities.

Outdoor Learning

Encourage lessons outside, creating an engaging environment that improves focus and retention.

Case Study

Providing an All-weather Outdoor Learning Space at Aldwickbury School 

Aldwickbury School completed a major revamp of their Pre-prep boys playground, including laying artificial grass and installing a new Spaceshade canopy and shade sail to provide an all-weather outdoor learning area for  pupils to learn and play.

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Our Shade Sail Designs

The fluid shapes and bright colours of a shade sail add drama and excitement to a playground or businesses and restaurants. Choose your preferred solution from our designs;

Hypar Shade Sail

Hypar Sails

A very popular tensile structure which  can be triangular, square or rectangular in shape and has posts on each corner.

They are relatively cost-effective and are commonly used in schools and commercial applications.

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Conic Sails

This type of shade sail is sometimes known as an umbrella sail because that's what it looks like.

Conic sails have a single supporting mast so are often used for covering large areas where the number of posts needs to be kept to a minimum.

UV protection

Perimeter Sails

These shade sails are different from hypar and conic sails because the sail is supported by a steel framework underneath the fabric.

This puts less tension on the posts and means that smaller foundations are possible, hence they are often used when digging large foundations is not possible or desirable.

Case Study

A Trio of Colourful Shade Sails Brighten Up the Deaf Academy

Designed especially for deaf students,  the Deaf Academy in Exmouth features state of the art facilities, including a large playground shaded with three colourful shade sails installed by Kensington Systems.

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The Benefits of Shade Sails for your Business

Commercial shade sails provide a range of advantages for businesses looking to enhance their outdoor spaces::

Stylish & Customisable

Available in various shapes, sizes and colours, shade sails can be tailored to fit the aesthetic and functional needs of any commercial setting, from restaurants to retail spaces. Custom-built options allow for unique designs that align with brand identity.

UV Protection and Comfort

Offering UV protection, shade sails create cooler outdoor environments, for customers and staff, making shade sails ideal for outdoor dining or lounging.

Increased Usability

By providing shelter from the sun and light rain, shade sails expand the usability of outdoor areas year-round. This versatility allows businesses to host events, activities, or additional services, ultimately increasing customer engagement and revenue.

Cost-Effective Solution

Compared to permanent structures like awnings or pergolas, shade sails are more affordable to install and maintain. They offer a flexible shading solution that can adapt to seasonal changes and temporary needs without significant investment 

Minimal Maintenance

Designed for durability, commercial shade sails require little upkeep. With proper care, they can last many years while providing effective shade and protection.

'Outstanding from start to finish'

'Kensington Systems were outstanding from start to finish! Laurie and the team kept us informed throughout the project and worked at speed to complete the job within our timeframes. We now have a space that is used all year round, which brings the outside in, on our wonderful site. The area has transformed teaching and learning opportunities and most importantly further strengthened friendships made through play and outdoor learning!'

Paul Symes
Aldwickbury School

'Great Price, Great Product'

'Great price, great product and a very personal service'

Steve Cooke
Downsview Primary School

'Highly professional'

'The installation was highly professional and we were consulted and kept informed throughout the process. The installers worked beyond their normal hours to make sure our canopy was completed in the time.'

Jeremy Harrison
Hillside First School
Aldwickbury shade sail
St Dunstans Shade Sail
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Contact us today to discuss your needs for a playground or commercial shade sail.

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Accreditations

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

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Shade Sail FAQs

Find the answers to your questions in our FAQs

What is a shade sail?

A shade sail is a piece for flexible ('tensile') fabric tensioned between at least three anchor points. It is designed to provide shade  from the sun and is available in several different designs, including hypar, conic and perimeter beam shade sails. 

Shade sails are very popular in schools and hospitality businesses as they provide comfortable shading and an architectural feature in outdoor areas.

Do you need planning permission for a shade sail?

It is always best to check with your local authority whether planning permission is required.

The shade sail may fall under Permitted Development guidelines if it 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.

Kensington Systems can provide you with bespoke CGI visualisations to help you apply for planning.

What are your lead times for shade sails?

From order and deposit to groundworks and installation our lead times are generally between 8-10 weeks.

The lead time can be dependent on the size and design of the sail - bespoke shapes may take longer.

How much does a shade sail cost?

The price of a shade sail can be dependent on the chosen design, size, fabric type, post material etc. It is often assumed that shade sails are a lot cheaper than a canopy and sometimes they can be more cost-effective.

However, people often do not take into account that much larger foundations are required for shade sails than canopies, which adds to the overall cost.

Prices start at £10,000 ex VAT (including foundations); get in touch for a bespoke quote.

Can you make shade sails to cover unusual shapes?

Yes, hypar fabric sails can accommodate non-standard shapes easily.

A conic or perimeter beam sail is not recommended for non-standard shapes however, as they tend to be manufactured in standard square or rectangular sizes.

Why do shade sails need such large foundations?

Shade sails are highly tensioned structures, and rely on large foundations to keep their posts rigid and the sail correctly tensioned.

If the posts move once in place, the tensioning of the sail is affected, causing it to flap in high winds. A flapping sail not only looks bad, but is also a health and safety hazard - the movement of the sail damages the fixings anchoring the sail to the post, eventually causing them to break.

The exception to the rule is perimeter beam shade shade sails, where the sail is contained within a metal frame. In this case the frame keeps the sail tensioned correctly and large foundations are not required.

Do you have DBS accreditation?

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

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