How to make the perfect playground for schools

How to make the perfect playground for schools

Creating a great, fun and engaging playground is vital for students and is a huge consideration for SBMs. It is imperative to reflect on your current playground and think about any improvements that can be made.

It can be difficult to know exactly what may need to be changed to create a better playground. To help you, we have sourced ways on how to make the perfect playground for schools.

Improve surfaces

The best place to start with creating the perfect school playground is the ground students play and spend time on. There are several important factors your school playground must attain. The surfaces must be safe, durable, easy to maintain, good to play on and suitable for multiple equipment you may want to add.

Traditionally, asphalt and tarmac were deemed suitable for playgrounds however, this is no longer the case. This surface is expensive to maintain and is quite a hard surface where children can hurt themselves if they fall. It is also not ideal if you are planning on installing play equipment such as climbing frames.

There are various alternatives that are much safer and meet your needs. You could consider wetpour surfacing which provides a cushioned and safe surface, perfect for play equipment in case of falls. You could also consider artificial grass, block paving, rubber mulch and resin bound gravel for a harder surface. It is completely your choice and what meets your requirements for your school.

Add greenery & gardens

Playgrounds should provide a sense of nature and the outdoors. A way that you can achieve this for your school is by adding a little bit of greenery or creating school gardens if possible. If space is limited, greenery can be added via planters, trellises, small trees and shrubs. You could also consider a grass patch which could be real or artificial.

If your school playground has a vast amount of space, it could be possible to create some gardens for students. Doing this can encourage children to explore nature and their surroundings. It can also be a space for teaching valuable lessons such as how to grow things to eat. This is a great way to teach students responsibility and nutrition and foster a passion for gardening.

Have various play zones

A way to make the perfect playground for schools is to divide it up into different areas and play zones. Doing this can enable more safety as you can place the physical activities into well suited areas that won’t cause any harm or injury. Dividing the playground also helps staff to supervise students better and maintain the playground. For example, there’s space to divide students by age and separate the noisy activities from the quieter ones.

Gain student feedback

The best way you can create a great playground is to gather student feedback on what they would like. Doing this is vital as improving your school's playground is for their benefit. Plus, students use the playground the most and so can come up with creative ideas and improvements that they need. Encourage staff to host group discussions, questionnaires or ballots that can be feedback to you. From these, you can then determine the wants and needs of students and create valuable solutions to improve the playground.

What to include in the playground

Improving and maintaining schools' playgrounds is an essential task SBMs must think about. Students spend a huge portion of their time in the playground daily for breaks and for lesson activities. SBMs must therefore consider how to create a great playground that children can enjoy and feel safe in. This can be a difficult task, so to help you we have sourced a few ways on how to make the perfect playground for schools.

Shelters, shaded areas & seating

Provide students with shelters, shaded areas and seating so they can rest and protect themselves from the weather. Simple seating can be most effective such as wooden benches which can come in various shapes and sizes to enable students to sit together. You could also provide a few picnic tables to accommodate students who bring packed lunches so they can eat outside. Ensure to purchase plenty so that students can take a break and sit down without seating all being taken. Spread these across the playground in different zones too.

Consider how to create shaded areas and shelter from all elements of weather. Children need a space to retreat to during hot temperatures and rain. Our outdoor role play den provides students with much needed shade and can be used in numerous ways. You could place seating for rainy or hot days or turn the space into a playhouse. For more rainy days, to offer students shelter or protect outdoor furniture, you could opt to put up a tarpaulin.

Traditional game markings & apparatus

As an affordable way to encourage children to be active, you could consider marking down traditional games on the ground. These can be done using specific paint to create the outlines. Have snakes and ladders, hopscotch and noughts and crosses whatever will work best for your school. You could also mark down sports such as football goals, netball and basketball. Do these in various colours to brighten the playground.

Install various small apparatus such as a playground ship, wooden beams to walk across and swings. Plan out areas of the playground that can be specifically designed to cater for these apparatus and install soft surface surrounding them.

Climbing frames

Create an area for your playground to accommodate climbing frames especially if you are catering for younger children. Climbing is enjoyable for many children, and it develops movement, coordination, physical wellbeing and personal growth. Ensure that surrounding these frames are soft surfaces and no furniture or anything that children could fall on.

Sandboxes

This is a great playground feature for younger children as they can explore their surroundings and have plenty of sensory play. Depending on your playgrounds size, you could install multiple sandboxes or a sandbox as big as you need to meet children’s requirements. This also depends on what age range your school is for as it can determine how many or how large it will be. You could also ensure that its usable all year round by creating shaded areas for when the weather is hot.

Play equipment

It is imperative to consider all play equipment needed to provide students with plenty of fun and engaging activities for the playground. Think about what your students need and what would improve their playground experience. This will be dependent on age ranges in your school for example secondary schools may only need sport equipment such as footballs, netballs and tennis equipment. While for primary schools, there can be a vast amount of play equipment needed to entertain children and improve your playground. There are endless amounts of various play equipment to choose from, but traditional equipment tends to still be a popular choice. Consider a selection of skipping ropes, school sports equipment and toys for children of all ages to have fun with.

Play equipment is essential for students as they can help with development in various areas such as, social skills, teamwork, physical fitness, coordination and spatial awareness.

Quiet area

A fantastic way to make the perfect playground for schools is to consider implementing a quiet area. Having this is a great asset for students as some children may not enjoy physical activity. In fact, sometimes children prefer to relax and sit quietly where they can process their surroundings and thoughts and feelings.

Create a space away from the noisy activity areas in your playground and provide various seating such as benches for children to spend quiet time in. Fill this space with plants to give a greater sense of the outdoors and provide shaded areas. Ensure that this area is tucked away from the hustle and bustle so that children can enjoy their quiet time and reflect on their thoughts and feelings. Quieter children often prefer to hide away while playtime and breaks begin so providing a space for them makes them feel cared for and safe.  

Use these ways to create the perfect playground for your students. Ensure that student safety is a priority when planning and actioning changes for your playground. Gather staff and student help with their ideas to ensure that it meets their needs. Think about the age range of your school to cater towards what children would want and need to utilise the playground in the best way possible. It is also vital to think of the purpose of the playground for playtime and for learning time so that it can be used for a variety of activities.

For more outdoor advice to aid your student's development read our ‘bring beauty to your school with a new garden’ blog.