School outdoor play and learning environments

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5-12 year olds

School playgrounds need more than some play equipment, safety surfacing and a ball court. Our risky play and natural play grounds are landscape-led play interventions. Our school playground designs offer inspiring spaces that are low maintenance, cost-effective and fun!

13-19 year olds

13-19 year olds need a range of outdoor learning opportunities just like younger children. They also need to play and still 'learn through play'. As schools who use outdoor classrooms and natural play areas will tell you, just about anything can be taught outside.

"It's OK to get muddy"

No amount of good design will work unless the ethos of the school encourages natural and risky play. Our training workshops explore risks and benefits of messy play, muddy play, and standing outside in the rain. The following quote from a school Board member sums it up : "Without any additional equipment the children have greater freedom born from better communications, consensus of what play … should be like, shared expectations about behaviour, greater understanding because parents, children and staff have all had a chance to say what it's like for them. This has arisen from changes in attitude and practice e.g. its OK to get muddy… "

Playgrounds and Outdoor Classrooms

- school playgrounds

Greenstone Design takes a pedagogical design approach to school playground designs for Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC). Natural play grounds can be designed to support topics from home economics, science, geography, music, art, English, maths and history lessons. "As qualified teachers, Greenstone Design know how to create cost effective learning environments. As experienced landscape architects and designers they know how to bring your staff and student's design ideas together into a cohesive plan."

- sustainable schools

We design school playgrounds as flexible, adaptable spaces that engage and excite, prompt exploration and discovery, promote and enhance educational outcomes

Successful schools need natural play opportunities alongside outdoor learning. Our school playgrounds designers work with you to ensure the next generation do not just survive but thrive.

- outdoor classrooms

Secondary schools outdoor classrooms are creative, flexible spaces. School cafes can enhance home-school partnerships and sense of community

Education Outside The Classroom (EOTC) brings the National Curriculum to life. Cross curricular learning is made easy with sensitively designed school playgrounds and outdoor classroom designs. Bricks and mortar are transformed with creative sustainable green spaces.

With appropriate outdoor classroom design the playground can be a microcosm of the natural and built environment – a huge natural teaching resource. Natural play and special needs gardens are getting a lot of attention because they can make such a difference.

Geography and biology fieldwork pre trip exercises can be completed on site with appropriately designed grounds. We will audit your grounds as they currently are and assess them against your needs. Where gaps are identified our environmental education consultants offer a student-led consultation and design service. As sustainable school grounds designers, our designs welcome community in, are inclusive , wildlife friendly, promote healthy living and healthy eating, are accessible, practical and creatively engage the disengaged.

Education outside the classroom is enhanced by natural playgrounds design. It is ideal iwhen natural play areas can be incorporated into outdoor classroom design, with edible gardens planted within and around the school sensory gardens.

Sensory gardens to engage the disengaged, low maintenance wildlife gardens, school allotments, school orchards and stimulating, natural school playgrounds can be developed in surprisingly small spaces. Even better, with an experienced playground designer, low maintenance designs for natural play areas, special needs gardens, study-height raised bed vegetable gardens, personalised playground designs for children and young people can all be easily and inexpensivelyincorporated into the design.

- design consultants

Weta hotels are placed alongside insect hotels in our science discovery playgrounds

Contact us for details on our full service consultation - design -build- project management service. We can take on every aspect of the job, from consultation to completion. We engage local craftsmen to assist our landscape teams to ensure the local economy benefits, as part of our mission to build sustainable communities by design.

- the research

The research is in, children learn better when they have inspiring landscapes for learning

700 schools and Early Childhood Education settings were surveyed after playgrounds were designed and developed as natural playgrounds and outdoor learning initiatives introduced. The research, commissioned by Learning through Landscapes (the UK national school grounds charity ) in 2003, proved that schools which invest in and improve their playground design experience significant tangible benefits such as:

• enhanced pupil behaviour (73% of respondents)

• a reduction in bullying (64% of respondents)

• improved attitudes towards learning (65% of respondents)

• better social interaction (84% of respondents)

• increased community / parental involvement (66% of respondents)

The ERA and school playgrounds

“Some years ago I would not have highlighted [natural play and Education for Sustainable Development] to the ERA for fear they would consider it a distraction from core business. Now … I am confident that our work in this area has made a direct difference to pupils’ achievement, behaviour and health and I’m therefore proud to discuss it with inspectors. … Without doubt sustainable grounds development has helped our children to develop a greater sense of care towards each other, the natural environment and the wider community… preparing [them] for the future.” - Principal

Enviro schools

Contact us for school grounds design advice to enhance your sustainable and environmental education programme. Like most environmental and sustainable education programmes, it takes an embedded cross curricular approach to get the most out of the Enviro Schools opportunity. We can support you with teaching and learning programmes so you will see improvements in aspirations, behaviour, social skills and academic outcomes. Contact us if you would like help to turn your school into a genuine sustainable school.

Quick Links school grounds

​5-12 year olds