We Have £10,000 To Spend On Our Outdoor Area

[Guest]

Hi

 

we have secured funding of £10,000 to spend on our outdoor area. £4,500 of this is budgeted for a permeanant shelter and an extra £1,000 for a door from pre-school to the garden for free flow.

we obviously have some money left (i had planned £3500 for developing the garden). we have two large gardens, and the capacity for free flow from pre-school. we already have plastic climbing toys and a play house. we also have several tress that are protetced so aint allowed to be moved.

 

i would really love ideas on what you all would have (or indeed do have) in your garden area.

 

so far i am thinking;

a lovely wooden summer house

some wicker shelters

a sensory type of garden (tho don't know what it would include)

large shed for our outdoor blocks..

 

we have six months to spend the money in, so any ideas on what to have / reccomendations of good resources would be really appreciated.

 

Thanks

[hali]

oww lucky you - i saw some lovely wooden play equipmet in the shape of boats and castles somewhere - will have a think

[Rufus]

I have always wanted a raised decking area. Ideally on 3 tiers, with space underneath for hidey holes and making dens etc, also with steep steps up to each tier so that they really have to use there arms to pull themselves up - as steep as you can get taking into account safety! It would need to be bespoke but the idea has always inspired me and the possiblilities are endless.

enjoy spending you money!

[Guest]

Will your outdoor area be covered?

Just wondering as we are intending to re-vamp our outside area and have talked about some kind of covering.

I will be very interested to hear your replies,

 

jackie.

[Guest]

lucky you we have been fighting to get our outdoor area done for well over a year. tree stumps and wicker dens are great, outdoor music chimes and hanging ones, our children enjoy the rope bridge in the school. good luck and enjoy spending it

[mundia]

Lucky you Ive never worked in as etting with a fantastic garden space. I would say get out to settings your area to see whats possible, unless you have the creative flair to design your own, it will give you ideas about what can be done as well as possible suppliers who can then quote you.

 

Keep us posted, be great to see ow ist going

[Guest]

Lucky you Ive never worked in as etting with a fantastic garden space. I would say get out to settings your area to see whats possible, unless you have the creative flair to design your own, it will give you ideas about what can be done as well as possible suppliers who can then quote you.

 

Keep us posted, be great to see ow ist going

 

 

Hi,

At my school we have been working with other schools on a project about Values such as peace, hope, co-operation etc and we now have £4,000 to use towards developing our playing field. We plan to develop 7 (that's how many classes we have in the school) creative areas each one reflecting a different value. These will be designed by both children, staff and parents and we want them to be a learning space as well as to be used at lunch etc. Maybe it would be good to ask the children what they would like in your outdoor area and then talk about what would and would not be possible. This has certainly produced some very interesting converstaions already in school and we are only just beginning the design phase. We are lucky to have been chosen to take part in a creative project and have a team of arts/ crafts people who will be working with us to support and encourage the development of the project.

Do you have any parents who can help you to make the money go further rather than spend it on construction/ fitting etc. Obviously you need to make sure it's all safe and be aware of who is doing what but it might helpt he money go further.

 

Will let you know how we get on. Now all i need is some money to develop the Reception outdoor area but that's another story.

 

Nicky Sussex

[jennim]

Wow! lucky you! Make sure you opt for as many open ended installations as possible - a boat 'shape' can be anything, don't go too narrow! Sun/rain cover is also important to factor in to ensure all year round use. Ease of maintenance and safety is also important. I know a school where parents raised thousands for an outdoor area which then became dangerous to use due to slime building up on the wood - too slippery to use! What about that stuff you can buy which can be built up into all sorts of structures every time you want it to change - er, forgot name!? Expensive but good.

If you go to relevant websites you can often find customer reviews. Good luck!

[HappyMaz]

I have nothing else to add to the excellent advice given already. Just wanted to express my extreme envy

 

Enjoy planning and spending your money - and don't forget to upload some 'before' and 'after' photos!

 

Maz

[Guest]

You lucky thing!

 

Make sure you let us know what you do. I love decking too but it can get really slippery when wet and if raised, rats and mice like to make their own little hidey holes and dens too! Would check it out with other settings as already suggested.

 

You could always spend it on a hot tub and fully stocked mini bar - ahappy teaching staff makes the children happy and happy children learn best.

[Chill]

Shelter for sun and rain.

Storage - accessible to children

Safe surfaces - decking and safety surfaces are ferociously slippery in wet and ice.

Flexibility - less 'toys' and more equipment for children to use flexibily

Environment - space to garden and freely enjoy the outdoor space (climb trees make dens etc.)

Avoid at all costs expensive contsructions that may not be flexible and may have limited appeal.

Just a few thoughts.

[Guest]

Thanks for all your advice,

 

will definatly take before and after pics :-)

 

I have found some fabulous outdoor mirrors, so that is one thing added, LOL

 

Dawn

[Guest]

Hi Dawn,

 

in deciding what to spend your money on for outdoors consider "the type of experiences you want to create" rather than the equipment itself. Therefore choose equipment that is flexible - infact the less permanent fixtures the better. Also consider storage - this is one of the key pieces - you will get more use out of your equipment if it is stored in a way that you can get easy acces to it.

 

what would the children like to see out doors?

 

hope this helps

[alechunter]

A lovely smelly herb garden would be great. Also we have a sunken sand-pit with a wooden lid in our decking. We did ours on a very tight budget, must be fantastic to have all that money to spend. Good luck!

[JacquieL]

Thinking about settings I have worked in the favourite places seem to be a walk in sand pit, anything to do with water, climbing equipment, which I think is better to be open-ended rather than a pre-shaped frame, places where they can hide or make dens, bushes, somewhere they can dig and grow plants. They also love bikes and need to be able whizz around on them. I think that storage is a big consideration and sun/rain protection.

[Guest]

We received funding for an outside area a few years back and we made a lovely nature garden, lots of smelly plants and herbs, wooden balancing equipment, willow tunnels and wigwams, huge bolders for climbing (not when wet) , lots of rabbits and guinea pigs in arcs.. brilliant for exploring!

[hali]

owww sounds lovely Claire

[Guest]

Lucky you!

We are in the process of developing our garden. I teach in a reception class at a school which is fortunate to have a lovely central garden, which is really like a blank sheet of paper. Last term we put up a wooden playhouse - basically 3 sides and a roof. It is empty so we can change it into whatever we we want - a garage, house, police station, castle, shop etc. It was used as a stable for our Nativity!

I think ideally you want places where you can hide - if they are natural all the better. We have a wooden sand pit with a covered lid but recently the rain has got in and made the sand very muddy. On a course I attended recently it was suggested you keep an area of the garden purely for digging.

I agree that that children need a surface on which they can ride their bikes. We already have a pathway round 3/4 of the garden and need to extend it.

I'm in two minds about climbing frames - children do love to climb. We currently have to erect one in the garden which takes forever. The children do use it when it is out but if it was permanently there I am not so sure. Far better I feel to have recycled materials that they can build with and make dens. Our children love to make obstacle courses. Our children love the tyres which they move around, stack and peer inside looking for minibeasts.

A covered area is essential - we are still waiting for ours. Being out in the sun and rain is fine but only for so so long.

Also essential is storage. I have seen storage units which look like raised flower beds with wooden doors/lids. I thought these were great - they can be used as tables/seating areas too.

[Beau]

Welcome to the forum redcamel. What a very informative first post - your outside area certainly sounds like a great place for the children.

[lmwhite]

Timberline.co.uk has lovely stuff in it, such as canopy's and outdoor musical thingys.

 

Good luck looking!

[hali]

hello and welcome redcamel thanks for a really interesting post

[Guest]

Wow lucky you!!!! Well done can i ask where you got the money from???? or would the be cheeky! Just a thought but have you considered a digging area? You can buy a 8ftx6ft wooden sand box with tarpolin, which you could sink in the garden fill it with whatever you require and hay presto instant digging area with ofsted brownie points.

Well done again

Kat