Social spaces

Providing multiple social spaces around the school grounds is really important for all users. Not only do they provide a space for comfort and relaxation but also a place to retreat, have a quiet conversation and for social play.

Creating these spaces can be really simple and do not need to be standard picnic benches. We’ve seen some wonderful examples in our school playgrounds of:

  • story circles made of logs
  • wendy houses / huts
  • a bench hidden away beneath the trees
  • a hideaway hole in a hedge or under a tree
  • a small circular area surrounded by hedges
  • a row of logs as a border and seating
  • a child's small wooden hut, raised on stilts with a ladder going up to the doorway
  • wooden chairs are arranged in a circle outside on the grass
  • tree stumps in a circle act like seats
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