Continuous Provision in the School Playground

Come rain or shine, shelters provide a safe space for children to play and interact.

For children in both Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Key Stage 1 (KS1), continuous provision has long been thought vital to a young child’s learning and development.

Continuous provision is defined as a teaching approach that makes special ‘learning areas’ available for everyday use. This often takes the form of several zones across the classroom and outdoors, such as a reading area, construction zone, or a creative corner. Each zone contains a set of resources that remain available over the entire school year, allowing children to try new things, become familiar with items and activities, and gradually build upon their skillsets.

As children grow older, they naturally require more space and may want to explore more experiences outside of the classroom and outdoors. This marks the perfect point to introduce continuous provision outside, using shelters to help protect infants from unfavourable weather.

Shelters For Continuous Provision

Given that one of the principles of continuous provision is to keep resources available year-round, allowing children to revisit multiple times and continue to develop their learning, the approach does not always go hand in hand with outside play.

For one, bad weather can limit the amount of time children can remain outside. It may not be a problem on a sunny spring or summer day, but in the depths of winter, when snow or rain can make the outdoors unpleasant or even perilous, problems begin to arise. Those outdoor resources that are meant to be always available to children are suddenly locked away, and the only time they can spend outside are the fleeting breaks they get throughout the day.

It can also be more challenging to provide continuous provision in the playground compared to in a classroom. With a wide-open space, and plenty of room for children to run around and play with another, it can be difficult to maintain permanent areas for learning. Without a clearly defined zone for this purpose, teachers may opt to use the entire playground for outdoor learning instead, which could easily deteriorate into an undirected play session. True outdoor learning, that supports and enhances the national curriculum, needs a separate space, without wind or vigorous play causing havoc to carefully prepared learning areas.

To solve these issues, many primary schools would benefit from a dedicated outdoor learning area, a place that is sheltered from the worst of the weather and can be set up for learning year-round. However, not all playgrounds and schools have the facilities to provide this.

Instead, schools can install one or more physical shelter structures on their existing playground to create such a space. Not only would these shelters provide protection from winds and harsh weather, but the physical structures cordon off a semi-permanent section of the playground that can be dedicated to outdoor learning. The new area can then be filled with a variety of learning resources, such as:

• A nature zone with bug hotels, planting beds, or mud kitchens.

• Creative corners for messy play, art, or construction activities.

• Outdoor reading and storytelling areas to encourage literacy in fresh air.

• STEM stations for interactive science and numeracy activities.

By providing a sheltered area for continuous provision, outdoor learning can be conducted on a regular basis, supporting key subjects in the national curriculum like science, numeracy, or literacy. Efforts like these can go a long way in improving the experience of EYFS and KS1 students, boosting their overall learning outcomes and helping impress Ofsted inspectors.

Safeguard Outdoor Learning with an Echelon Shelter

Our Echelon™ Multi-Purpose Shelter provides a cost-effective shelter structure for use in playgrounds and schoolyards. It’s designed with the following features:

• Structurally certified design.

• Curved frame design to ensure rain and snow slide away easily.

• Armortec® coated steel frame for long-lasting durability.

• Optional polycarbonate end panels for advanced weather protection.

• UV protected 3mm polycarbonate cladding.

Delivered fully assembled, Echelon can be mounted on concrete with minimal groundwork to ensure a quick and hassle-free installation. For more details on installation, consult our instructions leaflet.

For use on a school playground, we recommend choosing the optional polycarbonate end panels on both sides of the shelter to provide an advanced level of weather protection. Please note: end panels require self-assembly.

For larger outdoor learning spaces, we offer a broad range of cycle compounds and shelters to choose from. Discover our full range of shelters here.

If you would like more information about Echelon or any of our shelters, or if you would like to receive a quote, don’t hesitate to contact our team.