Climbing & challenge
Structures that encourage balance, coordination, movement and confidence.
School playgrounds
Playgrounds children learn from without realising they're learning.
Natural play spaces for primary schools that encourage movement, imagination, confidence and cooperation.
Got Children First designs bespoke playground environments that give children more ways to explore during breaktimes, lunchtimes and outdoor learning.
Make every breaktime count.
School playgrounds have a unique job. They need to provide exciting opportunities for hundreds of children while working within a highly supervised, time-limited and often space-limited environment.
We design spaces that encourage children to:
- Move
- Climb
- Balance
- Create
- Cooperate
- Imagine
- Experiment
- Challenge themselves
The goal is not simply to keep children occupied. It is to create an environment that gives different children different ways to engage.
Our approach
Designed around the school day.
High-capacity play
Spaces where many children can play at once, rather than a bottleneck around one feature.
Confidence through challenge
Opportunities for children to test their balance, coordination and judgement.
Social play
Structures that naturally encourage teamwork, communication and shared imaginative games.
Outdoor learning
Environments that support lessons, performance and group activity beyond breaktime.
Different ways to participate
Not every child wants to climb to the top of a tower: quieter, sensory and ground-level play matters too.
Built for daily use
Materials and construction chosen for the demands of school playground life.
What we build
What we build for schools.
School playgrounds have to serve hundreds of children in a short breaktime. Most schemes combine one headline structure with lower-key features that spread children right across the site.
Timber towers & platforms
Multi-level environments that create different ways to climb, meet and explore.
Creative & sensory play
Play spaces that support imagination, making, experimentation and quieter interaction.
Natural activity trails
Balance logs, stepping elements, rope challenges and trails that make better use of outdoor space.
How we design
There is more than one way to play.
A richer play environment gives children different ways to engage during breaktimes and lunchtimes, rather than a playground that only rewards the most physically confident. The 16 Types of Play is how we check that balance before anything is built.
- Physical and locomotor play
- Imaginative and role play
- Social and communication play
- Creative play
- Exploratory play
- Mastery and construction play
- Rough and tumble
- Quiet, recuperative play
Safety, durability & practicalities
Designed with the adults in mind too.
A playground only works if it works for the staff supervising it and the budget paying for it.
- 01Number of children using the space at peak breaktime
- 02Supervision and clear sightlines across the playground
- 03Different age groups and key stages
- 04Breaktime and lunchtime circulation
- 05Available playground space and existing equipment
- 06Installation scheduled around the school day or holidays
- 07Budget, phasing and fundraising timelines
Relevant projects
School playgrounds we've built.
Completed project
Ashmead Primary School
New Cross, London · Primary School
A raised timber walkway and treehouse structure that turned an underused corner of the school playground into the busiest part of the site at breaktime.
Treehouse • Walkway • Climbing access
Completed project
Galleywall Primary School
Bermondsey, London · Primary School
A performance stage and play-tree area built into the school grounds for assemblies, drama and unstructured climbing in the same space.
Timber stage • Play trees • Specialist decking
How a project works
How a school project works.
- 01
Talk
Tell us about the site, the children, the budget and what the space needs to achieve.
- 02
Explore
We visit the site, understand the environment and identify the opportunities.
- 03
Design
We develop a bespoke concept around the children, setting and intended play experiences.
- 04
Build
Our team brings the design to life using carefully selected materials and skilled construction.
- 05
Play
The structure is inspected, handed over and ready for children to make it their own.
FAQ
Questions we're often asked.
Can you install during term time?
Where the site allows we can fence off a working area and build during term time, but most schools prefer holiday installations. We plan this with you.
How many children can use the structure at once?
We design for peak breaktime numbers, so a scheme is usually several linked play opportunities rather than a single item.
Can you work with our existing equipment?
Yes. We often design around what you already have and replace only what has reached the end of its life.
Can the project be split across budget years?
Yes. We can design the whole playground and build it in phases.
Do you help with funding applications?
We can supply designs, visuals and costs in a form suitable for PTA fundraising or grant applications.
What could your playground become?
Tell us about your school, the space available and what you would like children to get from it.