Many of our customers are individuals who have been delegated the task of creating or updating a space with school playground equipment but do not know where to begin. But we are here to help you every step of the way!

Our comprehensive product range takes in traditional outdoor play equipment – either manufactured out of traditional timber or more frequently these days from recycled plastic play equipment as it has numerous benefits over other materials – outdoor classrooms, eco classrooms, outdoor shelters and canopies, school classroom buildings and nature play areas. We don’t particularly like selling off a “catalogue page” with a pre-determined packaged product as a lot of the work we undertake is on a bespoke basis where we work with the school and the children on designing unique and creative play areas based on their and our own ideas and concepts. We like to be original you see!

For example, we are currently researching the idea of having a Food Education Classroom Building – where children can grow their own food on site, prepare it, cook it themselves and then either sell it on or consume themselves. This is a far better way of teaching children about food education, where it comes from, how to eat food which is good for you etc rather than downloading some resource which simply tells them.

School playground equipment is also an area where we can potentially help with funding and we have worked very successfully in the past with both schools and their PTAs on how to raise the necessary funds to pay for our equipment. This includes grant funding, crowdfunding, hosting novel events, corporate sponsorship and other revenue generating activities.

Recycled Plastic Is The Future of School Playground Equipment

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recycled plastic play equipment

I used to have a company called Timberline which manufactured a whole range of play equipment and outdoor classrooms for schools in the UK and as the name of the organisation would suggest, everything we produced was made out of timber. That was a few years ago now.

Then recently on my many visits to see schools up and down the country, I began to notice in the playground that a lot of picnic tables/BBQ tables were no longer made out of timber (as we used to supply them) but out of recycled plastic instead. Some I saw were even in bright primary colours to add a bit more creativity to them.

I happened to be on a trip to Germany seeing a potential distributor over there who took me round a few schools and kindergartens and again I noticed that in every school I went to in that area of Germany they had playground equipment also manufactured out of recycled plastic. I managed to track down the German company who manufactured ad supplied this and after undertaking some due diligence found out that this company’s turnover had increased seven times over a period of just three years! Seven times. And for love nor money could you find a product in their range made of out timber – not even a component.

And that is why we have just developed a new range of trim trail school playground equipment made of out the same material as that afore-mentioned German company. And do you want to know why this is the future? This material has so many additional benefits over and above timber such as it doesn’t rot or decay, it is made from recycled plastic bottles (so instead of filling up landfill and the world’s oceans with this wretched stuff we get to use it in a more positive way and help the environment along the way – pat yourself on the back for that one Eco Schools), it lasts about 10 times longer than timber so some real savings here for a school, children cannot get splinters off it, it is a lot harder to vandalise than timber, you can easily dig the posts into the ground without any fear of eventual rot setting in below the surface and it doesn’t degrade or discolour with UV light.

For further information on this range, please contact the Hideout House Company on 01832 275902, email info@hideouthouse.com or visit the website www.hideouthouse.com

recycled plastic play equipment

Package F

Why You Should Buy Trim Trail Play Equipment Made Out Of Recycled Plastic

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There are so many times that I have visited schools and seen picnic tables made out of recycled plastic sitting on the school playground. Not just one but typically quite a few of them. You then ask the school staff why they purchased them and the response is always the same – they simply just last a lot longer than the traditional timber ones, they will never rot or degrade and more importantly they don’t require any on-going maintenance.

And in the same vein, there are the same amount of schools I visit where I see trim trail playground equipment covered in out-of-bounds hazard tape as per below.

And when you ask why this is, again the answer is pretty standard. The play equipment is no longer safe because it is starting to rot or the rounded timber has cracked so badly that the children are getting loads of splinters or are putting their fingers into the gaps. So it falls upon the site manager to constantly maintain it or as in a lot of cases, the trim trail equipment is simply condemned because it is beyond repair or is simply uneconomic to do so.

So I got to thinking that if you consider the above, why not therefore manufacture and sell trim trail recycled plastic play equipment made out this wonderful material? It has so many benefits by doing so and these are some of them:

  • It requires very little or nil maintenance as recycled plastic does not rot, corrode or decay
  • It does not splinter or have “shakes” like traditional timber does when it naturally dries out
  • It is very hard to vandalise (less flammable than timber) and graffiti and is resistant to algae and insects
  • It is hard wearing and durable – you can expect a lifetime five times than that of timber
  • UV resistant and available in different colours
  • It is eco friendly as it manufactured 100% out of recycled plastic bottles

But of course, it is a little bit more expensive than traditional timber but if you factor in the above benefits, it actually represents very good value for money especially when you consider its extended lifespan and reduced (none) on-going maintenance costs.

Our recycled plastic trim trail play equipment range incorporates stepping stones, log weavers, balance beams, net climbers, wobbly log bridges, A frame climbers and chin up bars.

For further information, please call the Hideout House Company on 01865 858982 or email: info@hideouthouse.com

www.hideouthouse.com

Nature Play Area at Buckminster Primary School

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Nature play area

Nature play area

This school near Grantham had an existing play area by their pre-school facility which they wanted us to replace and to update as a nature and freeflow creative play area. We jumped at the brief and the challenge!

The project was recently completed and has included the following:

Nature garden – this includes hardwood play chips, messy soil dig pit with timber edging, mud kitchen and low level messy table, living wall tipi den (where you can grow climbing plants up each side) and growing beds

Materials Dig Pit – this includes timber sleepers, a gravel mix, an outdoor camp fire with rustic seating benches and two pulleys

Camp Corner – a self creation play den with a camouflage net and artificial play grass.

The new nature play area for schools has already been extensively used by the school and there are plans afoot to go to Phase 2 of this playground development when more funds are available.

For further information please contact the Hideout House Company on 01865 858982 or email: info@hideouthouse.com

Seating and fire pit area

Seating and fire pit area

 

Nature Play Environments in Schools

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Forest Schools

The average child spends over 2,000 hours in a school playground so nature play equipment incorporates a number of elements that enable play spaces to blend in with their natural surroundings.

Sadly wild and natural outdoor spaces can be a rare sight in urban settings or environments and sometimes children can be totally unfamiliar with a natural garden space and the plethora of animals that can be found within it. So nature play areas create an opportunity within school settings to learn all about wildlife, conservation and how to grow things whilst all the time letting their natural imaginations and creativity to run riot – not to mention getting their hands dirty!

Our nature playgrounds include dens, dipping ponds, wildlife meadows, woodland seating, mini beast exploration, outdoor classrooms and shelters, treehouses, nature hides, fire pits and CCTV bird boxes. And nature play areas usually provide a cheaper alternative to traditional playgrounds and there are various nationwide UK grants available which support them.

For further details on how we can transform your nature playground, please contact the Hideout House Company on 01865 858982 or email: info@hideouthouse.com

www.hideouthouse.com

with water butt and roof guttering system

with water butt and roof guttering system

How To Choose Which Outdoor Shelter You Need For Your School

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shelter 4m square

shelter 4m square

The first question to ask your self is what do you actually need this outdoor shelter to do? i.e. is it just for protecting the children against the elements of the British climate or do you want to be able to use it for outdoor learning and to double up as an outdoor classroom too?

If it is the former, then you simply need to provide for a shade canopy that is going to give you maximum coverage (never quite sure whether the sail shades actually do in this instance because of their triangular shape). The size of your outdoor shelter of course will be determined by the area you are wanting to cover and the amount of children out in the playground at any one given time. And your budget of course. The outdoor shelter at this option stage can literally be four posts and a roof made out of canvas or other materials such as cedar shingle tiles, close board timber and even living sedum if you really want to get down dirty and eco! You can even print your logo or the name of a sponsor onto canvas material.

Or if you wanted to extend its application further out to creating an outdoor learning environment, then you can start to add in all sort of extras and options – namely timber decking floors, roll-down side panels, trellis panels, opening and closing louvre panels, benching, planters, guttering and water butt systems, renewable energy systems etc

And at this stage, outdoor shelters can come in all different shapes and sizes including octagonal, square and rectangular.

And of course, we at the Hideout House Company have an extensive range of all of the above…and we might be able to help you access funding too.

Please visit Outdoor Shelters

For further information, please contact the Hideout House Company on 01865 858982 or email: info@hideouthouse.com

outdoor classroom with seating area

outdoor classroom with seating area

 

 

 

 

Why You Should Buy School Playground Equipment Made From Recycled Plastic

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If you are looking to replace your existing school playground equipment or indeed are looking to purchase some additional items, then we would advise you to strongly consider buying it out of recycled plastic as opposed to traditional timber. I was at a school just last week who are wanting to replace some existing adventure trim trail items because they have split very badly and when the site manager tried to move them found out that they were rotten to the core below ground level. And this is equipment which was only installed less than five years ago!

Nowadays you will probably see in school playgrounds a lot of outdoor picnic tables made from recycled plastic and there are some very good reasons why. We love selling it because it is of course very eco friendly due to the fact that it is made out of 100% recycled materials – mainly plastic bottles. But aside from saving the planet, these are the other principal benefits of recycled plastic play equipment:

Maintenance free as it doesn’t ever rot, corrode or splinter like traditional timber

Crack proof and does not have “shakes” (like traditional timber)

Eco friendly as it is made out of recycled plastic bottles and is fully recyclable at the end of its use

UV resistant with little colour loss due to direct sunlight

Resistant to graffiti, insects and algae

Less flammable than traditional timber and resistant to most chemicals

Hard wearing and exceptionally durable – typically lasting five times longer than timber and does not degrade with age

With budgets tighter than ever, schools have to ensure that they are getting value for money but a quality product too which is going to last. That is why we strongly believe that in the non too distant future school playground equipment made out of recycled plastic will be the standard specification.

For further details, please visit

The Hideout House Company

www.hideouthouse.com

Recyled plastic Trim trail

Recyled plastic Trim trail

The Benefits to Schools of Recycled Plastic Playground Products

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We consistently hear from schools that one of the most important aspects to consider when buying equipment for the playground – be that outdoor play equipment or table and bench seating – is on-going maintenance. How long is it really going to last? What do we have to do each year to maintain it? Will you do this or does our site manager have to do it? These are all questions we regularly get asked every single week.

So this is the great thing about using recycled plastic as an alternative material to traditional timber. Quite simply – it needs little or none on-going maintenance as it doesn’t rot, splinter or degrade over time. Of course, it has other attractive properties such as it is less flammable than wood, is water, frost and damp resistant and is very eco friendly as it is made out of recycled plastic bottles.

This is why we are looking to manufacture more and more of our products in this material! Plus your caretaker or site manager can rest easy in the knowledge that he or she will not have to spend their waking hours maintaining it.

For further information, please contact Simon Fearnehough on 01865 858982 or email: simon@hideouthouse.com or please visit

recycled plastic play equipment

 

Recycled Plastic Playground Equipment

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On my very many travels round schools, I always see picnic benches or tables which are made out of a re-cycled plastic composite material which does actually look like traditional timber, but isn’t. When I ask teachers why they bought these benches, the response is pretty much unanimous – although they are bit more expensive, the benefits far outweigh the extra cost. They last a lot longer, they don’t rot, crack or discolour, they are eco-friendly but most important of all perhaps, they require little or no ongoing maintenance. Which keeps the site manager or caretaker very happy as it just means another job he doesn’t have to worry about.

So I got to thinking that if these benefits of using recycled plastic mean so much to a school, why can’t you make other products out of this material for the playground? And the most obvious contender of course is adventure or trim trail play equipment especially if you develop these products along the sport and PE fitness lines as those nice and generous people in the Dept for Education are giving schools money for this very reason.

My eureka moment therefore came in the form of developing a modular, multi-faceted fitness centre which is manufactured entirely out of re-cycled plastic so that it will last forever, the children won’t get splinters, we’ve done our bit in help saving the planet (this material is 100% recycled)  and the school site managers of this country can now relax safe in the knowledge that it will require hardly any ongoing maintenance. Win win I would say. Oh and the children will be physically challenged which will help them to be fit and healthy.

For further information, please contact Simon Fearnehough on 01865 858982 or email simon@hideouthouse.com

The Hideout House Company Ltd

or visit recycled plastic play equipment

Fitness Station

Fitness Station