Why Shade is Important to Schools

We have regular forest school sessions at Balgowan. Despite the weather the children are engaging with the nature at the school garden. However, it would be lovely to have a sheltered base camp while having a story, hot chocolate and a biscuit.

Balgowan Primary School

Our school would really benefit from a shade canopy as we currently do not have a lot of shelter in our outdoor areas. During the spring/summer months, our field in particular provides the bare minimum shade for our children. The sun is directly above our field at the times the children are outside. They use the trees as their shade. It would be wonderful for our children to have a safe, comfortable place to socialise and shelter which provides shade.

Peareswood Primary School

Here at Sherwood Park Primary, outside learning is so important to us! With a fabulous forest school area, a lovely pond area with local flowers for the bees and butterflies, 3 school playgrounds and a large field, we have lots of access to the outdoors. Only problem is, we need a bit of shade for our children to learn safely with protection from the UV rays of the sun! In those summer terms, it would be so lovely to be able to take classes outside and enjoy the nature around us from the safety of shade, provided by this amazing canopy! It really would make a change to the children’s primary school experience!

Sherwood Park Primary School

We would love to win some shade for our field area in the summer! We have a massive field for the kids to play on (all 600+ of them!) And there’s hardly any shade (only 2 trees) for them to sit and eat their packed lunches under. Last summer we had to get some pop up gazebos. This would be amazing for us! Thank you.

Lessness Heath Primary School

Our school currently has no shade or shelter at all, if we were to win this canopy we would be able to provide shade and shelter throughout the school year. We could have blankets under the canopy and have different activities every day such as a reading day, board game day, art day etc… As this canopy would provide shade in the summer we would also use it for our SEN children to have a water sensory activity and we could do this knowing they are safe out of the sun, as mentioned before our playground has no shade at all. It could also be used for a picnic area.

St Mary Magdalene CoE Peninsula Primary School

Both shade and shelter are very important for our children. Having additional shade/shelter will provide an additional outdoor learning space for our children to be able to learn outside safely while being sheltered from the rain or sunshine.

Knockhall Primary School

We are a small special school for children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties with challenging behaviour. Our children have ADHD and autism and need lots of physical activity and brain breaks outside to enable them to be successful in the classroom. Our outdoor space lacks shade because we had to remove a large tree as some children tried to climb it and we needed to keep them safe!! We have no other shade in our outside area but we are very small with limited funds for luxuries like canopies!

Aspire Academy

Being able to hold class reading time outside or observational drawing for art really enriches their learning in creative ways. Shade and shelter from weather conditions enables classes to access this outside learning safely.

Oakhill Primary Academy

Outdoor learning is a key component of our provision at Bushy Hill, and we are continuously developing ways in which to ensure a wide range of opportunities for our children. With a lack of shade in our grounds, the canopy will allow the children to enhance their learning safely throughout the school year.

Bushy Hill Junior School

A canopy shade is really important to the children at Peninsula East Primary Academy as unfortunately our one was destroyed in Storm Eunice and it is not insured on the school’s buildings policy. The canopy was used so much in the Spring and Summer as so many of our children need the extra protection from the sun but teachers are eager to take the learning outside of the classroom. Outdoor learning at Peninsula Primary Academy has proved very successful and the children’s behaviour and concentration improves while lessons are being taught outside. The fresh air aids with their health and wellbeing as it is has been proven that so many children do not have the opportunity of outside space.

Peninsula East Primary Academy

We would like to win a Maxima StarSail for our school as it would help us maximise the time that children can safely use our outside area. Church Aston Infant School is a very small school, we regularly use our outside area as part of our Early Years Provision as an outside classroom. As our site is an extremely sunny site, we only get shade from part of our building, and we have no natural means of shade. Our curriculum is based on The World Is Ours to Explore so we encourage our teachers to offer as many opportunities as they can to use the outside environment. One of your canopies would really help to offer this as it would enhance our environment and help keep our children sun safe as they play and work.

Church Aston Infant School

We are a school passionate about outdoor learning and the children have access to the outdoors throughout the day. We need shade so that our children can use the outdoor area in all weathers. Currently our early years playground is exposed to all weathers and is unusable on really hot days. We are currently fundraising to give the playground a much needed make over and this shade would be a fantastic start and will benefit all of our early years children from 2-5 years old.

Oliver’s Battery Primary and Nursery School

We are currently developing our new outdoor area. This canopy would provide an essential place to shade to eat lunch or work out of direct sunlight. We would love to win this!

Beaconhill Community Primary School

I am chair of the Friends of St Mark’s (FOSM) and our committee have been fundraising specifically for shade and shelter for our school.

Our school is located at the top of a hill but is lucky to have a large outside space. but it has very little shelter and shade as it is so exposed to the elements.

The school houses 360 pupils over the age range 6 to 11 years and providing shade and shelter for them all is pretty challenging.

We have planted some trees but these will take many years to mature to give plenty of shade in the summer months.

We are hoping to provide shelter and shade in a few areas of the outside space to enable all of the children to enjoy the spaces without getting very wet in the wetter months and sunstroke in the hotter ones (yes we have had children with sunstroke).

There is a perfect space at the side of the building for a sail, which is more sheltered from the wind.

Many thanks for reading.

St Mark’s Junior School

It would be great for our nursery and reception area. To allow shade to play during the summer months.

Cowley Hill Primary School

We provide purposeful and irresistible learning for the children of Stanmore community. Every child is inspired to thrive and be their BEST. We set no limits on what can be learned. We want our children to feel safe, secure and happy. We do this through access to our beautiful grounds. This stylish canopy from A&S Landscape would help us provide for our children and help our community thrive.

Stanmore Primary School

Unfortunately, our trees, which gave our playground shade, had to be cut down as they were not safe. This has left us with two large open spaces with no shade. Shade is so important for our children to enable them to stay on the playground for longer periods of time. We also want to be able to utilise our great space for exciting outdoor learning including our daily worship. In addition to this, after listening to our pupils, we found that we have a large amount of keen readers who would love a dedicated space where they can read at break times- a canopy would provide just this- please vote for us!

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School

Shade and shelter is massively important to our school as we transition from a post lockdown and get our students outdoors in an attempt to address the nature deficit. We are an ASC school so some of our students have sensory needs which result in them not liking direct sunlight or for some they find it difficult to go outdoors when it rains. The shelter would allow those students to have a safe place to sit in our developing nature classroom and participate in all outdoor sessions, whatever the weather. The positive impact that this would have on their health and well-being would be considerable. Having a shade and shelter is definitely on our wish list, but just slightly out of reach. Help us to get more kids outdoors by creating accessible spaces for all – on our mission to rewild a generation.

Presfield High School

Peterhouse is a school for children with autism. A canopy in the garden area would help some children with hyper sensory issues to access the outdoors and the vast learning opportunities outside without becoming overstimulated or suffering pain from the sun/heat/rain.

Peterhouse School

Shade and shelter is extremely important for our amazing students at our school as we have quite limited space and in particular nowhere for students to go at social times. Our students would absolutely love this! Our aim would be to let all year groups use this and it would integrate all students together. We have had a difficult few years and with fewer funds we had have to continue to raise money to attempt to make any changes.

Coppice School

St John’s is a special school from 5 up to Post 16. A lot of the children have sensory issues and this would ensure some of them could go outside in to the playground with their peers and protect them from the sun.

St John Vianney RC School

With children at the school of all ages with issues, this canopy would be of great use for them to be outside to be utilised a separate space to others when need be.

Apley Wood Primary School

The Heights has a wonderful playground but unfortunately no shelter from the rain or sun as the trees are very young and have not yet grown. There is little shelter available for the children from the weather.

The Heights Primary School

We have a very open Early Years Outdoor area with, unfortunately, very little protection from the weather. Winning a shade sail would allow us to leave resources out for children to freely explore, rather than having to pack them away after every use. They would also last longer with some protection from the elements. Our children would also be protected, meaning longer outdoor learning sessions whatever the weather. This sun shade would allow us to create a safe, shady area for outside learning and play.

Locks Heath Infant School

Downton Primary school is a lovely village school, sadly when the sun shines there is no shade for the children to shelter under, this canopy would be perfect.

Downton Primary School

Our school motto is “We Care, and at Shakespeare Infant School, we have worked hard to provide a mentally healthy school for our Pupils, Staff and School Community and know the wellbeing values of our children being outdoors “Come Rain or Shine”! We would love to learn outside the classroom more, and receiving a fabulous canopy from A&S Landscape would give us that opportunity. We know that a canopy would provide a safe and comfortable outdoor space for our children to learn, explore and grow, whilst being protected from strong sun or bad weather. We would love your support to provide an area where our children are able to be outside all year round, safely and happily in our beautiful school grounds.

Shakespeare Infant School

The canopy would create a great outdoor learning area for all children which could be used in all weather. It would be an excellent addition to our school.

Mickle Trafford Village School

Outdoor learning is a fundamental part of learning at St. Michael’s. Each class has many lessons outside regardless of the subject. We are lucky to have wonderful grounds for the children to access and enjoy. Having this canopy will provide a shaded area for us to safely continue this even on the sunniest of days.
We wish to use our courtyard area more but it is a sun trap. We have already renovated the area and can use it when it is not too sunny, but this shade would finish off this outside classroom area perfectly.
We also plan for it to be used by children who wanted a quieter area to enjoy their playtime, and lunchtimes. We have a reading area set up in the courtyard and beanbags and cushions that can be used there. As well as it being used as a safe nurture space when children need a little time out.

St Michael’s C.E. (V.C.) First School

Shade and shelter is important to our setting as many of our children live in flats, so they do not have access to safe outdoor spaces at home. Our garden is a sun trap in the summer so a canopy would ensure we have a sun safe space for the children. We are a charity run preschool and have limited funds, our children are aged 2-4 and we are situated within a Sure Start children’s Centre, which is in an area of deprivation. Outdoor play is essential for young children’s health and wellbeing.

Brambles Community Preschool

With this shade the small children (aged 2-5) in our setting would be free to go out and play all day long without the harmful UV rays affecting their young and undamaged skins. The presence of shade will enforce to the young ones the importance of skin care in the sun for the rest of their lives by developing the habit of protecting your skin when outside.
We would place the mud kitchen and sand pit underneath it allowing the children to stay and play longer in the fresh air rather than coming inside for shelter.
The shelter of the canopy would also preserve the sand pit and mud kitchen and any other equipment underneath, meaning that money can be spent on other new resources rather than replacing resources.
Lastly, of course it would just look great and be a real asset to our setting.

Modbury Preschool

We have a beautiful outdoor space at our nursery, where we are blessed with an enclosed play area, right in the heart of the community. We have a motto that the sun always shines at Tamar View Nursery! It really does and our children love dancing in the sunshine. However, we do find that in the summer months, we need to restrict outdoor play due to the temperature rising and the enclosed aspect of this garden, just raises the heat levels even further.
Because we are in an urban space, we can be overlooked by local properties. As a result, we have lined our fences with UPVC for privacy which means we do not get any fresh winds blowing through the garden. This adds to the temperature. Winning a canopy would not only help us to shade the children so they can play in all weathers; it would also improve the privacy they can enjoy.

The Cabin at Tamar View Nursery

Ladybirds Nursery & Preschool is currently a charity run group with more than a 100 preschool children on role and also offer wrap around and holiday cover for local primary school children. We moved on to our current site in 2011 and as such our outside area is in much need of an overhaul. Our children love the outdoors come rain or shine and previously our shade has been provided by sails, unfortunately our poles took a batter in a storm and need replacing to allow us to have shade over our large sandpit and outdoor area this summer.
Outside play is so beneficial to the development of children especially those in the early years, it provides a rich environment for developing all aspects of development but even more pertinent at the moment as children have been impacted socially and emotionally by covid. This shade would allow them to continue to play outside safely through the summer. In the past we have had to use pop up gazebos as the outside surface gets hot in the summer.
As a Nursery we stayed open to provide care and education to vulnerable children and those of key workers and have stayed open throughout the Lock down and beyond, like so many this has given us many challenges financially and we have had to postpone many plans to upgrade our outside shade so if we won this canopy it would be amazing!

Ladybirds Nursery & Preschool

With the ever-changing seasons shade is important to protect our pupils from the elements. Providing shade during hot periods will aid our pupil’s health and wellbeing. A new shade would enhance our planned decked seating area.

St Leonards CE Primary Academy

Our children at Scallywags Pre-school LOVE to play outside – they learn new skills each day and build upon the previous days learning. We are a registered charity and the price of a canopy is just out of our price range at the moment – we lost so much money due to Covid and everyone is working so hard now to catch up and make a difference. Our parent committee are working hard alongside the manager to raise valuable funds just to enhance the setting to give all our children the best experience they can possibly have. Having a canopy would allow the children to stay outside for longer periods as this would help to shelter the children not only from bad weather but from the sunshine – we want no barriers to learning and the canopy would help Scallywags Pre-school achieve this. Scallywags is just the most amazing little Pre-school in the heart of a beautiful Village. By providing this Canopy to Scallywags we would not be able to thank A&S Landscape enough as you will have help to contribute to the learning journey of our wonderful children

Scallywags Pre-school (Edgworth)

We would LOVE to win this prize! We have literally no shade on any of our playgrounds and so 441 absolutely lovely children swelter and suffer in the ever-increasing scorching hot days we are experiencing. It is in our plans to purchase 4 shade sails and so to win one would be a HUGE help to us. We are in a very deprived area of the city and have nearly 50% pupil premium and 16% of our children have SEND needs. Winning this means we could spend the money we save on our children and you would be HEROES!

Marriott Primary School

Leasowes High School is currently working hard on an outdoor project to ensure our pupils are active and engaged during lunch times. We do not have any shelter, minimal seating and no activities at the minute. An outdoor shelter will give our pupils a place to ‘chill’ during lunch and break times taking pressure of supervising staff and giving them a space to themselves where they can chat and wind down. It would mean the world to all at Leasowes, staff and students, if we were to be successful in this competition and a much-needed kick start to our project!

Leasowes High School

The welfare of students at Haygrove is of the highest importance. The use of outdoor space as areas for teaching and learning, as well as being used during breaks and lunchtimes for socialising, is known to have positive effects on health and wellbeing. A long period of construction work has recently finished on the school site and we have some fantastic new facilities, but the work has not included the development of outdoor social spaces for students to use. We have some ambitious plans in place to construct outdoor spaces for teaching and socialising, a new canopy would be a fantastic addition to complement our plans and help us to achieve our ambitions.

Haygrove School

Outdoor learning is such an integral part of a child’s learning, it should not just be reserved for play times. Being able to hold class reading time outside or observational drawing for art really enriches their learning in creative ways. Shade and shelter from weather conditions enables classes to access this outside learning safely.
Our school is working hard to improve our kerb appeal at the front of our premises and this innovative design would look amazing in our KS1 playground.
Funding is stretched for all educational settings and this competition to install a canopy was a very welcome email to receive, fingers crossed for some good luck for Wilstead Primary School.

Shade and shelter would make our beautiful grounds more comfortable to spend time in during the British seasons! As a Forest School, we try to spend as much time as possible outside taking in the fresh air and sunshine, and even on the rainy days!

S is for a safe place to rest and relax after playing with friends,
H is a space to hide from the sun,
A is a place to get away from the heat,
D is for the Dinner ladies to use to keep the little ones protected,
E is for enjoying the shadows it casts on the playground,

S is to sketch using chalks and paints and felt-tips,
H is for helping to explain the harmful effects of the burning sun,
E is to use as an entertaining stage,
L is to lounge when the sun is shining,
T is to take turns to sit under and read,
E is to exercise during PE,
R is to rest after such a busy day.

Wilstead Primary School

We want our students to enjoy dining and socialising in the fresh air, protected from the sun. In these times when so many youngsters have been isolated and inside due to the pandemic it is vital for them to reconnect with each other and the natural worlds. Plus it would look super! Thank you.

Swavesey Village College

We are huge advocates of outside learning for all our children, especially post-Covid restrictions, and a fantastic shelter like this would make it possible for classes to be safely outside whatever the weather. For a small school it’s almost impossible to explain what a difference this would make.

Bolshaw Primary School

We have just resurfaced our playground, which was in dire need of replacement. However, the cost of this has depleted our budget and so we do not have the money to furnish the playground with equipment. By having a canopy, it would provide the children with a place to shelter from the direct sunlight and take part in activities such as drawing, colouring, puzzles and board games. Some of our children would relish the opportunity to have a space to complete calm activities. The canopy would help to create a zone in the playground. Furthermore, the canopy would also provide teachers with the option of taking classes outside for lessons, regardless of the weather, something that our children would love!

St Michael’s East Wickham CE Primary

At Crook Log Primary School we want all of our children to have the best possible experience and start in life. We want fun, activities, visits, visitors and anything that is memorable as the child learn, play and develop. We are truly blessed with our grounds, large playgrounds and a very large field, but not enough in the way of trees for shade. This means that when the weather is beautiful the children huddle under three trees to eat their packed lunches. It would be wonderful to have more shade to make the experience even better. We have been trying to raise money for shades for the past four years but sadly other expenses keep coming along.

Crook Log Primary School

Enabling learning outside the classroom is paramount to the development of our children and being able to do this through all weathers would be invaluable to ensure prior knowledge and experiences are used and built upon.
With a high level of disadvantaged children and lack of outside space at home, opportunities to be learning outside are high on our agenda.

The Laurels Primary School

We are working very hard to improve our outdoor learning area and have just put in a fruit tree orchard. Unfortunately, our outdoor hut was deemed not fit for purpose so we are very limited now for outdoor shade. As a small school who annually face budget issues, we very rarely have the opportunity to invest in much needed shelter from sun and rain for our pupils.

Coryton Primary School

Due to the Covid 19 situation pupils are spending more time outside.  We have very little shade in our playground and with summer approaching it would be good to provide some much-needed shade.

Frederick Bremer School

The school is a 3 form entry school on the outskirts of Brighton. With the increasingly extreme weather, we have limited shaded areas on the school grounds, and the playground is a rectangle concrete slab.  A shade would enable the children to have lessons outside on hot days, providing valuable shade from the sun. The sail would also enable the children to continue to use the outside space even in poor weather.

Hangleton Primary School

We are a special school and have spent many years improving our different play areas, we have been looking for appropriate shade covers to enable the children to spend longer outside but on very hot days this is not possible as we have no shade at all so this kits would be absolutely amazing

John Watson School

We have beautiful school grounds at Great Milton. We love being outside, no matter what the weather. However there is little shade for the children, which sometimes stops us from using our amazing space.

Our school colour is blue, so a lovely blue shade sail would be useful in so many ways, apart from the many playtime activities, we would use it for outdoor learning, and when we are allowed, for family events.

Great Milton C of E Primary School

We are a two-form entry first school situated on a residential city street. We have a tarmac yard and a small, grassed area. Over the last year, we have worked extremely hard to transform an unused area of trees into a forest school as well as cultivating a planted area into an additional outside space. We have a school nursery but have also opened a Toddler’s group and we have an independent playgroup and an independent childcare group on-site during term time.

All these groups use the shared space. Whilst the space is limited, we are working hard to make it a welcoming and purposeful environment. Our aim for the cultivated area is a place for outside learning, book groups, storytime etc as well as a play space for the playgroup. It is however exposed. A shelter over this space would facilitate the use in all weathers as well as providing shelter from the sun in nicer weather.

In conclusion, a shade would add to our environment, provide shelter and shade from the elements, create a useable space in all weathers and all for a wide range of users.

Archibald First School

Having very little outdoor space we try and use all available space for the children to play and learn outside. However, in inclement weather this can be unsafe for the children to be outside without shade so we are unable to use the spaces. We would love to be able to give the children further opportunities to be outside safely and would use the shade to facilitate outdoor classroom learning opportunities for children across the school. Thank you for the opportunity!

St Olave’s Prep School

Our school values giving children the opportunity to play outdoors helping them feel calm and cheerful. Being outside also means that children naturally absorb vitamin D, which helps improve their frame of mind and buoyancy.

Many children do not play outdoors outside of the school day, therefore outdoor play within the school day gives children the opportunity to run, jump, climb, and more, all of which provides exercise and fitness. Unstructured outdoor play also encourages creativity, risk taking and problem-solving which children can apply to their learning.

A bright colourful shade sail from A&S Landscape will not only give protection from the elements to those children who play outdoors but brighten up our children’s environment!

Meriden C E Primary School

Even before COVID having a sheltered area to learn and play would enhance the provision we would be able to give our pupils in order to learn using the outdoor area. Following on from COVID and Welsh Government guidance to work outdoors as much as possible, this would ensure we would be able to take more pupils out in all weathers due to the shade. We are also a small primary school and financing this ourselves would be difficult. Fingers crossed we will be lucky.

Ysgol Gynradd Llandegfan

We are lucky to have a large field on our site but unfortunately there is very little shade on there, particularly for the KS1 children.

With a large shade sail we would be able to use the field more for break times and sports during the dry weather but also for outdoor learning, utilising our resources to the fullest without the fear of children getting too much sun – when it shines!

We would be able to look into setting up an outdoor classroom for curriculum work and then be able to use it as a quiet, nurture area for the children who struggle when the playground is busy.  It would be somewhere they could sit and watch their peers safely if they didn’t want to join in during lunchtimes.

Our breakfast and after school club would also benefit, at the moment the pergola they would normally use for their summer picnics is in need of replacement as some of the wood has rotted but due to budget constraints any work has had to be postponed.

It would be amazing to win a shade sail for our school and would benefit so many of our wonderful pupils.

Thanks for reading!

Prenton Primary School

A poem for you….

Our children love to have fun

Running in the summer sun

Although they have missed a lot of school

We need to remember to keep them cool!

Waddingham school has lots of space

But really needs a shady place

If you could find it in your heart

To choose our school it would be a great start

We are a small school who would really benefit from your support, we have a large playground but really need some shade. The resilience our children and families have shown over lockdown has been amazing, we as a school lost 5 weeks of schooling in addition to the National Lockdowns due to Covid infections in school.

Waddingham Primary School

Priory School is a specialist SEN school situated in the borough of Croydon, London and Outdoor Learning has been a feature here since our re-build in 2014. The forest provides an alternative learning environment, where education is in, for, and about, the natural world. The combination of freedom and responsibility is beneficial to those with reduced confidence or challenging behaviour.  Valuable life skills are learnt, including communication, team-work, problem-solving, responsibility, resilience and self-regulation.

At Priory, we obviously place a great deal of value on outdoor education, and a shade sail would be the perfect focal point for outdoor activities and team-building games, whilst allowing for protection from the elements. Some students can struggle with the transition from inside to outside, so a canopied area could help bridge the gap between the two and create more opportunities for outdoor learning and give more students access to the sensory experience of nature.

The Telford Priory School

We would love a shaded area for the children so that they would be able to play outside whatever the weather rain or sunshine. We are a small village school and at the moment our reception and year 1s share a classroom so it would be amazing to have a covered area so we can bring our learning outside please.

Peaslake Free School

This shade would a vital part of our school grounds. With the school being in a seaside area, the ground and soil is very sandy making growing trees difficult. The pupils currently have no shade on hot summer/spring days whether it be on the school field, the outdoor learning areas or classroom garden. For sun safety this sun shade is a health necessity. As well as the sun and having no trees etc, the wind can be strong making gazebos dangerous. Therefore a solid structure such as the sun shade would be perfect.

Ysgol Gynradd Rhosneigr

Following lockdown our aim is to develop the children’s confidence by more opportunities to learning experiences outside the classroom. This would involve different areas of the curriculum being learnt in a fun way outside in all weather.

Ysgol Gymuned Llannerch y Medd

We would love this shade as we are a charity run village preschool and at the moment we are just about staying afloat in this pandemic. (We have been open all the time) This shade would be great in our garden area to give us an outside space to teach / learn, as we have a few children who can’t concentrate in loud spaces and would benefit in a quieter environment. And it would give us an outside space to teach in all weathers if needed.

Ripley Pre-school

We are a wraparound and before and after school club, we are on the side of George Fentham School but run separately and a non profit organisation, any money goes back into this facility. Our outdoor space really needs help and the pandemic has forced us to close in lockdown so this would be fantastic.

The Base Childcare at George Fentham School

We’ve currently sent staff on forest school training and we’re hoping to develop an area on school grounds to run forest school sessions, this shade would be ideal for a use of outdoor sitting and learning are and help us with a fireplace too for students to be able to cook themselves and develop learning outdoors.

Ysgol Eifionydd

We have worked extremely hard the past couple of years to make our outdoor environment a fun, exciting and engaging place for our children to learn and to play. Being a small village school with extremely limited funds, it is always a challenge to finance and improve our facilities in order to create a vision of excellence we aspire to for our children. We are privileged to have such fabulous surroundings and it would be wonderful to sit under an amazing canopy where children could take shelter and enjoy the idyllic views in all weathers whilst still learning. The colour we would choose would fit our green surroundings and would really enhance our outdoor provision in a colourful and contextual way.

In the current Covid climate we are trying to spend as much time as we can outdoors and having a canopy would enable more teaching opportunities for the children whatever the weather. We would be extremely grateful if we were successful.

Bishopton Redmarshall CE Primary School

With the spring and warmer months approaching we turn our thoughts to the provision of play outdoors and the health and safety aspects it brings. We are extremely fortunate to have a garden where we have sunlight from morning till night, however as beautiful as this is we do struggle with providing shaded areas for children to still be able to access outdoor play but keep them out of direct sunlight at peak sun times. This shade would provide a perfect area for children to use when the sun is just a little too much. from using it to make dens and reading areas to allowing children to use their imagination and have a campout as well as outdoor picnics! It has endless uses and would be greatly appreciated by all children who attend our nursery.

Plantos

We currently have an exposed playing field with barely any shelter from the sun. It is a slope completely unprotected from the prevailing wind. we have tried sunshades but these prove problematic if there is any wind as I am sure you can imagine! Having a fixed sun sail would also enable us to use out outside area more effectively as an outdoor classroom. With the Covid recommendations on ventilation we will be endeavouring to use our outside space more and this would help us to achieve this. At playtimes and lunchtimes in the summer it would give children a chance to have a break from the sun. It would be a great opportunity for some of our children who are accessing ELSA to do this in a different environment. Our peripatetic play therapist has also expressed that it would be beneficial for her to be able to run some of her sessions outside without exposing the children to an unnecessary amount of sun. The children of St Blasius would definitely benefit from a resource like this.

St Blasius Shanklin C of E Primary Academy

We are a primary school of children with severe and profound learning difficulties. We currently have over 140 pupils ranging from nursery to year 6. Many of our children are from deprived backgrounds.

Each class spends at least half of their school day outdoors. We have a range of outdoor learning spaces that would massively benefit from shading. During the last 3 lockdowns, we have remained open. Since September, our school has stayed open with almost full staff and a high number of children.

We would use this shade so all children can access outdoor play and learning especially when it is sunny as it would allow children to be outside for longer. A lot of children have diagnosed conditions and brain damage that has dramatically effected their sight therefore shade would allow them to be able to see and ultimately access more learning outdoors. A lot of our children are wheelchair users and summers can be very hot with little shade. A shade would be amazing for them to be able to lie out without being in direct sun.

We have classes based on stage not age and a lot of our PMLD children benefit greatly (post and pre covid) from interacting with our more able children. It builds a feeling of unison and builds friendships between different classes. The shade would allow these children to stay outdoors for longer without the worry of the sun or over heating.

Another benefit would be using it for teaching. Our teachers and classroom staff are very creative and I know they would use this shade to teach a variety of topics especially shadows, it would fit with our den building and camping experience. We try to create memories and “holiday” experiences for our children as many won’t be able to experience this. If we are successful and covid allows. I would like to invite you to our wonderful school to see how truly great the children and grounds are.

Hadrian School

My students all have profound and multiple learning difficulties. This sail would not only provide shelter from the sun but also a sensory experience that would allow us to go out in the rain, providing a learning experience all year round. It would act as an extension to our classroom and an excellent addition to our outside area which we are currently doing up.

Victoria School

We are lucky enough to have larger numbers of students wanting to come to our school. This means that we are having to be inventive in spaces for students to sit down while eating. Therefore we would like to allow the students to make use of an outside picnic area linked to the main dining room which is currently uncovered. If we have a canopy then all the younger students will be able to access fresh air while eating healthy food.

To make full use of the space we will use this area to create outside classrooms. The art department would take classes for the students so they can draw the landscape. The geography department can use it for discussion on the weather station in the area. This canopy will allow us to develop curriculum opportunities as well as providing an outdoor seating area.

Birkdale High School

This sail would be hugely important to us as a school and would be based in the early years outdoor area. We love exploring, playing and learning outside and this would help us do this even more. We are in the process of setting up a woodwork station area but we are finding this very difficult as we have very little shaded areas on offer outside, so be able to use this as part of the area and help to section it off would just be amazing!! It’s such an important thing for children to be able to out in the natural environment as much as possible and this is something we are hugely passionate about, this would allow all sorts of activities to be able to take place, story/rhyme time, phonics etc. We would also make sure it was available for all the year groups in the school to access so they are able to take more of their learning outside.

Nettlestone Primary School

As part of our recovery from the disruption to school this year (and last) we have been redesigning our curriculum for our Y1 children that have been most disadvantaged by restrictions on attendance. Some children have missed a huge proportion of their entire schooling so far when compared to children in older year groups.

To deepen learning and give the children more choice and ownership of how they apply their learning we have introduced ‘Project Discovery Learning’. In these sessions the children are free to learn inside or out in our new Y1 area that we are trying to establish. This area is currently very exposed to the elements. We would normally fundraise for such a project but unfortunately covid restrictions have meant that we have been unable to fundraise to the same level (for example a summer fair would raise approx. £3k and school discos another few thousand over the course of the year) without this vital income we are unable to afford to purchase a beautiful new sail for our learners.

Bramble Infant School & Nursery

We would use the sail to protect our Forest School area, allowing the children to take part in Forest School whatever the weather. We don’t have money in our school budget for luxuries such as this and our children get such a lot out of being outdoors and taking part in Forest School, it would make such a difference to them and our school as a whole.

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School

We are a Primary school in Ryde who are lucky enough to have outdoor space for the children to enjoy. Unfortunately we haven’t got enough shade so can only use it when the weather is moderately sunny or in bursts so no-one gets sunburned. Sports days, outside events, breaks, outside class work and PE would be improved immeasurably by a shade sail for all 390 children to share. We also host football and Taekwondo during non-Covid times and we’re hoping to get back to offering this again to the community soon. The community groups would therefore also benefit from this shade sail.

We hope to be considered for this competition.  Thank you.

Haylands Primary School

Shade is very important to us as a school to enable us to help protect our children from the sun’s harmful UV rays, or from wind, dust and rain (we all know how the British weather can change suddenly from being sunny one minute to a heavy downpour the next), to enable children to be able to play outside whatever the weather.  Not just to play but also to be able to access the outside environment for reading, eating lunch, reflection time.  We want our children to be able to have fun and stay active outside for longer while being protected from the weather.

A shade sail would be a valued addition to the limited shade we currently have on our playground, our children are always asking to have picnics during the summer months, a shade sail would allow us to provide this experience, a different class each day so everyone has a chance to enjoy eating outdoors safely.

Newton Regis CE Primary School

We have a beautiful site and receive a great deal of sunlight in the summer months. There are times when the children need to have some access to shade. We had a yurt installed some years ago to help with outdoor learning and recreation but the positioning of it was not correct and so it became damp and not fit for purpose.

We now have an ideal position for a sail where the yurt was and we were planning on constructing a sail. Costs incurred from the last year have put a strain on budget so we may not be able to afford such a luxury for the children.

St Bede’s Catholic Primary School

As a school, we have faced a significantly restricted budget in recent years whilst in deficit recovery. Our school is undergoing a refurbishment programme and this shade sail would enable us to make the most of our school facilities for the benefit of the pupils and the wider community. It would be amazing for us to make the most of our outside space!

Wootton Community Primary School

The sail would be placed outside our ‘Butterfly Room’ which is a safe space for all of our children, but predominantly those with additional needs both SEND & emotional. Here the children enjoy sensory equipment and the added sail would mean that this could also be done outside, where we know children love to play and their mental health benefits greatly too. Our school is situated in an area of deprivation with 70% of pupils receiving Pupil Premium. We have found through our work in the community, particularly when delivering food and activity parcels during the first & last lockdown, that many of our children have little or no garden. Additionally, playgrounds in the locality are old and not well kept, with teenagers dominating the space. The sail will help children who may find learning within the classroom difficult as the learning can be taken outdoors throughout the year.

Parklands Community Primary School

We would use the shade to provide vital shade for the pupils at our school. During the summer months there is no shade at all on our school field.

Queensgate Primary School

By investing in a shade sail, I would be offering my staff the chance to relocate their lessons outside when the sun is beaming in on the classrooms making them stuffy and uncomfortable. By learning outside underneath shade sails, children can gain fresh air and refreshing shade, enabling them to concentrate and focus on their school work, plus it makes lessons more fun. We are developing our outdoor area at school so that the children can spend as much time outside as possible. It is essential, especially after the last year, to help improve our pupil’s mental health.

Rowsley C of E Primary School

We are the largest primary school in Oxfordshire with over 630 pupils. Our children love their playtimes, especially being on the big field, but in the summer we have hardly any shade! A sail would really help the children to recharge and relax, away from the heat of the sun. We also invite other local schools for sports events, including a massive partnership sports day with over 8 other schools and 2,000+ kids, and it would be incredibly beneficial then too! Teachers at our school teach many lessons outdoors and having a shade would enable even more of this, in a more comfortable situation. We would love a shade for our school and children!

Windmill Primary School

This shade sail would be a welcome addition to Havergal. It would be extra space that could be used outside, we are currently in the process of setting up Forest School, this would be amazing to coincide with Forest School.  We are a very small school and always in need of extra space.

Havergal C of E Academy Primary School

Thornhill Primary School would like to be recognised for their contribution towards environmental sustainability. With the ever changing world, it is important to bring children’s learning outdoors to engage the children by seeing, feeling and experiencing the environment. Environment-based education allows children to grasp information far better than that learned inside the classroom.

This shade sail will allow our children to play, learn and develop by creating an area which is safe and protected. It will also allow the children to be creative, imaginative and caring of their school playground. Outdoor learning underneath the sail can include a variety of classroom based activities to include plant-based learning, nature discussions, art, ecosystems discussions and so on. The children will then begin to understand the importance of their environment and make this type of learning a way of life.

Thornhill Primary School

Leigh Beck Junior School would like to apply for the Shade Sail competition because we feel that this would really benefit our playground and the children that attend our school. We currently only have 1 shaded area for the children to play under, this was purchased recently by the school. We wish we could have purchased more sails for shading areas however the school budget simply does not stretch far enough to be able to make additional purchases for this. We are currently fundraising for a library for our children, once we hit this target we would then move onto another fundraiser but as you will understand fundraising takes its time and with the current pandemic we are facing it is really hard to fundraise as our families may not have the extra pennies to spend and local companies are not as able to donate prizes to help boost our fundraising. We also have children that attend our school with complex needs that means that they can not be in direct sunshine for long periods of time, having an extra sail shade would mean so much to them as well as us! We would be absolutely delighted if we were able to win this competition so that our wonderful Leigh Beck Learners would have an additional shading area that would really benefit their outdoor experience when at school!

Leigh Beck Junior School

We have an amazing outdoor space, in that we have a large field.  However, in the summer the children have very little shade. It would be fantastic to have a space where they could sit to chat and read together.

St Patrick’s RCVA Primary School

Our Nursery was offered lots of shade from neighbouring trees on the adjacent property, but as this has now been sold off and is being demolished all the trees have sadly been taken down, so we now have a very sunny play area for our under 3 to play in, which is lovely but doesn’t offer our young children and babies any shelter from the sun when it is shining and our children love to be outside exploring.

Walney Central Nursery

We are very lucky to have a beautiful outdoor space for all our children to be able to enjoy. However, our baby area is extremely exposed to the sun and although this is lovely it also means that they can’t spent much time outside when the sun is shining as they have no shade at all. A sun shade would make the world of difference, not only to them being able to play longer outside, but also it will allow them to sleep outside which has multiple health benefits.

Paper Moon Day Nursery

The shade is so important to us at MGJS because we are having a school library double decker bus and this would sit perfectly outside the entrance for pupils to sit and read their books. It would also be great for when we invite the parents and local community in to have a cup of tea and read books with their children. We would even theme the outside around Peter Pan – great links to the library and the adventure story of Peter Pan with the sail representing Captain Hook’s ship. What an inspiring place to read a book – the children would love it!  Send us the sail or you will walk the plank!

Meath Green Junior School

We are a small mainly government funded pre-school and have a lovely outside play area that is uncovered – it would be amazing to have this sail outside the front of our setting, keeping the shade off the children as they play/learn. Thank you for your vote.

Young Explorers @Cobham – Pre-school

We have an open large sandpit with no shade at all at our preschool. The children love playing in it, but it gets extremely hot in the summer and they then cannot play there. We’ve tried to put commercial gazebo type shades over the sandpit, but these have blown away twice, and we’ve now given up… A shade sail like this would be AMAZING to facilitate the children’s play in the sandpit outside!

Highfield Preschool

We are a sun-safe accredited Nursery and shade has always been a bit of a concern for us as we have a very large open outdoor area which we use as much as possible throughout the year. Shade provides opportunities for our children to spend more time outdoors while being protected from the sun’s harmful rays. Therefore being able to provide a safe environment is vital for us, so at the moment we put up temporary shades where we can, which unfortunately takes up a fair amount of time each day to set up, taking staffs time away from our children. If we were lucky enough to win this incredible sail we would place it in an area that we are unable to create temporary shade which will increase the amount of shade that we can offer to our children and staff and the amount of time our children would get to spend time outside and as we know children thrive outdoors, so this would have a massive impact on their health and well-being.

Tots ‘R’ Us Nursery

Our outside area used to be shaded from a tree but unfortunately the tree had to be taken down. We are now left with no shade for our children. We have been trying to fundraise for a while to be able to buy a shade so this would just be amazing to win one.

Manor Twiglets Nursery

We are a small rural setting that is based in a village hall. Our outside area is a good size. We have had to buy a summer house to help with shade in the summer but it gets far too hot.

We currently use gazebos to help shade the children in the summer but these are not ideal and are breaking. We would love a permanent fixture for the children to use in all weathers as they go outside in all seasons.

Burghclere Pre School

We are a small nursery and outside play happens as much as possible the shade would be perfect as this would enhance our role play section. Also children could carry on playing outside in all weathers this would mean non interrupted play.

Children could also create lots of their own work to display from the shade sail.

Twinkle Tots of Endon

We are a small day nursery, caring for children aged 3months to 5 years, we have a small outside area and we try to encourage the children and babies outside as much as possible throughout the day.

Having a sunsail, would allow use outside all day on a lovely sunny day without the worry of the blaring sun as the garden is in full sun for much of the day.

Little Explorers Day Nursery

We would love to win this shade, as a number of our families live in flats as their parents work at the local hospital.  Our nursery has worked all through the lockdown to support Key Workers.  The outside area is the only outside space some of our children can access.  As our outside area has no shade, it gets very hot out there for the children.  We would love to sit under the sail to share stories and support our children’s outside activities.  We would also encourage the wider school to use this outside space, as it was installed as part of a grant we won from Tescos bags of help.  This would just enhance what is already there.

St. Josephs Catholic Primary School Nursery

We would love to have outdoor play accessible all year round. We currently have no shade and have been trying to save up for a canopy and to have the playground resurfaced. If we win this then we will be able to extend our children’s learning all year round offering a wider range of activities as we will be able to complete the groundwork. We not only cater for children of pre-school age we also support parents with wrap around care. This will allow our older children to exercise in the wet months after sitting in a classroom all day.

Aqueduct Little Learners

As a one form entry school we are lucky for our reception class to have their own outside area to use throughout the day. However, due to lack of funding the area is currently little more than mud, a track and a small amount of run down equipment. We are trying to redevelop the area so that it better facilitates the children’s learning, and reflects the classroom environment. This shade sail would be a great start to set out a defined area of learning and reinvigorating the garden.

Shoreham Beach Primary School

We are a small registered charity pre-school and we rely heavily on fundraising and donations for resources.  We have an outdoor space for our children that we are currently making some changes to.

We have a wooden playhouse in our garden that is currently out of use because it has become rotten and is mouldy inside.  The cost to fix is too much. We decided that instead of replacing it with another playhouse, we would like to remove it completely to create an area that is open and accessible to the children, a place where they can build and create.

We have some lovely outdoor wooden bricks and building resources that need to be kept under cover to prevent them from ruining. At the moment they are placed where space to build is limited and it prevents the children from truly using their imaginations to create what they want.  Winning this canopy would mean we could move the building resources to the space where the house currently is, giving the children a larger area to build. The canopy would keep the resources under cover.

Another reason we would love to win this canopy is that once all the children are in, the door is opened and they have free flow access to the garden, they move inside and outside as they choose   In the summer on hot days, we have a limited amount of shade for them to play under to protect them from the sun.  This canopy would provide another shaded area for them to play.

If we won this canopy rather than having to fundraise for it, we would concentrate our next fundraising efforts on further outdoor resources for our garden.

South Hill Park Pre-school

This would be great for our KS1 children, providing shade to play under, have lessons under and could be used by the breakfast/after school club and any other clubs that require it e.g. scouts, etc.

After the year we’ve all had, let’s have a unique space for our children to thrive and learn!

Bleak Hill Primary School

So that our children can make full use of the garden area throughout all weather conditions, ensuring that there is no missed learning opportunities.

Paint Pots Nursery and Pre-school

At our nursery we have a strong commitment to outdoor learning. We think children grow and learn best outside and covered in mud, however, as the warmer weather approaches shade can be hard to find. We would love to have one of these sails to enable a lovely sheltered spot from the sun for more time outside exploring.

Whipper-snappers Daycare Nursery

We have a huge playground that is open to the elements, a shade would help us to provide the children opportunities to play outside in the hotter weather which they are unable to at the moment as it is just so hot in the summer. This would help us to provide activities for the children that love to be outside to play but have to come in as the sun is too hot for them to carry on and not having their play interrupted.

Paint Pots Nursery, West End

The current outdoor area for EYFS has no shade and enabling continuous provision is dependent on the weather. The canopy that is in place, leaks and does not provide any shelter. When it is very hot, the children can not go outside because they only have exposed tarmac to play on and are at risk of getting burnt. The school has tried to appeal to different charities and has applied for grants. Due to Covid the PTA closed last year and a new fundraising group has just started, but we have very little funds available to purchase anything for the school. Finally, the school is going through a redundancy process, to create financial savings across the school.

The shade sail will enable the children to play outdoors in all weathers and help to enhance the quality first teaching we try to provide across the school.

Westlea Primary School

We would love this shade sail as we have just created an outdoor area for our Reception children by reclaiming some old tyres partitioning off an area of the larger playground. We have begged and borrowed to create several areas including a water play area, sand area, channelling area, Dinoland and bike run. We would love, however, to create a quiet area for reading, drawing and investigating, and a shade sail would be perfect to designate this area. It would also mean that we can continue to use our outdoor space in the coming summer months when, hopefully, it will be sunny. We usually have to limit the time children can be outside as they burn with us having no shelter.

A shade sail would be a fantastic addition to our outdoor space and we really hope you consider us to win this amazing prize.

Vernon Park Primary School

We have limited shade in our garden, therefore we have to make shades when the sun is out. We have lots of children that live in high raised flats and property without gardens. These children really benefit from access to the garden. We support their culture capital.

A shade would make a great difference for the children to be able to access the garden all weathers and all times of the day.

Paint Pots Portswood

We are a large school with a 3 class intake. Our Foundation/Reception children are aged 4/5 and we have 3 classes. Our EYFS curriculum focuses around outdoor learning and we are currently in the process of trying to make improvement to our outdoor area on a very limited budget. Due to the location of our school, despite being a Blackpool, we do not get funded as much as other Blackpool schools via deprivation factor.  This has a huge impact on our working budget.

The issues we have with our Foundation/Reception playground is that a vast area is exposed to the sun (and rain). As we focus our EYFS learning around the outdoors our children and TAs are out 3 x 1 hour sessions a day as well as lunchtime play.  We have capacity for 90 children in Foundation alone.  We go out all weather (children love sun and rain). It is Anchorsholme’s policy that we CANNOT apply suncream to children and they must apply this themselves or by their parent before school.  This is all down to safeguarding and not being able to administer creams, lotions and medicine without a careplan. We would love to have the peace of mind that our children and be offered protection from the sun and rain by the shade sail.

Please would you seriously consider this application for the shade sail. I used to the TA in Foundation so it is a year group very close to my heart. I am now the Finance Officer so I now know how hard it is to secure funding for projects as I now deal with the school budget.

Anchorsholme Academy

Our school is the smallest in Plymouth with only 94 children on roll. We have high numbers of disadvantaged pupils and many have mental health and well-being needs following the Covid lockdown. We are promoting outdoor learning as the benefits are well researched and a shade would really help with this. Social learning outdoors under a shade. Perfect!

St George’s C of E Primary Academy

Scawby is just looking at how they can improve playtimes for the children and this would be fantastic for summer to provide a safe shaded area for them to be put enjoying the sun whilst being protected.

Scawby Academy

We’d love to win this for our incredible students who have a huge range of additional needs. Our students, who often have physical difficulties, can’t be in the sun for too long, and so this shade sail would be perfect for those students to be able to get out in the lovely weather but be shaded. We’d be able to engage our children in more outdoor learning which benefits their confidence, development and communication skills.

Stubbin Wood School

Our school requires significant investment in the outside area. The EYFS garden requires a lot of modernization and we do not have the funds for this. Moreover there is little to no shade in the summer for the EYFS. We want to develop more outside time throughout our curriculum and develop more outside activities. This sage would be used to ensure the children are safely shaded in the summer.

Kent’s Hill Infant Academy

During lock down last year, we created a Rainbow Garden at school. It provided us all with a focus for the uncertain time we were in and it gave us a sense of purpose and togetherness when we had to be physically apart. It was all done through recycling and re-purposing too!

We worked hard together creating raised beds for growing fruits, vegetables and flowers. We also have a social area where we share stories, perform dances and shows on the rainbow stage.

One thing our Rainbow Garden is missing is a shelter! We had used a tarpaulin to act as a cover but unfortunately disaster struck when we had severe winds and were left with a tattered mess. The children were devastated as it is a much loved space. We really hope we can find a way to make the space workable all year round, in rain or shine!

Donnington Wood Infant School

This is so important to our school we are north facing and get the sun all day and we have no cover on our outdoor reception area. We need to make our outside area, not just year round but weather proof. Just one canopy would help our reception class so much.

Weaverham Primary Academy

We have a huge field with no shade at all. We looked into buying one of these but the current budget could not afford it. It would be such a welcome addition to our field and allow all children to utilise it for learning and play purposes.

Southfield Primary School

The school is embarking on a project to enthuse children in the advantages of outdoor learning. We have in the past carried out a number of outdoor learning days and wish to make more use of our extensive grounds. We need to be able to provide the children with shelter from the ravishes of the British weather! Either too wet, too cold or too hot for some. A canopy would help us on our mission to provide an outdoor learning space that all children and staff could utilize. With mental health and wellbeing at the centre of what we are trying to achieve for our children a shade sail would be a huge advantage.

St. Helen’s Church of England Primary School

We are a school for children with SEN. Our class for children with complex needs is in desperate need for shade in their outside area. Without shade they are unable to access the out doors and are deprived of the sensory experiences the outside brings.

The children love the outside but need to be protected from the sunlight. Some of the children have very complex medical needs such as epilepsy, vision and hearing impairments, which sunlight and heat has an impact and reduces the children’s access to the outside.

We would love for them to be able to access the outside area and enrich their experiences at school.

Portesbery School

Scallywags Pre-school is a registered Charity, we are a very small nursery with children aged 2-4yrs and only 24 children per day.  The children play outside every morning and afternoon and spend the majority of the time outside in all weathers and we don`t have any covered spaces for the children to keep dry. The shade sail would be perfect to place over some of the equipment (we did try some tarpaulin sheets which tore and didn’t work). We are hoping from September we can start to do some fundraising to buy some canopies, but this is dependent on the pandemic situation and parents being back to work as times are hard for lots of families.

This would make a massive difference to the Staff and children to stay dry. Fingers Crossed.

Scallywags Pre-School

We are in desperate need for outdoor areas for our pupils to eat, particularly with summer on the horizon. This Shade sail will provide a part solution to solve this problem.

Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr

We currently have a large climbing frame at the end of our garden and is always in full sunshine. We find this difficult to use in the summer as can be very hot. The shade would help us make use of the climbing frame all the time. We can also use this as part of a role play along with the climbing frame, make this as a part of a boat! Shade is very important for children but most important children should be outdoors at all times to enjoy all weathers. This canopy will enable us to continue children’s play outside.

Fairways Preschool Playgroup

The shade would be of great benefit at lunchtimes to have shelter from the Irish weather for our students. Due to Covid-19 we are trying to encourage our students to go outside at lunchtime and the shade would help us to get more outside.

St Michael’s Secondary School

The shade sail is important to our school to protect our children from the sunshine whilst they eat their lunches in the summer & do their activities outside. Also our sail is in need of repair & a brighter colour would be lovely to brighten up the playground area.

Woodchurch C of E Primary School

Caring for children and protecting their delicate skin from the sun, stay Sun Safe whilst loving being out in the fresh air, evidence has proven that children thrive in the great outdoors. All kinds of adventures can take place under the safe shady sail, protecting us from light rail and not to forget the attractive look. Spreading out and setting up exciting activities for all age groups and coming together for an outdoor picnic or impromptu music session, let’s have a story circle or take a nap. Hanging out our mobiles to catch your eye and let your mind drift.

The imagination just goes on overdrive when you start to think of all the possibilities this shade sail would bring to our fun packed days.

Maybe the most difficult decision is choosing a colour, so after a vote from our children we would love and be thrilled to win a blue Shade Sail to enhance our outdoor area. Fingers crossed.

The Rocking Horse Nursery

We have very large grounds and when the sun shines we need to have shade for the children. We encourage the children to wear sun cream but this does not always happen. Shade cover like this would be very aesthetically pleasant for the school also. We are looking to put in one of your shelters also and I think this would accompany it very well. In this country we often have drizzle and weather that is grey. It would be nice to have a space to go out to where a certain amount of shelter would be available. On wet breaks and lunches the children could be allowed out to avail of some fresh air. Teachers could take a class out to exercise even when it is raining. No more indoor breaks. In the pandemic it is recommended that we use outside as much as possible. This would provide a solution to many of the problems which we are faced with. The children would be so excited to have something like this installed in our school. It has been a difficult time and this would surely lift our spirits. Please consider our school for this canopy.

Rathmichael N/S

Working through the Covid 19 pandemic we are trying to make the most of the outside environment and carry out as many lessons as possible, weather permitting, outside, on a rota basis. The sail would ensure we can make the most of our outside environment. The shade will provide a filter from the suns uv rays allowing teachers and pupils to remain outside without having to worry about applying sun screen. Sunlight can be very dazzling and people can find it difficult not to squint without wearing sun glasses. The shade will eliminate the requirement for pupils and staff to bring sun glasses to school. We are currently developing our school yard. We have great plans- thanks to a parent- but will be greatly limited to what we can do due to cost involved. This sail shade would allow us to develop an outdoor classroom on school grounds and provide shelter for pupils during break times.

St. Joseph’s N.S.

Over the last 5 years, the school have developed an exciting, horizon-widening and educational Forest school programme for our primary school children to experience. A couple of staff members have under gone the training needed to develop a provision that is safe yet exciting and challenging initially to our vulnerable children as a way to boost confidence or a way to engage them in learning through experiences.

As a school community we have undertaken projects such as planting hundreds of trees to create our own Echelwood, supported the creation of willow structures and are in the middle of refreshing and relining our decked pond area, which when refreshed will be teeming with wild life.

We have already started to see the effects of this enhanced learning environment in many of our children, some of whom do not get to experience the natural outdoor world in their home lives.

Having a sail that would nestle amid our developed and developing wooded area, would allow for learning to be an enjoyable and comfortable experience for all our children shading them from the direct glare of the sun or the distracting drizzle of the rain. It would mean that the weather will be less of a distraction to the children and allow them to make the most of their time at Forest school. In a year where nothing has been stable for any children, having the sail will ensure that the Forest School lessons will be another thing that is consistent in their lives.

The Echelford Primary School

We currently have no outside covered area for our children to go under during sunny weather. The canopy would also provide shelter allowing us to enjoy outside activities throughout the school year. We are currently developing our outside space and this would make a great addition to the alterations being made.

Maulden Lower School

We have great outdoor spaces in the nursery area and have a free flow learning through play practice. We do find that in the sunnier/warmer parts of the year we can’t use the space as much as we would like to because there are no shady spaces for the children. A sun shade would allow us to safely keep the children out, doing the hands on learning that they need and love

Warden Park Nursery

We are in an area of deprivation, many of the children at THNS live in temporary housing/ high rise flats with no outdoor space. They are starved from the opportunity to develop physically and lack knowledge of the natural world around them. To compensate for this and to promote physical development, language and social skills we strive to provide an exciting, stimulating, challenging outdoor education. One of the greatest barriers to this is the weather. Our families aren’t able to provide their children with appropriate clothing for all weather conditions, a sail would provide us with much needed shade and protection from light rainfall. The sail would allow us to create a more permanent, protected outdoor learning space creating spaces for role play such as a builder’s construction yard, a garden centre or space to hold a teddy bear’s picnic which will all help develop children’s confidence, imagination and speech.

Thornton Heath Nursery School

I am developing an exercise trim trail and the shade sail would complement the other equipment.

Cherry Orchard Primary Academy

We are only a small special school of 70 SEN pupils with a variety of special needs (ADHD, Autism, Social & Communication difficulties).  It is important that we are entered into the competition to win the shade sail so that we can promote outdoor active learning for our Y1 & Y2 class pupils.

Orrets Meadow School

We have a large field and a passion for sport, but desperately need some shade. This will allow us to offer children a dry place to change their footwear for sport and Forest School and also offer children a much needed calm spot during breaktimes. It would be a well-being win all round. As a small school, budgets are very tight, so winning this shade sale would meet a need we are otherwise unable to. It would also help the appearance of an otherwise drab corner of the school helping us all to take more pride in our surroundings.

Sidlesham Primary School

Our playground is a curved south facing shape with several trees offering some limited cover during summer months when there are leaves on them during warm/bright spring months children are not able to take shade.  We would use a shade sail for providing an area of shade and calm during lunchtimes and play times for children who wish to play games, chat or read. Many of our children lack a safe, calm outdoor space outside so to be able to offer this at school would be great. We would also use this as a zone for telling stories as reading and mindfulness are something our school deems important. Thank you.

Reevy Hill Primary School

Outdoor learning is vitally important for all children – and here at St Mary’s, we are working hard to improve our outdoor learning provision. Since joining the school as the Head teacher, we have begun a process of improving our outdoor learning, not just through the more usual avenues of science and sport, but also enabling more academic learning to take place while outdoors.   Alongside this, we are wanting to develop our Early Years outdoor space which has a small covered area (with clear plastic roof) that is in desperate need of replacing as it is nearing end of life. However, we encounter difficulties in the hot summer months finding enough shade for any outdoor learning to take place.  A Shade sail would be ideal in several locations around the school site, but most significantly for our younger years in particular, to enable them to use their outdoor space safely all year round.

St Mary’s C of E Primary School

A shade sail would provide a great source of sun shade, UV protection and shade when it rains so our nursery children can benefit from their outdoor area in all weathers which will improve their mental wellbeing.

It would be a useful extension to our nursery not only providing shade but allowing airflow through the fabric making it a comfortable area for our pupils aged from 2 years to 4 year old to play or have snacks under.

A vibrant sail would brighten up the outside area creating an attractive shelter area in which to learn in. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to enter your competition.

St Mary’s Primary School

We are currently beginning a fundraising campaign to fund shade/outdoor learning. This includes a 100mile walk by our admin colleague. Shade will allow opportunities to work outside all year round and having a seating area would lend itself to outdoor teaching and story telling etc. Winning this prize would allow us to use funding elsewhere to create a forest school for example.

Cottingham C of E Primary School

We are looking to expand our EYFS area and have extremely limited funds. The school is in an area of deprivation and it would be an amazing addition to our academy.

Allhallows Primary Academy

We are a large school with 450 pupils playing and working across a fairly small space. We would LOVE to provide our KS1 pupils with a sheltered spot for the summer months, and to help us deliver more outdoor learning. Pupils would benefit across the school day, from breakfast club, to lesson and break times and on into after school care. We could also use the sail to support fundraising events for the school. It would be fantastic!

Abbeymead Primary School

Our children have had a tough couple of years and had to forfeit so much outdoor space during building works at the school. Now that we have a new building, we want to provide our children with an amazing outdoor learning space. A shelter would help ensure this makes those spaces available to use all year round.

Yew Tree Primary School

We are a large primary school with a large playground and playing field. Our site is beautiful but it is also open to the elements. There is no natural shade for children to play safely in the heat of the sun or a weather proof canopy to keep them dry when they are learning outdoors. We are developing our play times and lunch times to make them more fun and interactive for children, fostering team building and working together and to have a sail shade in place would really help our Fourfields Family come together to share fun, food and frolics!

Fourfields Community Primary School

Tiptree Heath Primary school is quite small in size. Its play area for the children consists of a football pitch and a concrete playing area. Unfortunately there are no natural areas of shade as there are no mature trees in the area. During the summer months the kids have nowhere to get out of the sun. I am chair of the PTFA and we have been trying to raise enough funds to purchase a sail but Covid has made this very difficult. A sail would also allow outdoor teaching to take place throughout the year which is really important as it gives the cover for the children to get fresh air.

Tiptree Heath Primary School

Having a sail that would nestle amid our developed and developing wildlife garden, would allow for learning to be an enjoyable and comfortable experience for all our children shading them from the direct glare of the sun or the distracting drizzle of the rain.

Laleham C of E Primary School

We currently have very limited shade in our playground. With Covid restrictions requiring the children to remain in bubbles we do not have enough shaded areas to accommodate the number of children looking to use the playground at the same time. We do not currently have a solution to this problem and if temperatures reach the levels of last summer some children could be forced to spend their play time indoors to avoid the sun.

Darrick Wood Junior School

Thurlby C.P. Academy would be delighted to win this canopy in order to enhance our Key Stage 1 outdoor area. We are a small school with big dreams but a limited budget and would be over the moon to be able to utilise our outdoor area in rain or shine, which we currently are unable to do. We have been working hard to make a fun, educational and interactive space for our children and this canopy would add another dimension to the area.

We have been joined this year by Mrs Phillips, an enthusiastic reception teacher who is full of ideas and cost-saving measures which can still provide the children with a brilliant and multi-functional zone in which to experiment, learn and play. Mrs Phillips has created a wish list and a canopy is at the top of her list, yet unfortunately is something that we as a school are unable to deliver at this time. Therefore, to win this canopy would be absolutely brilliant!

Thurlby C.P. Academy

Langtoft Primary School is a small village school nestled within the borders of Lincolnshire, it is often overlooked when it comes to prizes and donations in favour of larger local schools in the area. Its size does not compromise the dedication to providing every child with equal opportunity to enhance their educational learning whichever way a child learns. The school offer a variety of ways to be educated and enhance learning be it through play, interactive fun, exploration, self awareness and outdoor experiences. The school’s ethos is that every child matters and their aim is to educate all children to the best of their ability and to equip them with the learning skills needed to meet the challenges of life. The shade would enhance the outdoor area of the school providing cover from the heat and also shelter from inclement weather meaning the outdoor area can be utilised throughout seasons allowing continuing interactive learning and enhancing the children’s education.

Langtoft Primary School

Shade is important to protect the children from all weathers, colourful and different the children will love it.

Merrow CE Infant School

The canopy would be amazing at Middle Rasen school as I know that personally my son loves being outside and learning and know that if they were lucky enough to win then I’d know that he’d be protected from the sun alongside having lots of fun learning.

Middle Rasen Primary School

My nephew and daughter love playing outside in all weather so know that this would be a massive bonus to the children at middle rasen primary school.

Middle Rasen Primary School

This would be amazing for the kids to have more time outside but away from the sun rays, it’s important with Covid to be in the fresh air more and a beautiful sail will add to the safety.

Middle Rasen Primary School

I went to this primary school, with my brothers and sister, and now my niece goes there too! I would like this shade sail to go in the playground so that they can enjoy their breaks without the risk of getting burnt, or in the field where we used to listen to stories with the teacher.

Middle Rasen Primary School

Oakfield Primary School would absolutely be over the moon to win a shade sail at Oakfield they have a large outdoor play area that has no shade. The teachers and pupils have been working hard to achieve there play surroundings and outdoor activities and nature area we are all so proud of all their hard work and the shade sail would just be perfect, giving an area of shade for whoever needs to shade. Although Oakfield staff & children together will come up with lots of different ways to introduce it to outdoor learning and playing.

Oakfield Primary School have worked hard landscaping and renovating play areas and grounds they have done amazing for the children and deserve to win this it would be perfect for protecting children and staff. Oakfield Primary School have gone above and beyond to make the school the place to be.

Oak Field Primary School

Oakfield is a school that is in a deprived area of our town. It has had some issues but its now on its way to being one of the best schools in our area. The shade would be a great asset to the school.

Oak Field Primary School

They deserve to win, a fabulous school in a deprived area.

Oak Field Primary School

I am a parent of three children in Oakmere School, the shade is important for the school because both students and I think parents will benefit from its use. I don’t drive so during the rainy season it’s very difficult and frustrating when I have to stand in the rain and wait at the school gate for it to be opened to pick up my children.

Oakmere Primary School

We are a dual entry school with many children that would benefit from playing and reading under the shade as the summer weather fast approaches. We are a school that would treasure and look after the equipment and would use the area for all ages groups from nursery to year 6.

Oakmere Primary School

It is important for the children to be able to sit under a nice shade sail during story time in those spring or summer months.

Oakmere Primary School

The children love to have access to the outdoor space and we find the glare on their work from the sun very difficult to teach around. The children have all voiced they would love an outdoor classroom.

Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary School

The reception children are encouraged to use their outdoor area as an extended part of the classroom.  Shade is very important for both children and practitioners as the school day falls during the most dangerous time of the day (11am- 3pm) when the sun is at its hottest. Skin Cancer rates in the UK are growing. So we should make sure that we protect our children’s skin and educate them about being safe in the sun. The children love to play in the sand pit but unfortunately it is positioned where there no shade so I feel the shade sail would allow the children to play safely in the sand pit without getting sunburn.

Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary School

This would be lovely for our younger children could go out and enjoy outside when they aren’t coping very well in class as a little sensory time in all types of weather and it would also be nice for the other children to see something nice for them to go out in work in as happy children is what we like to see.

Parklands Community Primary School

I think all the children in this school will benefit from this shade, all the children in this school all have special needs.

Portesbery School

This school provides excellent care for the most amazing children. It would provide shelter on those hot sunny days and the cold ones too!

Portesbery School

Portesbery is a special needs school and we have several students with complex needs. In the summer the outside areas of their classrooms are in full sunshine, so for them to be able to access the outside areas and benefit from the fresh air and all the sensory benefits of being outdoors they need a good shaded area. A shade sail would be ideal.

Portesbery School

Shoreham Beach Primary School is developing their outside area for the Early Years. We have amazing parents who are always willing to help improve our school. Due to budget constraints they have already painted our fence during the holidays and now they and members of the staff team will be coming into school to work to improve the outside area for the Early Years. The canopy will help protect the children from the sun rays and complete this amazing project.

Shoreham Beach Primary School

We are a school that sits 100 yards from the sea. Shade is limited where we are as there are no trees to protect our children. We need something to offer a safe place for our children to be. This shade sail would be an ideal solution in our beach garden. Thank you.

Shoreham Beach Primary School

Please vote for Shoreham Beach Primary School to win one of these amazing shade sails! We have a smaller than average outdoor area and very little natural shade. We desperately want to get the children outside more for lessons but need to make sure that they are protected, sun hats can only do so much! We are right on the coast and the sea breezes wreak havoc, we need to be sure that anything we go to the trouble and expense of installing will be safe, and strong enough to give years of use. A&S shade sails have excellent safety credentials, all the components are weather treated and they have the longest guarantees on the market. Not only will a shade sail give us more usable space but it fits in perfectly with our coastal location and would bring a sense of dynamic fun to our little playground. If we are fortunate enough to win one, we will install it very swiftly so that the children can begin to benefit as soon as possible. Thank you! Every vote counts, please spread the word.

Shoreham Beach Primary School

Our reception area is quite large and holds the sun all day long no shade at all so we would really appreciate some covering by the sale to protect our young ones thank you very much.

Shoreham Beach Primary School

My children’s school is currently redesigning their garden. This shade sail would be a great start to set out a defined area of learning and reinvigorating the garden.

Shoreham Beach Primary School

We have lots of field area but no shade on it. It would be nice if we had a sun shade so pupils could use the field more often in summer.

St Andrews C of E Primary School

It’s a lovely little school with a small hall for eating lunches. The extra canopy would come in useful with extra shade for the children

St John the Baptist Primary Church of England School

I believe some of the schools gazebos broke last year and our school could really do with this new shade

St John the Baptist Primary Church of England School

The shade would be very beneficial to the children during the spring and summer days when they enjoy working outside.

St John the Baptist Primary Church of England School

The shade sail would probably do exactly “what it says on the box” shade the kids from the ever increasing hot sun and a nice area to relax and cool under. Especially as I have noticed lots of children with flare ups with eczema due to the heat, my daughter included. It would give more kids the benefit of just cooling and calming down.

St John the Baptist Primary Church of England School

The sail would be a great help to shade the children in the summer, the sail could be used as a place to shelter when they are outside.

St Mary’s Primary School (NE32 4AW)

So our young children can have shelter when have their snacks outside in the fresh air whilst protecting them from the sunshine!

St Mary’s Primary School (NE32 4AW)

We would use this shade for all our pupils and our nursery children, this would be a fantastic prize to win.

St Mary’s Primary School (NE32 4AW)

This would be great for our School to win. It would be ideal for our children who do need a lot of protection from the sun. Hopefully we are in with the chance of winning.

St Mary’s Primary School (NE32 4AW)

We have a garden that was designed in memory of a teacher, the shade would be a perfect finishing touch to a very special place for the children to use and staff to remember a colleague.

Mickle Trafford Village School

It would be amazing to have this shade, as so many children would benefit from learning in a nature set learning environment. Rather than in the classroom all of the time.

Sherdley Primary School

It’s important that the children have a safe shaded area for outdoor learning so they can benefit from fresh air and a natural environment instead of being in the classroom all the time. Other features of the outdoor area such as plants and insects can be observed as an integral part of some of the children’s learning such as science or to inspire arts and crafts.

Heathcote School

The shade would be good for kids that want to sit and chat or read. It would help people who need the shade that burn easy, people who won’t just sit and play games. If they had this it would help to let kids choose if they want to run around or chill, it would be in an area where people that want to sit and not run around, a quiet area where kids can chat and read. It could go on a field or playground, it could be used for outside eating and picnics with families from the nursery. If it was big enough they could use it for sports day so the kids can sit under it and not get too hot or burnt while they are waiting for their event or it could be used for outside assembly so parents can have a shady bit to sit under or the kids if it was big enough.

Highfield Primary School

My vote is for Elis special needs school to win a shade sail for the children at Portesbery. It will benefit a number of children with physical and learning needs, this would be amazing for them, and benefit all of the children.

Portesbery School

This is important to Reevy Hill as it enables the children to play happily outside in all weather and get the fresh air they need as part of their daily lifestyle. It helps children to sit together and make new friends as they will find the shade sail a novelty and will all want to play under it therefore forming more friendships.

Reevy Hill Primary School

The sail would be a great piece of equipment for all of the young people to access. Not only would it look great it would serve the purpose of keeping the kids cool from the sun in the summer and dry in the colder wetter months. Dovedale staff pride themselves on making the environment for the kids the best they can and I’m sure that the new sail would be greatly appreciated and admired. Staff are always looking at productive and positive ways to use and utilise what they have available to give the young people more experiences to learn and achieve learning outcomes which with enrich their time in school.

Obviously budgets are tight and it would be a massive plus to win as school funds could be used elsewhere. The kids at the school love to spend their time out in the fresh air both during school planned activities and in their break time. It would allow another area for the kids to access during these times. Thank you for taking the time to consider our school to be a part of this fab competition.

Dovedale Primary School

My son’s school would love this to give the children shade and shelter on the main grassed area to enable them to be out in nature no matter the weather.

William Hildyard Church of England School

Our children have few opportunities for outside safe play. As a school we try to promote the benefits of nature with regards to wellbeing, education and fun.

The sail would give us extra shelter to maximise their experiences and just to make outside play fun on many more days that our English weather allows.

Reevy Hill Primary School

They suffered a horrific act of vandalism which destroyed their garden which the children loved so much. Hopefully it will bring some joy to them.

Banks Lane Infant & Nursery School

Shade is important to protect the children from the strong sun rays, we could use this in many ways, playtime shade, outdoor learning, outdoor reading. Also our school was badly damaged 4 weeks ago and our mindful calm garden was vandalised, this would be amazing for the children.

Banks Lane Infant & Nursery School

Recently my son’s school got broken into and completely vandalised. This would help the children feel like they have an outside to go to again and be able to sit and have fun.

Banks Lane Infant & Nursery School

The shade would provide us with an area the children could use freely in all weathers. Especially after the vandalism we have experienced in our newly formed quiet area. Our children so deserve something nice to show them that there is good in this world.

Banks Lane Infant & Nursery School

Shade is important at Banks Lane so that the children can still play out, but have somewhere out of the sun. Also children with disabilities would benefit from playing in a cooler place, especially if they can’t move around the same as other children. Also, outdoor learning would be advantageous, in a safe and cool environment.

Children can be educated about the environment. How being outside can be more healthy. The importance of keeping out of the sun and in the shade. The effects that too much sun can have on their health and how to look after their health.

Banks Lane Infant & Nursery School

The school has just suffered terribly at the hands of vandals, the poor children had their peace garden destroyed. This would help to put a smile on the children’s faces again.

Banks Lane Infant & Nursery School