White Paper
More Play and No Conflicts
How to encourage positive play and reduce conflict in out-of-school schemes
Outside of school hours, millions of children enjoy local schemes, clubs, and facilities as a way to spend their leisure time. A well-designed outdoor playground is a major component of high-quality play. But what exactly makes an outdoor play environment well-designed for out-of-school activities?
Our current study takes a look at popular play spaces, active dwell time, and positive social play in outdoor playgrounds for out-of-school care.
6 tips for designing playgrounds for out-of-school activities
Design for active social play: choose high-capacity responsive equipment.
Design to enhance chase games: chose a high-capacity climbing and perching piece.
Incorporate paired spinning structures.
Include "cool"-looking yet challenging structures for older children.
Create special hang-out spaces so children can retreat but still see the playground.
Where children of different age groups will use the same space, include graduated and progressive challenges.