Playground canopies for schools, nurseries and councils
All-weather covered play and outdoor-learning space, designed, manufactured and installed for schools, nurseries and councils, engineered to each site and finished in your colours. Choose a canopy by its construction and roof, or by how the space will be used.
By construction & roof
The frame and roof that carry the canopy. Most school and nursery canopies are steel with a polycarbonate roof; timber and tensile options suit particular settings and spans.
Steel playground canopies
The workhorse: a powder-coated steel frame with a mono-pitch polycarbonate roof, free-standing or wall-mounted.
Explore steelCurved-roof canopies
An arched, self-draining roofline that lifts a frontage and spans wider, open play areas.
Explore curved-roofTimber playground canopies
A natural glulam-timber frame favoured for early-years, forest-school and park settings.
Explore timberTensile fabric canopies
Engineered PVC or PTFE membranes for large, sculptural clear spans over big play areas.
Explore tensile fabricPolycarbonate canopies
The roof-glazing spec: impact-resistant polycarbonate that filters roughly 99% of UV, clear or opal.
Explore polycarbonatePlayground shade sails
Tensioned fabric sails for sun and UV protection over play, seating and early-years areas.
Explore shade sailsBy use
The same structures configured for a job, from early-years free-flow to covered dining, outdoor teaching and sport.
Early-years & EYFS canopies
Low-eaves, free-flow cover linking the classroom to the garden for nursery and reception.
Explore early-yearsOutdoor classrooms
A canopy set up as a covered, all-weather teaching space for outdoor learning.
Explore outdoor classroomsDining canopies
Covered outdoor dining that eases pressure on the hall and adds fresh-air seating.
Explore diningCovered MUGA & sports canopies
A roof over a multi-use games area so PE, clubs and play carry on whatever the weather.
Explore covered mugaReading-corner shelters
Small covered quiet, reading and story nooks, calm and SEND-friendly, for early-years and primary.
Explore reading cornersEntrance canopies
Covered arrival, drop-off and waiting cover at school and nursery entrances.
Explore entrancePlayground canopy questions
What is a playground canopy?
A playground canopy is a permanent, engineered structure, usually a powder-coated steel or glulam timber frame with an impact-resistant polycarbonate roof, installed over a school, nursery or public play area to give year-round shade and rain shelter. Unlike a shade sail, it keeps rain off as well as sun, so the space stays usable all year.
What are the types of playground canopy?
By construction there are steel, curved-roof, timber, tensile fabric and polycarbonate-roof canopies, plus fabric shade sails for sun-only cover. By use they are configured as early-years, outdoor-classroom, dining, covered-MUGA, reading-corner and entrance canopies. Each has its own page in the range above.
How much does a playground canopy cost?
A playground canopy is quoted to your project rather than sold at a list price, because the cost is driven by the covered area and span, the frame material (steel, timber or tensile), the roof specification, the groundworks and access. We survey the site, then return a design, a specification and a firm price with no obligation.
What is the difference between a canopy and a shade sail?
A canopy has a solid polycarbonate or membrane roof and gives all-weather cover, rain and sun, all year. A shade sail is tensioned fabric that provides sun and UV protection only and is usually seasonal. If the space needs to be usable in the rain, choose a canopy; for summer sun cover, a shade sail can suit.
Do you need planning permission for a school playground canopy?
It depends on the size, the site and the setting. Many school and commercial canopies need planning permission and building-regulations approval, and listed or conservation sites add constraints. We provide the drawings, structural calculations and specification your planning or building-control officer needs.
What safety standards apply to playground canopies?
The canopy structure is engineered to the structural Eurocodes, BS EN 1991 for wind and snow loads, BS EN 1993 for steel and BS EN 1995 for timber, with load calculations, and installed under CDM 2015. BS EN 1176 governs the play equipment a canopy shelters, not the shelter structure, so we do not claim the canopy complies with it. Our installers are DBS-checked for work on a live school site.
Do you install across the whole UK?
Yes. We design, manufacture and install playground canopies for schools, nurseries and councils across England, Scotland and Wales, planning the work around the school calendar.
Send us your playground and we’ll design the canopy
Tell us the setting, roughly how big the area is and what you want it to do. Our design team comes back with a drawing, a specification and a price, with no obligation.