Inclusion Bases – Specialist SEND Inclusion Environments for Mainstream Schools

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Bespoke outdoor room for a special needs school

Designing Outdoor Spaces That Make Inclusion Work

Hideout House creates specialist SEND outdoor classrooms, sensory gardens and nurture environments that help mainstream schools deliver effective inclusion, early intervention and emotional regulation support.

With the national shift and recent Government policy and funding toward inclusive mainstream provision, schools are being asked to support more children with SEND needs on site. Physical environments now matter more than ever. If there is insufficient room or space within the main school buildings, we can design and build specialist outdoor spaces that enable calm learning, nurture support, sensory regulation and small-group intervention — all within the school grounds.

Within this context, our extensive range of outdoor buildings can and have been used as the following:

  • Autism-friendly teaching

  • SEMH intervention

  • Small-group support

  • Calm learning environments which support

    • Early intervention programmes

    • Reintegration support

    • Small-group nurture teaching

    • Behaviour de-escalation

Designed specifically for education settings, our structures offer a secure, contained space that can function as an inclusion base, nurture room, SEMH support hub or autism-friendly learning environment. The physical separation from the main building often provides the reduced stimulus and clear boundaries that many pupils require, while still keeping them fully integrated within the school community.

Flexible and Modular by Design

Every school’s inclusion needs are different. That’s why our enclosed outdoor classrooms are modular and adaptable. They can be configured to include:

  • Zoned learning areas

  • Quiet withdrawal spaces

  • Sensory-friendly features

  • Accessible layouts

  • Adjacent sensory or regulation gardens

Whether a school requires a small nurture space for 6–8 pupils or a larger inclusion hub to support a resourced provision, the structure can be designed around the specific cohort and support model.

Internal partition wall

Faster and Less Disruptive Than Traditional Building

In many cases, our enclosed outdoor classrooms fall within permitted development guidelines, meaning planning permission is often not required (subject to site-specific confirmation). This significantly reduces delay and uncertainty.

Structures are typically constructed on site within approximately 10 working days, minimising disruption to school life. Because installation is efficient and self-contained, schools can create new SEND infrastructure within a single term rather than over an extended building programme.

Purpose-Built for Education Environments

Our buildings are:

  • Durable and low maintenance

  • Designed for year-round use

  • Robust enough for daily school activity

  • Scalable for phased development

Importantly, they provide a defined, calm environment that supports:

  • Emotional regulation

  • Small-group intervention

  • Reintegration support

  • Early intervention strategies

  • Reduced classroom overload

For schools strengthening their SEND provision, Hideout House enclosed outdoor classrooms offer a practical way to expand inclusion capacity quickly, safely and cost-effectively — while creating an environment in which pupils can thrive.

For more information, please contact the Hideout House Company on 01832 275902 or email: info@hideouthouse.com

with side access ramp

The Benefits of Creating a Sensory Garden in Your School

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The Benefits of Creating a Sensory Garden in Your School

In today’s busy and often overstimulating world, schools are increasingly recognising the importance of providing calm, inclusive and therapeutic spaces for pupils. A well-designed sensory garden offers far more than just an attractive outdoor area — it becomes a powerful learning, wellbeing and inclusion tool that benefits the entire school community.

Whether you are looking to support children with additional needs, enhance outdoor learning, or simply create a peaceful space for reflection, a sensory garden can make a lasting difference.

What is a Sensory Garden?

A sensory garden is a specially designed outdoor space that stimulates the five senses — sight, sound, touch, smell and sometimes taste — through carefully chosen planting, textures, colours, features and equipment.

More importantly, a sensory garden provides a safe and engaging environment where children of all abilities can explore, regulate emotions, learn and connect with nature in a meaningful way.

The Key Benefits of a Sensory Garden in Schools

1. Supporting Children with Additional Needs

Sensory gardens are particularly valuable for pupils with:

  • Autism spectrum conditions (ASC)

  • ADHD

  • Sensory processing difficulties

  • Physical disabilities

  • Social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH)

  • Anxiety or behavioural challenges

These environments can help children regulate their sensory input, reduce anxiety and improve focus. For some pupils, time spent in a calm sensory space can significantly improve their readiness to learn and ability to engage in the classroom.

2. Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing

Children today face increasing pressures, and schools are seeing a growing need to support emotional wellbeing. Sensory gardens provide:

  • Quiet spaces for reflection and calming down

  • Opportunities for mindfulness and relaxation

  • Reduced stress and anxiety

  • A natural setting that promotes positive mood and emotional balance

Access to nature has been proven to support mental health, improve behaviour and increase overall happiness.

3. Encouraging Inclusive Play and Learning

A sensory garden ensures that outdoor spaces are inclusive for all pupils, regardless of ability. Carefully designed features can allow children with mobility challenges or sensory needs to engage equally with their peers.

Inclusive elements might include:

  • Raised planters and accessible pathways

  • Textured surfaces and tactile panels

  • Interactive sound and movement features

  • Wheelchair-friendly layouts

  • Quiet retreat areas

This helps foster empathy, understanding and social interaction between pupils.

4. Enhancing Outdoor Learning Opportunities

Sensory gardens are not just for relaxation — they are powerful educational spaces that support:

  • Science and nature studies

  • Creative writing and art

  • Mindfulness and PSHE

  • Environmental awareness

  • STEM learning through interaction with natural elements

Teachers can use the space as an outdoor classroom, enriching the curriculum while encouraging hands-on learning.

5. Improving Behaviour and Focus

Time spent in sensory environments can help children:

  • Self-regulate emotions

  • Reduce overstimulation

  • Improve concentration

  • Return to lessons calmer and more focused

Many schools report noticeable improvements in behaviour and classroom engagement once a sensory garden is introduced.

6. Creating a Space for the Whole School Community

A sensory garden benefits not only pupils but also staff and parents. It can be used for:

  • Small group work

  • Intervention sessions

  • Pastoral support

  • Quiet staff reflection space

  • Community engagement

It quickly becomes one of the most valued areas within a school.

If you are considering developing a sensory garden and would like to explore ideas, we would be delighted to hear from you.

The Hideout House Company: info@hideouthouse.com or call 01832 275902

Sensory garden design

Our New Eco Station

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Following on from the successful introduction of our educational renewable energy mix system, we have now moved the concept on to develop an independent eco station for school playgrounds. This is particularly beneficial and useful for those schools who either do not want to buy a new outdoor classroom or have an existing one which this feature can be accommodated into.

The Energy Mixer system provides a live, visual representation of renewable energy generation and usage by combining three power sources, human (green) via the Eco Bicycle, wind (blue) via the turbine, and solar (red) via the panel, each feeding into the system through a matching colour coded LED path that shows how energy flows toward the centre. At the heart of the panel, the RGB LED matrix cycles through five screens displaying key data such as live wattage, stored battery level, accumulated energy, and system status, while the Touch Button beneath it activates the system and allows users to navigate between screens. On the right hand side, the yellow output represented by a twin AC socket demonstrates how stored energy can be used to power external devices directly from the system’s battery. Together, the interactive LEDs, real time data, and physical effort required to generate power make the Energy Mixer a powerful teaching tool, helping children understand where energy comes from, how different renewable sources work, why storage matters, and how their own actions can directly influence energy production. Even when the display is not active, the system continuously monitors, calculates, and logs all incoming power, ensuring every interaction contributes to the total recorded energy and reinforces these STEM learning principles.

And in addition to above, we have also now developed a music mixer system.

The Sound Mixer is an interactive audio panel that allows users to explore how renewable energy can power sound. It features a bright 64 by 32 LED display that shows the current song, track progress, and a moving graphic equaliser so users can see the music in real time. It can also play music, speech (poetry, spoken word, story telling etc), environmental ambient sounds, sound waves, amplitude, frequency and wider STEM concepts

Two built in speakers provide clear audio output, while three stainless steel touch buttons, labelled Previous, Play or Pause, and Next, give simple and intuitive control over the music. When connected to the Energy Mixer system, the Sound Mixer demonstrates how the energy generated from human power, wind, and solar can be used to run real world devices such as audio equipment. By seeing and hearing the immediate effect of the energy they create, children learn that electricity is not abstract but something they can produce, store, and use. The Sound Mixer helps them understand energy consumption, device power requirements, and how renewable energy can support everyday technology in a fun and engaging way.

The eco station comes complete with the energy mixer and sound mixer, 2 x planters, solar panel or panels (dependent upon power requirement), wind turbine, decking floor and timber pod shelter

If you would like to know how your school can benefit from this unique product, then please contact us on 01832 275902 or email: info@hideouthouse.com and we can send you a video of the product in action at a school.

Play Equipment for Parish Councils and Holiday Parks

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Moveable trim trial items

We have noticed recently that our enquiries from local parish councils and holiday parks have increased significantly and the reason for this is that they are all searching for the same term or phrase on Google – that term is “play equipment made out of recycled plastic”.

As a company, we have long pioneered the concept of making products using this material as opposed to the more traditionally supplied timber or in some instances, metal. We started off selling tables and planters using recycled plastic but have since massively increased our range out to include trim trail play equipment, play towers, sandboxes, ball and water chutes, mud kitchens and a free-standing range of adventure trails. The reason why people are searching for this term – especially parish councils where the play area is open to the public – is that they want something which is going to last a long time and which will stand up to the rigours of public use. And this is where recycled plastic comes into its own as it typically lasts five times longer than timber and what’s more, it doesn’t rot or decay over time. And parish councils should also take into consideration that this equipment is very eco friendly as it is manufactured out of plastic waste which no longer has to go to landfill and is therefore very good for the environment.

It also stands up to vandalism better than timber and you don’t get the shakes or cracks which you do with timber either.

We always get asked as to whether it is more expensive than the alternatives – a difficult question to answer as a lot of the cost for the play equipment especially is within the delivery and installation costs which would be the same for whatever material you use. But from our own research, it is slightly more expensive but you have to factor in all of the afore-mentioned advantages listed above which in our book therefore make it excellent value for money.

We are also able to offer eco-friendly safer surfacing options as well if so required.

If you are therefore thinking of updating your playground or having a new one installed, then please do contact us as we would love to hear from you – our phone number is 01832 275902 and email: info@hideouthouse.com

Recycled plastic play equipment

Reverse side

Libraries for Primary Schools

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Outdoor classroom as library and quiet room

Outdoor classroom pod used as a library

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has just announced at the Labour Party Conference that she wants to see all primary schools have a library by 2029. There are currently 1,700 schools in the UK without a library provision with an estimated 1 in 4 schools without one in economically deprived areas. £132m of funding from Govt dormant assets has been allocated to this initiative.

And this is where we can help. On two fronts. If your school does not currently have sufficient internal space or room to actually house a library, we offer a series of outdoor classroom style buildings which can very much do so and are sometimes classed as an outdoor reading retreat or story telling hub. These range from our little reading pods up right to our larger modular style buildings. Our range of buildings come in different shapes and sizes – namely rectangular, square or octagonal – and you can easily change round the window and door configurations to suit your school’s needs if you need more book shelf storage space. We offer a comprehensive range of different roof options, external and internal cladding and unique eco systems including renewable energy.

As these buildings  are used for libraries, we typically also insulate them as well as they will be heated.

There are many advantages for a school having an outdoor library –

  • Space-saving – the easiest way to relieve pressure on having to use indoor space which could be vital for the school teaching operation

  • Encourages an outdoor learning culture – integrates reading and literacy into the wider outdoor education system

  • Supports school values – demonstrates innovation, creativity and a commitment to pupil wellbeing.

  • Community asset – the building can be multi-functional in that it can easily be used for other functions such as after-school clubs, parent-child reading sessions or summer reading sessions

  • Encourages reading for pleasure – a relaxed, non-traditional space makes reading feel like an enjoyable activity rather than a standard classroom task or lesson.

  • Boosts literacy levels – children are more likely to pick up books voluntarily in an inviting, different environment.

  • Flexible learning space – doubles as a storytelling area, group reading nook, or a quiet space for focused study.

  • Cross-curricular use – teachers can use it for literacy lessons, phonics, and even creative writing inspired by nature.

We can also convert internal spaces into a library area and the photo below features one with a woodland theme.

Or if you are looking for something which is a bit quirky and different to inspire children to go to, you might want to consider our Hideout House Cabin which is very popular with schools.

We look forward to hearing from you

 

Sensory Garden Makeover at Knutsford Primary School

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Earlier this year we were approached by the head of this primary school in Watford. He was looking at developing an existing under-used playground space into an outdoor learning facility for children aged 3-7. Some of these children have ADHD and who are non-verbal and therefore require sensory feedback so this had to be very much taken into consideration with our overall design and proposals. Some of these children for example don’t wear shoes so textured flooring was on the wish list. The head was very adamant that they wanted to create a calm, relaxing and inspiring space which has a naturalised look and feel to it and definitely not a traditional play space with brightly coloured play equipment.

The area had to ensure that the children were to be on a journey which takes them through all of the senses and which provides a safe space for them to explore.

We therefore put together some designs within the budget allocated which included the following:

  1. Multi surfaces including all weather play grass, resin bound mulch and a barefoot sensory path
  2. Sensory timber tunnel pergola
  3. Growing planter beds
  4. Mirror reflection posts
  5. Mixed sensory planting including grasses
  6. Outdoor musical equipment
  7. Stainless solar sphere water feature including timber pedestal
  8. Colourful retreat arbour
  9. Buddy bench corner and sensory tree bench
  10. Sensory materials kitchen and storage unit
  11. Rustic timber shade canopy
  12. Textile weaving panel

This is how the playground looked before we started

The work began over the summer holidays and was completed by the time the children returned for the Autumn term in September.

And this is now how it looks

 

The head is delighted with the project as per comments below:

“We are really pleased with the install; it certainly has had a massive impact already on the environment and how my teachers are utilising the space for learning.

Thank you for your design and vision to be able to support us in creating it. You are more than welcome to visit whenever you are near!”

If you are thinking of having a sensory garden or sensory area at your school, please contact us on 01832 275902 or email info@hideouthouse.com

 

 

Free Standing Playground Products Made From Recycled Plastic

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We were one of the first companies to pioneer play equipment made out of recycled plastic as opposed to the more traditionally used timber or even steel. The reason being is that there are so many benefits of using this material – it doesn’t rot or decay, it lasts a lot longer, it requires minimal maintenance, it doesn’t splinter or have “shakes” and it is very eco friendly as it is made from recycled plastic materials (rather than having to go to landfill etc). A lot of schools are already buying products made out of this material – most notably picnic benches or tables – and it is certainly here to stay.

We have recently extended out our range to include some “shop” items which do not require installation but are simply sent out by courier. We will be extending this range over the coming months due to popular demand but the current products include the following product genres:

  1. Sand and water play units with a lid (ideal for using recycled plastic as it doesn’t rot or decay and can therefore easily stand up to being filled with water or sand every day)

    Sand and water play with cover

    Sand and water play unit

  2. Moveable trim trail items to include A Frame climbing wall; 2 x step-up boxes; set of stepping stones; ladder walk and balance beam

    Moveable trim trial items

    Free-standing trim trail

  3. Tipi den

    Tipi den

These products are ideal for both nursery and primary school age ranges.

For more information on these range of products, please do contact us on 01832 275902 or email: info@hideouthouse.com

Transformation of An Outdoor Classroom into an Eco Station

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We were approached at the beginning of this year by a school who had recently received a grant and who wanted to spend the money on a project which could be used to teach the children about the environment and sustainability and ideally some STEM based curriculum learning too. We love projects such as these because they allow us to be creative and adventurous in what we can propose. We like to “think outside of the box”

The school had an existing timber outdoor classroom (below) on the playground

and it was therefore our idea to turn this into a fully fledged Eco Station which would tick all of the boxes for the grant. We would achieve this by adding the following features:

  1. We fitted a special “bug hotel” panel to the side of the outdoor classroom to attract insect wildlife and to serve as an educational tool to teach school children about biodiversity and encourage students to care for their environment by creating habitats for insects
  2. 2 x large planters where the children can now start to grow their own food – again a principal part of the whole Eco Schools programme for healthy living initiatives
  3. We fitted roof guttering and a water butt to the building to promote rainwater harvesting – the water which has been collected in the water butt can now be used by the children to water the plants or food they will be growing in the planters
  4. 2 x sleeper cold boxes
  5. A Today’s Weather educational panel mounted onto some extra upper panels we installed which the children can use to monitor and study daily and seasonal weather patterns
  6. A bird box to attract bio-diversity and to allow the children to appreciate nature
  7. And perhaps the most important feature of all – the renewable energy Power Energy Mixer system which teaches children all about how renewable energy is created from three principle sources, namely human (Eco bike the children have to pedal to create kinetic energy), wind (wind turbine) and solar (roof mounted solar power). The energy created from all three sources all feeds into a central monitoring and controls feature board which has switches, a digital LED display board, LED “ant” indicators showing flow and speed of energy and two power sockets which is then “earthed” via an earth bar which goes into the ground. We also supplied a light mounted above the board so that the outdoor classroom can be used in the autumn and winter months when the days are shorter and it gets dark earlier on. All powered by pure renewable energy and not the grid.

 

When you first look at the panel, you have several key components:

  • On the left side, there are three icons representing each generation source:
    • Green for human power from the Eco Bicycle
    • Blue for wind power from the wind turbine
    • Red for solar power from the solar panel

      energy mixer system being used in a STEM class

The board also features a touch button to turn the system on and this also alternates between the five screens on the digital display board once pressed. The five digital screens give information on the battery level storage, watt and watt hours created by each energy input, trends, energy generated over time and consumption (usage). This information can then be used for key stage 1 and key stage 2 STEM based curriculum learning and we have put together some lesson plans which the school can use for this.

Renewable energy monitoring and power board with light addition

It has quite literally transformed the playground into somewhere where the children can now truly go to learn outdoors but more importantly to actively participate in the learning process about how we can all be more eco-friendly and lead the way in creating a sustainable future for the planet

The Benefits of Amphitheatres in UK Primary Schools

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Amphitheatre seating block with decking performance stage

We supply a lot of amphitheatres to schools and there are good reasons why as amphitheatres have numerous benefits for both the school and the children:

  1. It encourages outdoor learning and takes the classroom outside
  2. Fresh air and natural surroundings promote mental well-being and health thereby improving mood and reducing stress levels
  3. Promotes for a more dynamic and engaging lesson period in subjects like literacy, drama, and storytelling.
  4. Multi-faceted as can be used for performance areas, assemblies, class discussions, school celebrations, parents evenings and even for community events
  5. Often links into forest school activities
  6. Promotes environmental awareness too as can be made out of recycled materials
  7. Enhances the school’s grounds
  8. Encourages collaboration and school group team sessions such as performances, recitals, poetry reading and story telling
  9. Amphitheatres are essentially installed to provide a stage for creativity and to build confidence in children who might not normally excel in the classroom but who can flourish in these type of spaces

We therefore offer quite a few options and a lot of our work in this respect is bespoke as schools have different needs and wants and are trying to cater for a certain amount of children or class sizes. We can offer two or three tiered simple amphitheatre seating blocks in different sizes and configurations but in addition to this, we can also supply performance stages which can be covered by a timber or canvas roof to provide shelter from the elements. We are more than happy to visit your school to discuss your requirements and with a view to drawing up plans and quotes based on our discussions.

More information can be found on school amphitheatre seating

Please contact the Hideout House Company on 01832 275902 or email: info@hideouthouse.com

New Eco Hub Outdoor Classroom at Coddington Primary School

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Video for Renewable Energy Mix Eco Outdoor Classroom

We have just finished the installation of a new eco hub outdoor classroom building for Coddington Primary School in Nottinghamshire. The school wanted to have a building that they could use for outdoor learning and lessons but also that it had to feature systems or accessories which would encourage and foster a greater awareness and knowledge of sustainability, climate change and in particular renewable energy.

The eco hub is a 5m octagonal outdoor classroom which has some standard additional items – these include solid timber wall panels, felt shingle tile roof, roll-down canvas panels for the windows and entrance (to provide for shade from the elements when so required), internal desks and benches for ease of use for the classroom outdoor studies and an access ramp.

Then we have added in the special eco elements – these include guttering and water butt for rainwater harvesting so that the children can water whatever it is they are growing in the planters.

But the special item is the energy mix renewable energy system which features a 200w wind turbine mounted on a pole to the side of the outdoor classroom, roof-mounted 200w solar panel, special kinetic energy bike the children have to pedal to generate power and the wall mounted board which features the four screen digital data read out display, two power sockets, isolator switches and energy neo-pixels with LED lights showing the flow of power from each source. The system also includes a light and an electrical certification by a qualified electrician and curriculum based lesson plans as to how the energy mix can be used as an educational tool.

The digital display screen on the wall mounted board has multiple screens which the children can alternate between by the simple pressing of a button – these are:

Battery Visualiser

Purpose: Show the percentage of the battery being filled by each energy source
Design: Marching lines at the top and bottom indicate energy flow from the board above. These “fall” into the battery, and we can see how much of the battery is being filled by which energy source. When charging the battery, the different coloured blocks add 4 blinking pixels at a time, adding up rows as they charge. When one of the three is turned off, the flowing lines at the top disappear and that color in the battery block stops blinking.

Watt Hours Visualiser

Purpose: Watt-hours shown numerically
Design: Marching lines at the top and bottom indicate whether the electricity is currently flowing. The numbers are there for students to see the cumulative amount of energy contributed by each renewable energy.
The numbers change to reflect just that day, week, or the last 30 days

Trends Over Time Visualiser

Purpose: Show the amount of watt hours over time
Design: marching lines at the top and bottom indicate electricity flow. The visualiser shows how many watt hours have been collected per day and teachers can use this to ask students to calculate trends (say 1 line = 5 wH). It also looks like how you might visualise audio levels, a throwback to the name Energy Mixer.

For more information on the above, please contact the Hideout House Company on 01832 275902 or email: info@hideouthouse.com