This award recognises the outdoor playground environment and spaces in nurseries primary schools where innovative equipment creates opportunities for learning.
2026 Winner: Notting Hill Prep School, London
At Notting Hill Prep, outdoor spaces are a defining feature of school life. Despite its central London location, pupils enjoy a variety of green, open areas, including a woodland, three playgrounds, street-facing play zones, and rooftop beehives. Play huts in the school’s iconic blue and pink stripes encourage imagination, storytelling, and social interaction. The woodland fosters unstructured, creative play, building confidence, problem-solving, and collaboration. Playgrounds cater to different age groups, supporting physical activity and friendships, while a water feature inspires early scientific exploration. Rooftop beehives teach sustainability and ecology, connecting children with nature. These outdoor environments are central to pupils’ wellbeing, curiosity, and social development, offering daily opportunities to explore, experiment, and grow. Notting Hill Prep demonstrates how thoughtful, imaginative play spaces can transform learning and nurture resilient, confident, and engaged young learners in a busy urban setting.
Commended
Gorsemoor Primary School, Cannock
Gorsemoor Primary School’s playground has been thoughtfully transformed into a vibrant, stimulating space that encourages learning through play. A striking feature is the large bespoke timber play ship, providing a safe area for imaginative adventures and physical activity. The playground also includes sensory and messy play zones, featuring mud kitchens and water pumps, designed to develop motor skills and curiosity. A colourful outdoor stage with timber seating offers opportunities for performances, group activities, and confidence-building. Additional areas, including storytelling corners, sandpits, and teepee dens, foster creativity, social interaction, and collaborative play. This carefully designed outdoor environment combines natural elements, imaginative equipment, and inclusive design to ensure all children can engage in active, exploratory, and enriching play experiences that complement classroom learning and support holistic development.
Prospect House Primary Specialist Support School, Manchester
Prospect House Primary Specialist Support School in Manchester is recognised for its leadership in inclusive education and its commitment to ensuring all pupils can access meaningful play and development opportunities. Working closely with Creative Play, the school co‑designed the Play For All inclusive playground range over two years, ensuring that design decisions were informed directly by the needs and insights of its pupils and staff. This collaboration resulted in a flexible play environment featuring wheelchair‑accessible ramps, varied play routes, and sensory‑rich elements that support physical, social, emotional, and sensory development.
Wormholt Park Primary, London
Wormholt Park Primary School in White City has proudly unveiled its new outdoor play area, achieving Platinum Status from the Outdoor Play and Learning Programme (OPAL), placing it among the top 1 % of UK schools for play provision. This recognition celebrates the school’s dedication to fostering children’s wellbeing, creativity, confidence, and enjoyment through play. Opened in 2024, the playground features a scooter track, mud kitchen, art lodge, and den-building zones, all designed to encourage teamwork, problem-solving, and social interaction. Staff and parents have observed significant improvements in pupils’ confidence and happiness, with children expressing excitement and a renewed enthusiasm for school. The space has become a central hub for active, imaginative, and inclusive play, supporting both physical development and social skills while enriching the overall school experience.
William Hogarth School
William Hogarth Primary School in Chiswick officially opened its new playground in May 2025, unveiled by local MP Andy Slaughter. Supported by Hounslow Council, the project cost over £100,000 and was shaped by pupils’ input to create an engaging, adventurous space. The playground features a large climbing frame, basket swing, climbing wall, and trim trail equipment, promoting physical activity, coordination, and risk-taking play. A wooden gazebo in the back playground serves as an outdoor classroom, enhancing learning opportunities. Pupils enthusiastically explored the new facilities, which have quickly become a hub for play, social interaction, and outdoor education, reflecting the school’s commitment to active, inclusive, and stimulating environments for all children.