How to choose a school canopy

Posted on 7th March 2022 | Posted in Education

How to choose a school canopy?

Are you wondering how to choose a school canopy? If you’ve realised a canopy would benefit your school but have found yourself unsure about where to begin, we’re here to help. The correct canopy can provide endless value for both your teachers and pupils, so getting it right is important. Here are the questions you should consider.

Questions to ask

What problem will it solve?

What function will the canopy serve? There are many reasons we’ve provided schools with canopies, helping them to solve a number of space-related issues. Some of the main problems we see are:

• Lack of outdoor learning space
Outdoor classrooms are becoming increasingly popular as schools recognise the benefits of outdoor learning in child development. They provide a dedicated, sheltered space where teachers can help stimulate students’ senses – and give them a healthy dose of Vitamin D!

• Not enough space for dining
Class sizes are on the rise, leading to a lack of space in dining halls. Many schools don’t have space in their canteens to accommodate every pupil, leading to staggered lunchtimes, queues or pupils struggling to find a space at all. Our outdoor dining shelters provide the perfect solution.

• Students getting wet when walking between lessons
If your school is made up of different buildings and students have to walk outdoors between lessons, you’ve no doubt had trouble with the weather. Our covered walkways can be freestanding or wall-mounted and provide some much-needed shelter when walking from building to building.

• No covered playground space
Children love spending time outdoors, and it’s great for their development too. But all too often, wet weather means that many nurseries or schools must keep pupils indoors during breaks and lunchtimes. A school playground shelter offers a fun, recreational space where children can play and socialise whatever the weather.

What canopy system do you need?

Once you’ve determined the purpose of your canopy, you need to decide which structure will best suit your needs. Some popular options for schools are:

• Outdoor learning canopies
Available in freestanding or wall-mounted options, our Connekt canopy system is a modular system that can be any length. You can even add to it in the future, making it extremely versatile. Our cantilevered option is 100% self-supporting.

• Covered walkways
Our Connekt and Olympus systems are perfect for offering shelter over walkways between buildings. Both can be offered in freestanding and wall-mounted options, so they can easily be installed anywhere that sees a lot of regular footfall.

• Playground shelters
Another problem easily solved by our Connekt system, we can create covered playground shelters in either a freestanding or wall-mounted format. Our playground canopies also come with a Melinex gel-coated roof, which protects children against the sun’s harmful rays.

• Outdoor dining
Our Cantabria canopy is a great system for seating people more comfortably throughout the year. It features a retractable roof that can be opened and closed at the touch of a button and incorporates glass sides, LED lighting and heating. Our Connekt system is also a great choice for an outdoor dining canopy.

Will your canopy look good?

While the function of your canopy is likely your primary concern, it’s not unreasonable to also want it to look the part.

We make sure that every aspect of your canopy is right for you and fits in with your existing structure. Our bespoke service means we can make sure your canopy is perfectly suited to its surroundings and fits in well with the current aesthetics of your school.

Our canopies come in some standard colours; white, brown, red, blue, green and yellow. If you have a specific colour in mind or want to match exactly to your existing school colours, we can also manufacture your canopy to a RAL colour of your choice.

We hope this gave you some ideas about how to choose a school canopy. If you’d like to talk through how a canopy could benefit your school, we’d love to chat. Get in touch today.