SEN Playground Development - Fred Nicholson School , Norfolk | Absolute Play - Case Study
- Absolute Play
- May 26
- 3 min read
📌 Project snapshot
Sector: Education - SEND
Age range served: KS1 - KS4
Key objectives: Fred Nicholson School had a large site made up of multiple outdoor areas, but relatively little dedicated play provision across the school. The aim was to introduce a much stronger mix of physical play, inclusive challenge, sensory movement and fitness opportunities appropriate for a SEN environment, whilst creating engaging destination spaces across several zones of the school site.
Equipment type: Inclusive climbing equipment, swings, trim & balance challenges, sensory movement equipment, outdoor fitness zone & accessible gym equipment.
Surfacing: Artificial Grass, Bonded Rubber Mulch, Safety Shockpad, Thermoplastics.
Budget: £175k +VAT
Project summary - SEN Playground Development
Absolute Play worked with Fred Nicholson School to deliver a substantial SEN Playground Development, creating multiple outdoor play and activity environments across the wider school site.
The scheme combined large-scale climbing and physical play provision with inclusive swings, balance challenges, sensory movement activities and a dedicated outdoor fitness zone featuring accessible gym equipment. The goal was to provide far greater play value, physical engagement and usable activity opportunities across a site that previously had limited equipment provision.
The brief
Fred Nicholson School wanted to significantly strengthen the outdoor offer across their SEN school environment.
The site consisted of several different outdoor areas with relatively little dedicated equipment provision. The brief centred around creating exciting, inclusive spaces that would support physical development, movement, coordination, sensory engagement and social interaction across a wide range of abilities and needs. The school also wanted equipment that delivered a strong visual impact whilst maintaining a natural appearance and high levels of durability.
Our solution
Key Equipment:
Absolute Figlio Clamber Stack — large scale natural climbing structure.
• Double Deck Play Tower & Clamber Tower Castle.
• Inclusive Swing Provision including cradle, group swing and six seat hexagon swing.
• Balance & Physical Challenge Equipment — wobble boards, traverse walls, balance weavers, stretch posts and zig zag balance beams.
• Sensory & Interactive Thermoplastics including a space trail feature.
• Dedicated Outdoor Fitness Zone featuring accessible and secondary age gym equipment.
• Wheelchair Accessible Gym Equipment including Tai Chi Discs and Arm & Pedal Bike.
• Health Walker, Horse Rider, Sky Stepper, Slalom Skier and Sit Up Bench.
• Social seating and enclosed gym zone design.
Design Approach:
The design focused on creating multiple complementary outdoor zones, ensuring different areas of the school site could support different styles of activity and engagement.
Natural timber climbing environments provided high play value, challenge and exploration, whilst inclusive swings, balance routes and movement equipment encouraged physical confidence, coordination and social interaction. The dedicated gym zone introduced a further layer of physical development, fitness and accessible exercise opportunities — particularly important within the SEN environment.
The overall approach prioritised inclusive challenge, movement, durability and strong visual impact, whilst maintaining a natural aesthetic throughout the site. The 3D concept design also helped demonstrate how separate play and activity areas could work cohesively across the wider campus.
Materials & surfacing
Equipment materials used
• Natural round timber play equipment with steel footings for longevity.
• Inclusive swing systems and accessible gym equipment.
• Timber balance and physical development equipment.
• Timber seating and enclosed fitness zone features.
Surface types used
• Premium Play Grade Artificial Grass with integrated safety shockpad beneath higher challenge equipment zones.
• Forest Blend Bonded Rubber Mulch beneath climbing and gym environments.
• Thermoplastics to introduce visual movement and sensory activity opportunities.
These materials were selected to provide strong durability, lower maintenance requirements, natural aesthetics and safer year-round usability across multiple outdoor spaces.
Installation
This was a multi-area development spanning several different zones across the wider school site. Significant groundwork, surfacing and subbase preparation packages were required, including extensive artificial grass installations, shockpad integration, bonded rubber mulch surfacing and supporting groundworks. A CAT scan survey was also undertaken prior to installation works.
Careful planning was required to coordinate the various areas and ensure the final installation created a cohesive outdoor environment despite the fragmented nature of the site.
The outcome
Fred Nicholson School now benefits from a much richer and more diverse outdoor environment, with dedicated areas supporting physical development, sensory movement, inclusive challenge, social interaction and fitness.
The development has transformed a site that previously had limited play equipment into a series of engaging outdoor destinations, helping ensure pupils across different age groups, abilities and needs have access to meaningful, active and inclusive outdoor experiences.
Looking to create something similar?
If you're planning a SEN School Playground Development or inclusive outdoor learning project and would like early ideas or budget guidance, we'd love to help.
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