How to Get Started with Outdoor SEN Provision on a Budget!

Improving outdoor provision for pupils with special educational needs, by creating inclusive play spaces where all children can play and learn together, doesn’t have to mean breaking the bank.

If you’re a primary school in the UK keen to step up your outdoor SEN provision, but you’re working with a tight budget, you’re not alone - and you’ve come to the right place!

Across the country, mainstream primary schools are seeing just how beneficial quality outdoor sensory spaces can be for their SEND pupils - and how advantageous it is for everyone, whatever their need or ability, when all of their pupils can engage in the outdoor environment together.

The good news is that you don’t have to start too big or spend an unreasonable amount of money to achieve results. With thoughtful planning, creative thinking and smart choices, schools can begin creating rich, sensory gardens and play spaces on a manageable budget. 

This guide gives you practical steps and suggestions for outdoor sensory ideas, along with some insight into using budget-friendly SEN equipment, with examples of some of the best products from Pentagon Play that you can invest in over time to guarantee long-term use of your provision.

Here’s how to get started!

Why Do Outdoor SEN Spaces Matter?

Outdoor spaces can be so powerful - offering a wealth of benefits for young learners with SEN. Outdoor learning is widely recognised as an essential part of the curriculum for all children - and the right outdoor learning environments can truly transform a child’s day whatever they’re age, ability or individual needs.

The value of time spent outdoors must never be underestimated. Calming, dynamic, therapeutic, inclusive - well planned outdoor spaces can reduce anxiety, build confidence and support inclusive education in all primary schools.

Sensory play in particular is an essential feature of the school playground that can benefit everyone from EYFS through to KS2 as they grow and learn, but it’s especially important for supporting children with SEND. How? Sensory play is known to strengthen the neural pathways in a child’s brain. This can lead to improved development in their physical, social, cognitive, and sensory capabilities:

• Sensory regulation - Exposure to sensory stimulation - natural textures, sights, smells, sounds, along with choices to move and interact with resources as they feel the need to, can help children to self-regulate and feel calm and better able to manage and enjoy their day. This means they can be much more ready to learn and handle everyday tasks.
• Movement-based learning - Climbing, balancing or swinging activities support children’s developing vestibular and proprioceptive systems for better balance, coordination and motor control.
• Social play - Sharing outdoor equipment and play spaces fosters social interactions and encourages communication and turn-taking in a natural, calm environment. This is a crucial part of every child’s development, helping them learn how to engage, communicate their needs, develop empathy, build confidence and create those all-important social bonds for their overall wellbeing.

Imagining Your Outdoor SEN Zones (Without the Overload!)

Getting started really begins by planning with a straightforward purpose. We’d recommend aiming in the long term to have 5 different and clearly defined play and learning zones within your outdoor learning space - but there is absolutely no need to become overwhelmed with trying to start all 5 zones up at once. Begin with a focus on introducing one or two well-designed areas, and then build up from there as needs be.

Thoughtfully zoning your outdoor space ensures that SEND pupils can find and access exactly what they need from day to day - whether they’re seeking sensory input or searching for somewhere to be calm - the right zone for them can help them to regulate and to experience real joy in their learning.

Remember that you only really need one or two of these zones to begin with and the impact can be surprisingly huge! Once they’re up and running smoothly, you can continue to build the full sensory trail to suit your pace, budget and pupils’ needs.

Here are five different and complementary outdoor play and learning zones that you can create to offer sensory variety, either one at a time or in combination, as your budget allows:

The Quiet Zone

Surprising though it may sound as a first thought when planning a playground, a quiet zone is an absolute essential for any outdoor SEND provision - providing a vital peaceful escape for children who might not be able to face the full buzz of the playground at any particular time, and a crucial breakout space to step away from the classroom and self-regulate whenever they need to.

The difference that spending even just 10 minutes in a quiet sensory zone can make to a child’s day, giving them the opportunity to feel regulated and able to get back on task, is remarkable. Think sheltered areas with seating and gazebos, calming elements like wind chimes or mobiles, sensory tunnels and walkways, and sensory gardens including flower and herb-filled planters that children can prepare and maintain themselves.

The Messy Play Zone - Sand, Water and Mud

Access to messy play is a must for children with SEND!  For tactile exploration and fine motor development, for creativity and imagination, and for social interaction and language and communication work too.

Mud, sand and water play is tactile, messy heaven for children! Mud kitchens, water walls, sand tables, any which way they love messy play.

The Physical Development Zone

Physical play in an Outdoor SEND provision needs to focus heavily on vestibular and proprioceptive development - balance, coordination and spatial awareness.

This is particularly important for children with mobility and/or sensory processing difficulties.  Balance beams, wobble boards, climbing blocks, jumping spots and sensory circuits are wonderful for whole-body engagement.

The Auditory/Music Zone

Outdoor instruments or sound panels - percussion, drum seats, chimes, batonkas, free-standing or wall-mounted as appropriate for accessibility - are perfect for group play and sound exploration. They’re always hugely popular and a great way for children to express themselves creatively and let off some steam!

Musical play is fantastic for developing lots of other areas of the curriculum for tactile learners especially - counting and spoken language and communication being the most obvious. Music is a great mood booster and can really help children with anxiety to express their emotions too.

The Creative/Nature and Growing Zone

Children’s play is all about being creative - getting outdoors to do this and experience all the benefits of being surrounded by fresh air and nature is a non-negotiable for all children in all primary school settings.

There are loads of different ways children can get creative in the playground and it doesn’t have to be complicated. Raised planters allow children to enjoy planting and gardening activities, creating and maintaining their own seasonal outdoor spaces with herbs, fruit or flowers.

Outdoor art easels provide plenty of space for free-style drawing or painting outside. Observational and interactive walks and bug-hunts around a garden zone encourage children to connect with nature - and they can happily make artistic nature displays with their findings at any time of the year.

Let’s Get Started! The Best Outdoor SEN Equipment Solutions from Pentagon Play

At Pentagon Play we offer a stellar range of robust, inclusive and fun outdoor play equipment - including our extremely popular Essentials Range - that won’t break the bank.

We work closely with education experts and SEND specialists to create unique, thoughtfully and carefully designed, highly engaging SEND-friendly outdoor learning resources that deliver on inclusion. Everything we do is built to last so you know you’re getting best value for money.

Here are 11 of our favourite standout picks (in no particular order!) to get each of your inclusive play zones up and running…

Mud Kitchen from the Essentials Range

This Mud Kitchen is the perfect epicentre for messy, sensory fun. With chalkboards, a removable sink and stainless steel elements, it’s low maintenance but high engagement.

Children can mix mud, create play meals, chat about textures - and in the process, practice language, social skills and fine motor control. It is truly a signature outdoor sensory play piece.

Tuff Spot Activity Table from the Essentials Range

Pair this low-level accessible Tuff Spot Table with your Mud Kitchen, and you’ve got a mobile sensory station. Use it for sand, water, mud, and all kinds of natural bits and bobs for investigating. It’s great for inclusive group learning and sensory exploration.

Water Channels with Hooks from the Essentials Range

These super-flexible and easy to set up Water Channels with Hooks will immediately enhance all-important sensory play in your messy play zone, engaging children in exciting and therapeutic tactile and visual experiences with water.

Promoting STEM learning with hands-on problem solving, there’s so much that children can learn from experimenting with water - and this set provides a great simple water wall setup to get you started immediately.

Sand Table With Lid

A firm favourite for motor and sensory development, and exploration with textures and materials, this Sand Table has a durable lid to keep all of your sandy resources clean and hygienic when not in use.

Set at standing height to accommodate groups of children playing together, with a smooth and solid edge to grab onto for support where needed, it allows for fluid movement around the table. This helps tremendously in reducing feelings of frustration and leaves children more inclined to be inclusive and play cooperatively.

Planter Benches

Our range of Planter Benches are an essential for every inclusive playground, providing a beautiful combined breakout and sensory space for children to sit, rest and reset at any time, no matter how big or small your playground.

They bring a touch of all-important nature and creativity to your outdoor play area, offering children a unique opportunity to get hands-on with gardening and exploring the natural world up close.

Group Art Easel from the Essentials Range

The collaborative design of this Art Easel features 4 different versatile sides so small groups of children can get creative simultaneously - providing the perfect canvas for developing social and communication skills, fine motor control, encouraging self expression, and building artistic confidence in a natural environment.

It’s wonderfully easy to maintain with quick-wipe surfaces so children can keep drawing, painting and trying out different techniques for as long as they choose! 

Group Music Easel from the Essentials Range

This multi-instrument easel boasts a wooden xylophone, recycled plastic xylophone, and wooden marimba for diverse musical exploration, along with a chalkboard panel for writing up notes and lyrics!

Its low-level structure ensures accessibility for all children, promoting inclusive, collaborative, creative play and individual expression. The robust frame ensures stability for enriching sensory play and auditory development.

Get Set, Go! Balance Blocks

These sturdy sets of movable, artificial grass‑topped blocks are perfect for climbing, balancing, jumping, hopping or crawling around. For occupational therapy they deliver all kinds of associated outdoor sensory ideas around movement, coordination, vestibular and proprioceptive input, all of which are fantastic for SEND students.

They’re great fun for collaborative imaginary play too, as children can set up their own obstacle courses and act out their own stories through self-regulating movement.

The Rockies Balance and Coordination Set

The Rockies is a brilliant build-your-own-mountain range for groups of children of all abilities to engage, play and learn together in different ways.

First there’s the construction element - children can lift and manoeuvre the different component parts to creatively build their own obstacle course.

This is a fantastic push-and-pull heavy work activity which is hugely beneficial both for overall physical development, and allowing children with sensory processing disorders to receive the physical sensory input they’re seeking out.

Then there’s the climbing and balancing element - with multiple different configuration possibilities children can move and travel around their circuit in all kinds of different ways to improve their motor skills, balance, coordination and spatial awareness.

But one of the best things about this piece is the clever ‘wobble board’ features incorporated - children can turn the rocker blocks upside down and sit or stand to rock, roll, and develop their core strength and stability as they play. It pretty much covers all areas of children’s physical development (and more!) in one superbly versatile set.

Play Bridge With Handrails

Pentagon’s fairytale Play Bridge with Handrails encourages all children to cross over into their very own realm of the imagination! 

This Play Bridge is perfect for your SEN Provision as it supports physical development for children of all abilities - with anti-slip grips on the crossing, and detachable handrails if they need to support themselves, it’s safe for year-round use.

It’s designed to help children with mobility difficulties to learn how different surfaces and inclines may affect their speed and agility, and to practice movement patterns and develop their balance in a safe space.

The Pentagon Play Bridge stands out for its wheelchair accessibility and ability to be altered to suit your pupils’ needs and wishes.

Sensory Spinners and Wall Panels

Our specialist range of sensory play equipment features a great choice of one-off pieces to enhance your sensory garden according to your budget.

To get you started, our light, sound, drawing and touch sensory spinners are super easy to install for calming, regulating, interactive enjoyment. Individual tactile panels can be bespoke-built and are a brilliantly creative way to brighten up boring walls and capture children’s imaginations. They can be fitted at any height to create accessible sensory spaces for children with mobility difficulties, visual impairments and children in wheelchairs.

Bringing It All Together: 3 Simple Inclusive Outdoor Setups to Try

When you’ve picked your first choice of play zone or products that you want to get started with, it’s worth spending a little extra time thinking of ideas for best use for the children that you work with, and how you can use them to inspire collaborative play amongst all of your pupils.

Here are a few simple, fun, practical setups that are perfect for children to get started playing and discovering together:

Messy Play & Language Mix

Set up your Mud Kitchen next to the Tuff Spot Table. Add in a supply of mud, sand and water as required, along with a supply of basic kitchen essentials such as spoons, pots and pans, jugs and cups, a potato masher, a rolling pin - whatever you can get access to that is safe for your children to use.

Encourage children to go on a hunt for natural objects like pine cones and leaves. Invite them to describe textures and label their creations on the integrated chalkboards. You’re blending messy play, sensory exploration, creativity, language and communication prompts, and supporting fine motor skill development, all at once.

Sound Garden Corner

Add outdoor percussion instruments, drum seats, sound panels or chimes near the Mud Kitchen area. Children can take turns playing the instruments, listening and keeping time.

It’s lovely for encouraging cooperative play, turn-taking, joint attention and listening skills while immersing in natural soundscapes, plus it’s naturally calm and structured.

Super Sensory Circuit

Use your Play Bridge and Get Set, Go! Balance Blocks and/or The Rockies Balance and Coordination Set to craft a circuit obstacle course. You can bring in hula hoops, beanbags, soft balls for additional physical challenges to suit children’s ability and areas for development.

Children can crawl over arches, travel over the bridge, step across ‘stepping stones’, leap across blocks, test a balance beam, wobble on a rocker, and hop through hoops. Encourage them to help each other out to complete the course as a team.

This boosts body and spatial awareness and confidence, advances gross motor skills, encourages self-regulation and brings a powerful outdoor sensory idea to movement.

Once those first zones are hitting the mark, you can consider developing further.

At this stage it’s good to think about landscaping too - canopies, seating nooks, planting borders - they all improve look, function and accessibility without major equipment spend. 

Sensory pathways can be a fantastic way for children to arrive at their play zones. Use varied surfaces including artificial grass, or wetpour for a textured, wheelchair-friendly, all-weather route.

Easy-Peasy Basic DIY Sensory Circuit on a Tight Budget

If you don’t have the budget for brand new Pentagon equipment just yet - no worries! You can still build something special in the short term with free or low-cost items. Boost or build on your outdoor provision with some of the following ideas.

Combined, these can give you a sensory-rich area without a big spend, which is perfect for establishing need, demonstrating effectiveness, and showing proof of concept for your outdoor SEN provision plans to governors or funders.

This mini circuit is a great start for building core sensory and motor skills at minimal cost:

• Plant sensory planters filled with herbs (e.g. rosemary, lavender, mint)
• Use old tyres for stepping‑stone pathways
• Use old/reclaimed drainpipes for water chutes and ball runs
• Hang chimes or recycled CD mobiles in a quiet or shady area
• Make a DIY wobble‑board from plywood and a half‑ball or piece of sponge for an instability challenge
• Create a sensory crawl space using hula hoops with hanging materials (e.g. ribbons, scarves)
• Mini sand/mud patch – Use reclaimed soil for a small messy station - under cover, if possible.

Key Takeaways for Schools - A Quick To-Do List to Begin and Build Up Your Outdoor SEN Provision

• Start small but smart: Choose your first zone - mess, movement or calm? Focus on just one or possibly two zones to begin with.
• Choose versatile, durable items: Pick one Pentagon item to begin with such as a Mud Kitchen, Tuff Spot Table, or Get Set, Go! Blocks.
• Stretch your budget: Incorporate DIY sensory circuit alternatives. You could add a low-cost DIY element such as a tyre path, or herb planter. Incorporate outdoor sensory elements consistently - natural textures, sound and movement.
• Plan phased growth: Plan your next phase – fundraise, apply for grants and repeat! This can be well supported by staff feedback and evidence of progress as children enjoy and benefit from the outdoor space you have started to build for them.

Starting your school’s outdoor SEN provision doesn’t always require huge capital expenditure and it certainly doesn’t happen overnight. What it does need is thoughtful planning, a few well-chosen SEN equipment items, and a splash of creativity.

Pentagon Play’s essentials range is ideal for mainstream primary schools entering this space: dependable, inclusive, sensory-rich, and uniquely built for educational settings.

Combine this with low-cost DIY ideas and phased budgeting, and you’ll naturally move forward into a flourishing outdoor SEN facility before you know it. Children will benefit from richer sensory engagement, improved self‑regulation, social and communication skills and well‑being, all while your school deepens its inclusive offer. And we’re here to help every step of the way!