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Can anyone recommend a play house for our outdoor area?

 

We are in the process of developing our outdoor area and have been given a substantial sum of money to do it, although there will be a fair amount of groundwork to do which will eat into the figure.

 

However I don't want to spend all the budget on a house as I would also like to buy resources for the whole area too (including community playthings blocks!) I would prefer to keep it under £1000.

 

Our unit consists of two reception class that will have 60 children by the end of the year so the structure needs to be solid, not too twee (headteacher) and openended (me - although I know the children will change into whatever!).

 

Any ideas or ones to avoid? Are the ones in Tesco, B&Q etc man enough?

 

Thanks Sharon

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Can anyone recommend a play house for our outdoor area?

 

We are in the process of developing our outdoor area and have been given a substantial sum of money to do it, although there will be a fair amount of groundwork to do which will eat into the figure.

 

However I don't want to spend all the budget on a house as I would also like to buy resources for the whole area too (including community playthings blocks!) I would prefer to keep it under £1000.

 

Our unit consists of two reception class that will have 60 children by the end of the year so the structure needs to be solid, not too twee (headteacher) and openended (me - although I know the children will change into whatever!).

 

Any ideas or ones to avoid? Are the ones in Tesco, B&Q etc man enough?

 

Thanks Sharon

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I do not think they are - check that they have the relevant EU?EN/BS standard (or whatever it is now) for outdoor play equipment and children. Make sure that the door has one contnuous piano hinge so children cannot get their fingers caught - not all of them do and unless you clip them back all the time accidents can happen - where theres a will theres a way. If you internet search on playhouses you will find loads - I know I have spent hours looking. I looked at ones with verandahs and you can have these in whatever size you like but remember they normally measure up with the verandah. Windows - best non opening I think. Some companies will include installation in their price, don't forget you will need a base to which costs extra. Companies that come to mind are Premier amd Ace and some others although I cannot remember which wer the best. The choice is yours and they range from just a couple of hundred through to 1500 so depends on you really. I don't envy you I never came to a conclusion so let me know which one you choose.

Nikki

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we bought a Little tykes one, which was a 'bargain' item from toysrus...........and which lasted about 6 months.................the door snapped off when one of the children decided to open it inwards instead of out, and the fractured plastic was incredibly sharp, so out it went, not a bargain at all! We had chosen it because it was light enough for us to pick it up to store indoors at the end of our sessions,though in hindsight, this was just poor value for money.We then had a lovely little tykes one donated to us, it's the log cabin one and is perfect for us as we have little space and problems with vandalism (a wooden one would almost certainly be burnt down overnight!!)it's very sturdy and much heavier, so we have to leave it outside, but so far, so good!.There are lots of houses to choose from, and, given the choice, i would go for a wooden one,and i would have opening windows I think, for several reasons, including the fact that it could get mighty hot inside in the summer! Ebay has loads of them, all shapes and sizes..................or you'd probably find a local shed manufacturer with some really nice designs.Lucky you to have a nice amount of money to spend on it though...............and enjoy the comunity playthings blocks!

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We were donated a Little Tykes wendy house (didn't really want it but didn't want to seem ungrateful) and the children love it. Totally out of character with the rest of the outdoor area which we deliberately made from natural materials but two years on it is used everyday by boys and girls.

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We have a wooden framed 'house' - there is an opening for access but no actual opening door or windows sot there is less chance of fingers getting trapped. It also has no roof - we have different types of awnings we can throw over if the children want. This week we had the camoflage net over it but it was then transformed into a chocolate factory at one point as one of the children had been on a visit to Cadbury world during the week.

We had a little tikes type one before and the doors and roof kept falling off. This one is much better and gives the children more opportunity to use their imaginations.

 

Sally

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I don't want to spend all the budget on a house as I would also like to buy resources for the whole area too (including community playthings blocks!)

 

aaahhhh... community playthings blocks...

 

Lucky you having money to spend on your outside area! Have lots of fun spending!!

Whose idea was it to put money into the outdoor area? Did you ask the head or did s/he initiate it because of new EYFS priorities? Just asking.... :o

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Whose idea was it to put money into the outdoor area? Did you ask the head or did s/he initiate it because of new EYFS priorities? Just asking....

 

A combination of a very enthusiastic NQT who loves being outside- an Ofsted inspector who obviously shared my ideals ( before I started at the school) therefore because the big O mentioned it it suddenly became part of the school development plan!

 

The head is keen to a point and has fixed ideas no plastic allowed! However I wanted to go the more natural route anyway.

 

I do find it a huge responsibility to organise / design etc because if I don't stay......

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Guest Wolfie

I bought four petrol pumps on eBay for our outdoor area - second hand but very good condition and robust and the children love them!

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I bought four petrol pumps on eBay for our outdoor area - second hand but very good condition and robust and the children love them!

 

 

WOW Wolfie..do you mean real ones or toy ones? This is an item we have been looking for ages...usually make our own using a skipping rope tied to the fence!!!!

 

Didn't think of looking on EBAY...this is somewhere I don't tend to look.

 

 

We have a plastic wendy house which has been ok...we used to have a lovely wooden house but it just attracted 'youths' in the evenings and we found many things inside not suitable for the children to play with!!!! We took it down in the end :o

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