Expand your horizons (and your potential) with our practical and stylish fixed canopies

It is abundantly clear that being outdoors whether at work or at play has a huge impact on both our well being and productivity.
Post pandemic, the increased focus on mental health means that companies and education providers alike have a duty of care to ensure that everything possible is being done to create environments that allow for a sense of true well being in their employees or students.

One of the fastest and most cost effective ways to do that, is to provide facilities where people can work and engage outdoors.

Non-corrosive and have been wind-tested during hurricane conditions - they are fixed to an aluminium frame
100% waterproof and capable of holding 1 tonne of snow - they are made with tensile PVC fabric
Heat and smoke resistant as well as flame retardant - they are coated with an organic compound
Designed to reflect your existing school colour scheme - we have a choice of fabric and metalwork colours that are available to match
Designed to be fixed to an existing building or be free-standing on any type of ground surface - they can be shaped around the existing environment such as playground equipment, entrances to buildings, walkways and seating benches

What is a fixed canopy?

In short, it’s a superb, cost effective alternative to a regular, brick and mortar building.

Since 1994, we have installed HUNDREDS of fixed canopies that are durable, practical, attractive and designed to withstand any and all weather conditions for over 20 years.

Made to include injury and vandal prevention features - column protection pads, locking bolts and non-scalable sides

Our canopies are:

Permanent shelters not exceeding 25% of the gross floor space of the original building (or 100 square metres).
Permanent shelters no less than 5 metres from the boundary of the curtilage of the premises (edge of the school grounds etcetera).
Permanent shelters installed on a playing field without preventing it from still being used.
Permanent shelters not exceeding 5m in height.
Permanent shelters not installed within the curtilage of a listed building, unless it is used by the school.
Certain conditions relating to the purpose, use of materials and length of installation may also apply to some permanent shelters.

Some ‘specifics’ and ‘practicals’ about doing indoors - outdoors!

If you are concerned about planning permission, don’t worry. Many permanent school shelter installations are totally exempt.
We will happily do a free site visit where we are able to provide planning advice and a CAD drawing of the proposed school shelter.

Of course, we would always recommend contacting your local planning office before a final decision is made but it’s useful to know that the following planning approval exemptions usually apply to permanent shelters for nurseries, schools and colleges:

We are delighted to reassure you that:

Free-standing outdoor classrooms can be located in unused spaces such as school gardens and other remote parts of the school grounds.
An outdoor classroom structure can be attached to the existing building to create additional space for outdoor activities.
Our fixed shelters are available with removable wall panels and the frame structure can be fitted with heating and lighting equipment to create a comfortable outdoor classroom environment.

Our standard shelter sizes accommodate up to 30 people seated at round tables or 50 standing or seated on the floor.

Being outdoors is first class!

Our fixed canopies are hugely popular and chances are you have already stood in one at a sporting event fan zone. They are used regularly for hospitality and particularly - in schools. As we said, practically everything improves when children are outdoors.

The Department for Education have cottoned on to this and are encouraging outdoor learning wherever possible.

It’s been shown that learning outside the classroom dramatically increases pupil engagement, individual achievement and improves attendance.

We have heard from some of our customers that they have seen things ‘dramatically improve’ in their schools and have found it to be ‘more than value for money’.

It’s time for you to embrace this exciting way of learning.