In the UK schools have a range of different facilities & equipment for children to use. Depending on the type of activity or task school pupils use facilities to learn, wellbeing, safety, storage and play.
Not all UK primary schools have the same educational and recreational facilities or size of space available. Depending on location and pupil roll size a few primary schools even have a swimming pool on the grounds.
Village locations have less space and children in attendance thus basic facilities of school include classrooms, music room, playground/field, reception, dinning room, toilets, tutor room, coat rack and staff area.
Schools provide facilities for primary school children’s education and general wellbeing focused first on education, safety then play.
Budget constraints play a major role in the amount and type of facilities each primary school has as well as space available.
Primary school facilities list
- Classrooms for teaching.
- Booster/intervention lessons tutor room.
- Food preparation classroom.
- Music lessons classroom.
- Library and information technology computer resources.
- Sports gymnasium, changing rooms and showers.
- Soft room and a sensory room.
- Toilets separate for boys and girls and clock room.
- Garden and allotment.
- Playground and bike shed.
- Sports field.
- Canteen for food.
- Multipurpose hall.
- Front office & reception.
- First aid room.
- Lounge seating & standing area.
- School minibus.
- Religious centre or church.
Nursery and reception at a primary school are separated by age group, educational learning and facilities provided for children and teachers.
Also see here Private school facilities
Classrooms & tutor room
Where much of a pupils educational learning takes place primary school classrooms are fitted with white board, interactive smart boards, projector, heating, table & chairs.
Teacher and students also have the use of learning and activity aids & equipment during lessons.
Tutor rooms are used by teaching & learning support assistants to provide booster/intervention lessons to help pupil’s catch up with a certain topic of education. (I received booster lessons all through primary 1-7).
Sports gymnasium & changing rooms
Indoor physical education lessons are conducted inside if it’s raining or during winter as it’s too cold and not safe for PE lessons for younger children.
Lessons can be climbing ropes, basket & football, gymnastics and other ball and racket games.
Changing rooms and possible showers are available for pupils to get dressed ready for PE lessons.
Library & IT computer resources
School libraries at primary school is where children are taken and encouraged to read a book and take one home.
Smaller and village primaries may not have a library room then the school and children get visited every week by a mobile library that goes around schools in the county.
Computers are part of a child’s education and by the time they leave primary education they should be reasonably proficient is the basic use of a computer following lessons from teachers throughout different years.
Soft and sensory rooms
Primary age children 4-12 years can become aggravated at times and a sensory or soft play room helps clam a child away from other pupils.
Sensory rooms at school help with SEND pupil education as it de-escalates any troubles a pupil may have in a school learning environment.
This is the type of facilities I would have benefited from at that age.
Playground and bike shed
Primary school play grounds are not plain now days they actually have recreational apparatus for children to sit on or swing from.
Play areas are concrete and possibly a grass field also to run around on at break times, if it’s not raining or covered in water, snow or ice.
Those pupils that cycle to school there’s always a covered cycle shed to store bicycles during the day.
School canteen
The dinner hall is the focal point at lunchtimes for primary age school children where hot food meals are served as well as snack and drinks.
Children can bring in and eat a packed lunch prepared by parents and sit and eat it in the schools canteen.
Hot meals are prepared and served at the school, although small primaries get hot meals sent in already prepared.
Primary schools will have 2 separate sittings as not enough seats are available for the whole school at the same time.
Multipurpose indoor hall
Each school has a large enough indoor hall they can use for many different purposes.
From education testing, morning assemblies, school events & shows to parent’s evenings the hall has seating and usually a stage area at the front.
The local community does regularly pay to use primary school halls for sport & games clubs or charity events where the school hires out the facility in the evenings and on Saturdays while children are not at school.
Toilets separate and clock room
As with all people school children have access to toilet facilities that are age appropriate in size and height during lunchtime and breaks.
Clock room area is for pupils to hang coats, PE kit and other items brought to school infrequently.
Sports field at primary age school
As you’ve seen walking past any primary school you’ve seen the grass sports field or area is much smaller than secondary schools and is effectively used as the pupils play area at break & lunchtimes.
Primary age children aged 4-12 years old generally play non contact sport & games during primary physical education lessons, so no large sports fields are required.
Garden and allotment
Most of the UK’s primary schools have a garden area providing flowers, shrubs & trees for aesthetic appeal.
School gardens are also used as an educational recourse teaching pupils how nature grows and what is grown. Indeed, if a school has space they may have an allotment to grow vegetables & fruits for use in the school canteen.
Faith school religious facility
Throughout the UK faith schools such as catholic primary schools have a church on school grounds or purpose deigned hall for prayer.
Other primary schools that are non religious focused don’t have a church or other facility for pupils and teachers to pray as many primaries are not religiously focused.