Back to School: What’s the Best Outdoor Flooring for Educational and Childcare Settings?

Can you imagine any tougher challenge for outdoor flooring than thousands of small, rambunctious feet putting it through its paces five days a week? Neither can we. Schools and childcare settings have a long checklist of criteria when it comes to deciding on the best flooring solutions for their outside spaces. And we think composite decking ticks all of the boxes.

Schools have a duty to spend their budget very wisely. They need to make decisions about the infrastructure of their setting that ensure the school gets maximum value and longevity out of any renovations or upgrades. Senior leadership teams are held to account for the management of their setting, and all big purchases will need to be made with a long-term investment in mind.

Only the strongest flooring materials are up to the job

With a seriously high footfall, you need robust material for outdoor flooring. Composite Prime® HD Deck® fits the bill for this point on the checklist. Highly durable, it’s resistant to damp and mould, and won’t rot or be prone to insect damage. All this means that composite decking has a lifespan of up to 25 years and beyond. 

Our hardy protective coating (on HD Deck Dual® and HD Deck® Pro) puts up a tough barrier to school equipment like scooters and balance bikes, trikes, tuff trays and whatever else the children in your care may need to learn and play in your outside environment. 

This represents a sound investment for childcare settings and schools, that want to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum and their setting remains to look good and functional for as long as possible.

Longevity isn’t the only consideration for schools and childcare settings

Safety is the number one priority when it comes to the environments designed for our youngest members of society. A really important factor to consider is that our HD Deck XS® can also be purchased as a class B fire rated board, ensuring you can comply with all building regulations specific to fire safety.

Composite decking creates a safe environment for children to explore and learn without the risk of scrapes and grazes. In addition, unlike with traditional timber decking, there will be no risk of warping, sagging or cracking that could present a trip or fall hazard. 

Composite decking is slip-resistant, even in wet weather, so your children can enjoy the outdoors safely all year young. Also, younger children can happily crawl around on composite decking with no worries about splinters.

Hygiene and maintenance are big plus points for education settings. Whether out in the open or under cover, composite decking is wipe-clean and can deal with even the messiest spills and thrills the children in your care can throw at it. Our capped composite decking, in particular, is durable and more resistant to stains and scratches.

Make eco-friendly choices for your education setting

These days, schools also have to commit to an environmentally friendly policy. Whether you need to preserve your eco school or environmentally friendly school status, Composite Prime® HD Deck® will be a choice that can allow the children in your care to enjoy the outdoors whilst using materials that have been made with our environment in mind. Our decking boards are made out of 100% FSC® certified ‘end of life’ hardwood flour and recycled plastics. In fact, our composite material recycles the equivalent of 3,000 plastic bottle caps per square metre.

To price up your school or childcare setting decking project, please follow this link to find your nearest authorised supplier of Composite Prime® decking products.