Bescot Hall School, Walsall, West Midlands

Project Snapshot

School: Bescot Hall
Location: Walsall, West Midlands
Client / Trust: Witherslack Group
Project Value: £100,000+
Completion: May 2025

The Brief
Bescot Hall School is an independent specialist day school providing high-quality education in Walsall. The school supports a diverse cohort of primary and secondary pupils with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and a range of associated needs.

The school is committed to offering a caring, positive, and welcoming learning environment that enables pupils to achieve their full potential while developing essential social and communication skills. Having recently acquired the site and completed a full internal renovation, the outdoor environment remained a blank canvas, lacking suitable provision to engage pupils throughout the school day.

Our Solution
The outdoor environment was designed as a progressive provision, supporting pupils as they transition through the school from primary to secondary outdoor areas. Each space offers developmentally appropriate challenge, enabling pupils to build confidence, resilience, and physical competence at their own pace.

A wide range of purposeful movement and sensory-rich activities were incorporated to support self-regulation, emotional regulation, and proprioceptive and vestibular development. As the playground is used throughout the school day for structured and unstructured movement breaks, it was essential that both areas provided all-weather access and included sheltered spaces to support pupils and staff, ensuring consistent use regardless of weather conditions.

What We Delivered

• On-site consultation with experienced consultants who understand SEND.
• Innovative and unique 3D design created by a dedicated playground designer.
• Bespoke made-to-order equipment manufactured in the UK to meet specific needs of a setting.
• Assigned dedicated contract manager, with work completed by experienced, enhanced DBS-certified playground engineers in order to minimise disruption to the school day.
• Free independent post-installation inspection to verify the safety of the project.

The Outcome

• Octagonal shelters providing covered, year-round access to the playgrounds in all weather conditions.
• Timber nest swings offering calming vestibular input to support emotional regulation, sensory processing, and self-soothing.
• Tangled climbing frame and bespoke linked trail, creating progressive physical challenges across both playgrounds. Varied equipment styles maintain curiosity and motivation, particularly as pupils transition from primary to secondary provision.
• Sports areas, incorporating playground markings, sports pitches and MUGA units, to support structured physical activity, coordination, and cooperative play.
• Outdoor gym zone designed to provide purposeful, resistance-based movement to support proprioceptive input and movement regulation.

“Just to say I cannot thank the guys who came to site enough. Not only did they work hard, but they fully respected it being a school in full operation. They worked safely, were polite to all staff and pupils and worked around the school’s needs wherever possible.

I would recommend ESP without reservation and have already done so to our group property team.”