Join Shade the UK and the Built Environment Trust on Wednesday 2 April 2025 for a free one-day conference bringing together experts with shared, yet diverse, perspectives on the crucial topic of children and young people’s health and wellbeing.
Through thought-provoking presentations from practitioners in the following sectors: Play, Education, Sports, Public Health, Planning, Sustainable Design, Climate Action, Product Manufacturing, and Health and Safety, we will collectively highlight the challenges, and opportunities, of hot weather for 0-18 year olds and the spaces they spend time in.
What to expect on the day
The conference will include expert presentations, panel discussions, facilitated conversations and networking opportunities.
Join us on the day to:
- hear about and share experiences of the challenges and opportunities of hot weather for children and young people
- showcase and explore practical and creative solutions within spaces for 0-18 year olds
- identify actions to make our built and natural environment more comfortable, healthy and safe for kids, and their adults, during the hotter months.
Outdoor and indoor spaces where kids feel cool and comfortable are essential to ensure social interaction, physical activity and developmental opportunity. Such spaces can contribute to healthy behaviours, connections with nature, and positive experiences across communities. However, when it’s hot, too many spaces are uncomfortable at best, and unusable and unsafe at worst. This is not cool.
For example, the surface temperatures of unshaded play equipment made of metal or darker coloured plastic and rubber on a hot 23oC day can be high enough to cause second-degree burns on children’s skin[1]. On a very hot 30oC day, surface temperatures of play areas without any shade, natural materials, or water features can reach 50oC, essentially becoming hazardous no go areas. ‘The floor is lava’ becomes more than just a kids’ game. Given that one in eight children in the UK (one in five in London) live in homes without gardens or balconies[2], year round access to comfortable and safe play areas is vital for their health and wellbeing, especially in the summer.
In addition, Mayor of London commissioned research[3] found that 93% of surveyed schools in London reported overheating in classrooms and playgrounds as an issue. 78% of schools reported it had a significant impact on students’ learning, productivity or behaviour. During summer 2022 alone, these schools experienced a total of 33 closed days equating to 22,000 student-days of lost learning. Given the role that school buildings and grounds play in students’ lives, and within their local communities, preventing future hot weather related problems should be considered a priority.
By the end of the conference, clear actions will be identified and meaningful commitments will be made to ensure kids’ spaces are as cool as possible for them, and their adults, as UK temperatures rise.
Come along ready to contribute to the conversation, be inspired to take action, and play your part in implementing the solutions!
This event is related to the ‘Shade the UK – Shading for a Resilient Future’ exhibition taking place at the Building Centre from Thursday 20 March 2025, until Thursday 24 April 2025.
Agenda
Please download a copy of the conference agenda by scrolling to the link at the bottom of this page. Please note the programme may be subject to minor changes.
[1] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) ‘Burns Safety Awareness on Playgrounds Factsheet’. https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/3200.pdf
[2] Town and Country Planning Association (2024) ‘Raising the healthiest generation in history: why it matters where children and young people live’. Recommendations and an evidence review from the Levelling Up Housing and Communities Committee inquiry into children, young people and the built environment. https://www.tcpa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Raising-the-healthiest-generation-in-history-Accessible-version.pdf
[3] Mayor of London (2023) ‘Climate Resilient Schools’ project. https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/environment-and-climate-change/climate-change/climate-adaptation/climate-resilient-schools
