For many years the front gardens of the school have attracted a lot of interest from parents and visitors due to the lovely display of flowers we have and the school has won many prizes over the years in the Slough in Bloom contest Jusuf Nurkic Womens Jersey , but the rear of the school still had some bare patches which needed developing.
A recent NFER study reported that teachers and pupils engaged in outdoor learning experiences develop their personal and social skills to a high level. They also found that knowledge and understanding increased in a number of curriculum related scenarios. The young people themselves also referred to improved social skills and a greater belief in personal efficacy and for some, to a (sometimes unexpected) understanding that learning can be fun!
Planning the Project
The area most in need of renovating was a grass area adjacent to the rear playground, which over the years had become barren through loss of 2 trees due to old age and an ugly container which housed the go-karts belonging to a club who had used the school playground for go-kart racing.
Having decided it was time to develop this area for the children to use as a garden learning environment and bring the back of the school up to the standard of the front C.J. McCollum Womens Jersey , I met with Liz Herod our Deputy Head teacher and the School Council to share with them the outline vision I had for the garden. The children were adamant that they wanted a pond with a waterfall, so after discussing the safety issues I agreed we would incorporate this into the plan. The children also wanted to be able to use the area to sit in at lunch times, so the seating in the pergola was planned so that you could sit facing inwards for teaching and for pleasure of seeing the garden they could also sit facing outwards. The children agreed that the plants should create the shade over the pergola. We decided that the pergola must seat at least 35 children Damian Lillard Womens Jersey , to allow for a whole class with the teacher and teaching assistants and sufficient gap for a wheelchair if necessary. All the pathways needed to have access by wheelchair as well.
I arranged for the container and go-karts to be moved to the school field in a less obtrusive site.
I visited the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Hampton Court Flower show in May 2008 and I spent some time visiting the gardens which had been created by other schools and those who used sustainable products. I met the RHS staff and discussed the changed membership of schools and made arrangements for us to visit Wisley to meet their School Garden staff. I also met staff on the Marshall's paving stand and was impressed by the stone geometric shapes which helped me to form a picture of what I wanted the pergola paving to be like. I visited a garden designed by Floral and Hardy Gardens Ltd which was almost entirely constructed using recycled materials which had won a bronze medal from the RHS. I was particularly struck by the recycled glass paths and this inspired my thoughts further for the design of our garden.
I had an occasion in school to discuss maths with Barbara Carr, the Maths Advisor and this helped me to decide that the shape of the pergola must be geometrical and have the geometrical shapes for the floor. The Marshall's Saxon Octagon paving gave this shape and I decided that the raised beds should be angular so that the children could relate geometry to real objects and appreciate maths in a physical way.
Liz Herod, Jo Jones Jusuf Nurkic Jersey , our Every Child Matters (ECM) excellence and enjoyment co-ordinator, Roy Simmons, our Site Manager and I visited RHS Wisley during the autumn term of 2008 on a beautiful warm afternoon and picked up many ideas which we wanted to incorporate into the garden C.J. McCollum Jersey , including a waterfall with rocks above a pool. We saw a grass snake basking in the sun on a rock above the water; this gave us other ideas! Following this visit I also involved Mr Sandhu, our Science co-ordinator for further ideas. He put forward suggestions for a log pile and wild area which could be used for the teaching of Science.
Choosing the Garden Designer and Contractor
After our visit to Wisley, I began doodling on paper and my vague design began to take shape. I was now ready to obtain estimates for the cost of the "outdoor classroom" as we had begun to call this project. I also felt I needed some professional help with the designing process.
The plan had already developed beyond what had first been envisaged. I had been encouraged to make a lottery bid by Slough Borough Council but in the event this was refused on the grounds that I was going to incorporate this into the curriculum.
I approached 2 different companies and I was also put off by them wanting a substantial fee for the plans Damian Lillard Jersey , whether I used the company or not to
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11.12.2019 09:01
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