St Leonard’s Catholic Primary School, Sunderland and St Matthew’s Catholic Primary School, Jarrow have opened outdoor learning and wellbeing gardens recently to provide extra outdoor spaces for pupils. Both schools are a part of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust.
New outdoor spaces
At St Matthew’s, the school’s art subject leader, Julie Limer, was successful in receiving a grant of £4,250 from the South Tyneside Creative Enquiry Project to create a Wellbeing Garden.
Artist Amy Grounsel planned and designed the outdoors space using a range of reclaimed and upcycled materials and worked with Mrs Limer, children, staff – including the school caretaker, Jason Thompson – and volunteers to create the garden.
The outdoor learning environment at St Leonard’s will provide purposeful areas for reception pupils to learn about the world around them while the new space at St Matthew’s will provide a calm place for pupils to be creative and to support their wellbeing. The project involved children from all year groups and helped develop skills such as- painting, gardening and woodwork, boosting their self-esteem and providing an opportunity for creative expression. The space will be used to carry out outdoor learning around a variety of subjects such as art, science and PSHE (personal, social, health and economic education).
The Early Years Foundation Stage outdoor space at St Leonard’s, which meets the statutory needs of the EYFS curriculum, has areas dedicated to developing the skills and interests of pupils.
There is a mud kitchen which will provide opportunities for children to write recipes, make mud pies, weigh “ingredients” and work together with their friends. The construction area and fairy land promote small world play that will engage children in using their imagination and storytelling. The new road surface and balance bikes will support pupils’ gross motor skills, and ability to negotiate space and obstacles, with consideration for themselves and others, while the water and sand play areas promote fine motor skill development and opportunities to explore the natural world. The den-making encourages roleplay and problem-solving while the climbing frame develops their confidence in facing challenges. All areas develop a level of imagination, turn-taking and language.
EYFS pupil Thomas, five, said:
“I love being outdoors and want to stay here all the time.”
Delight for both schools and their leaders
Dionne Dunn, Head Teacher of St Leonard’s Catholic Primary School, said:
“We are delighted with all the new learning opportunities created within our new outdoor environment. Hearing the excitement, gasps and ‘wows’ from the children and sharing in their enjoyment was simply wonderful. The children were extremely motivated, engaged and excited about the new learning opportunities that the outdoors presented. Our reception teacher, Miss Ellis Brickle, has encapsulated the school’s vision for EYFS and we are very excited to see the fantastic outcomes this will bring our children and new cohort joining us in September.”
Eve Alderson, Head Teacher of St Matthew’s Catholic Primary School, said:
“This project has been a wonderful opportunity for our school community to work together to create a fantastic Wellbeing Garden, which will be enjoyed for years to come. Staff, parents and children worked alongside the artist to ensure that a creative and engaging space could really come to life. The skills that the children learnt throughout the project were invaluable, from using a wide range of tools to painting and gardening. It was fantastic to see children grow in confidence throughout the project and create something they could feel incredibly proud of. We were also able to draw on a wide range of skills from our parents, who really went above and beyond to help support this project. We were also delighted to be able to upcycle a lot of materials donated from local businesses that would have gone to waste. Thank you to all those involved and to South Tyneside Creative Enquiry Project for allowing this dream to become a reality.”
Director of Schools North East- Chris Zarraga commented:
“It is truly great to see schools opening such fantastic outdoor spaces for their pupils. This provision should allow spaces for children to express their creativity as well as supporting their mental health and wellbeing outside of the classroom environment.”
St Leonard’s Catholic Primary School, Sunderland and St Matthew’s Catholic Primary School, Jarrow are Schools North East Partner Schools and Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust is a Schools North East Partner Trust. If you’d like to find out more about our Partner School Programme click here.
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