Whole school changes; - its a RAP at Rokeby Primary, Rugby.
So much tarmac and a lot of grass cut to within an inch of its life! A dull and uninspiring place for the children of Rokeby Primary, and their teachers ... and parents ... and visitors ... and everyone.
So, we got the children involved in the design process, firstly seeing things as they are now ...
... including the weather
A months weather; charted by Y2
We now know where it is sheltered, exposed, shaded, ponding, etc
... including the wind.
Measuring stations plotted around the school
... and safety
Some excellent work; good photography, presentation, observation, etc, etc Then, we asked them to imagine the future ...
Thank you .. we'll want some colour then,
and all sorts of different spaces
with different things to do ...
so much more we could do outside,
... if only,
if only ...
We needed help from parents, neighbours and local companies,
so, we got a name for the project - debating and voting on RAP - the Rokeby Activity Project.
And we drew up a logo,
the children even wrote a RAP rap. It was recorded by the local radio (the whole school singing) and played along with an appeal for some pond liner ... and we got a generous offer from the local Blooms. If you don't ask for help - you won't get help.
We published our vision for the future;
Parents (and staff) helped us change a corner of the school grounds into a wildlife area;
In this (well cut!) corner ... we started digging out the pond ...
and built a fence around it ... [we didn't forget to feed the troops ... ]
and recently planted 400 wildflowers. The Head was never far away!
Local engineering company Cummins built our allotment for us
with raised beds, a shed and compost bins.
Thank you so much
... and we have now also built our outdoor stage (now called 'the Globe')
We've planted a daffodil spiral for the spring and our imaginative area is currently being planned. Come back to this page and see how we're getting on.
It just goes to show that with everyone involved, being clear about what they want and working together, you can achieve fantastic results!
