A NEW forest school outdoor classroom has been officially opened at Hanbury CE First School.
As pupil numbers grow, so did the demand for space so several years ago the headteacher at the time, Andy Payne, came up with the idea of extending into the school grounds to incorporate a larger school field and its own forest school site.
The current headteacher, Aaron McDonagh, has continued to champion the cause and the pair, along with colleagues, have played a major part in the development and delivery of the site.
And they joined children from reception to celebrate its opening this week.
Viv Findlay, a former school governor who completed the business side of securing and preparing the land, and Hanbury School’s qualified Forest School leaders, Eleanor Pincher and Fay Mol were also on hand to join in the celebrations.
Staff say children at Hanbury School have always enjoyed making the most of its beautiful countryside location, including dedicated forest school sessions in the grounds of the nearby Jinney Ring.
And they can now benefit from even more outdoor learning in a wider range of subjects.
Mr McDonagh said: “Everyone enjoys forest school lessons.
“We offer weekly sessions to reception class and twice-termly lessons to our other classes.”
A normal lesson might include tree-climbing, den-building and, for older pupils, learning how to safely light a fire.
Mr McDonagh added: “Our early years cohort has a wonderful outdoor classroom already but we wanted to do more as our countryside setting is one of the aspects that makes our school so special.
“Under the expert guidance of our qualified Forest School leaders, the wooded area is where our pupils can be curious, build resilience and develop an appreciation of nature as it changes throughout the year.
“However it can just as easily be the perfect setting for a really inspirational maths lesson or storytime.”
The new site and investment in staff training will mean the school can increase provision as well as giving teachers an exciting resource to use when delivering lessons across the curriculum.
As well as playtime use, the large, grassed area adjacent to the wood will enable the school to host its own sports day for the first time in five years.
Mr McDonagh thanked the Jinney Ring and RGS Dodderhill which hosted previous sports days when it outgrew its space.
“We’re looking forward to bringing it back on-site and using the field to expand our PE and sports club provision.”
The development of the outdoor area has involved a huge support team. Along with staff, governors and a group of parent helpers, companies including The Hotel Shop and Atkins Global have encouraged employees to dedicate volunteer days to transform the site keeping it as much of a natural space as possible.
Mr McDonagh said: “There are lots of people to thank. I’m delighted so many of them could join us at the opening.
“Since Mr Payne first planted the seed of an idea, the project has taken an incredible amount time and energy but we hope that knowing how much the children at Hanbury are going to benefit from it has made it all worthwhile.”
