12th April 2024
The seeds of a project, planted several years ago are now bearing fruit with the opening of Hanbury CE First School’s own Forest School outdoor classroom.
As pupil numbers grew, so did the demand for space to hold school events and activities. Former Headteacher, Andy Payne came up with the idea of extending the school grounds to incorporate a larger school field and its own Forest School site; a project that current Head, Aaron McDonagh has continued to champion.
The pair, along with colleagues who have played a major part in the development and delivery of the site, joined children from Reception to celebrate its opening this morning.
Viv Findlay, 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.
Children at Hanbury School have always enjoyed making the most of its beautiful countryside location, including dedicated Forest School sessions on the grounds of the nearby Jinney Ring.
They will now be able to benefit from even more outdoor learning in a wider range of subjects in a spectacular setting within the boundaries of the school grounds.
“Everyone enjoys Forest School lessons,” said Mr McDonagh. “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 our older pupils, even learning how to safely light a fire.
“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 story time.
The large, grassed area adjacent to the wood will not only used for playtimes but will mean that the school will be able to host its own Sports Day for the first time in 5 years.
“We were very grateful to the Jinney Ring and to RGS Dodderhill who have hosted our sports days since we outgrew our own field!” added Mr McDonagh. “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.
“There are lots of people to thank. I’m delighted that so many of them could join us at today’s opening,” added Mr McDonagh.
“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.”
