On top of the world

Back Blip.

This is one of the three outside areas at the new local primary school building. I was really lucky and had a guided tour from the head teacher. The school is on a very small plot in an area of terraced houses and replaces a Victorian and entirely unfit for purpose school that stood on the spot. It's been a challenging couple of years for teachers and pupils as they were all rehoused in an empty school on the other side of town, but two months after moving in to their new building, the impact on children and teachers (particularly on pupil attainment) is huge. It's not just the building though, teachers and pupils have been working towards a much more fluid and creative curriculum and this, combined with the building, is what is having such an impact.

Most people round here don't have gardens and there is very little space to play (most children play on the streets) so outdoor areas were incredibly important in the design of the school. The weather was shocking as I looked around, there were rivers running down the roads and local areas were being flooded, but the design of the school meant there were loads of children outside playing and learning in the open/covered spaces which led off each of the classrooms.