Primary school looking for funding to increase outdoor learning

WESTBURY Leigh Primary School is aiming to raise £6,000 to develop their outdoor provision for the children, including updates to Shearwater Farm, their on-site farm that is looked after by the children. 

Anna Thurman, school business manager said, “At Westbury Leigh Primary School (WLPS), we believe that all children should benefit from learning experiences in a wide range of environments. We are lucky to have beautiful and spacious grounds on which we already have a small farm (comprising of golden Guernsey goats, Peking and Saxony ducks, rescued chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs), an outdoor classroom, a sizeable vegetable plot, and the beginnings of a dedicated forest school zone.

“We have a vision to improve all of these areas in different ways. We would like to develop the farm so that it is a resource that will benefit the wider community. To do this, we require permanent structures for housing our animals, and a designated water supply. Our ducks would also love a proper pond to swim in!

“The outdoor classroom has benches and a grand story-telling chair, but to enable the children to access outdoor learning all year round, we would like to shelter the space with a canopy that would protect the children from all the elements.

“Our vegetable plot, widely used by children all year as part of our curriculum, would benefit from the same designated water supply as the farm, as well as child-appropriate gardening tools.

“Our newest venture at WLPS is training a current member of staff to become our dedicated Forest School leader; she is due to complete training in January 2020. For this to be a great success, we need resources such as tarpaulin, rope, bungee cords, saws and a fire pit for campfire cooking. We would love to be able to build our own outdoor changing and washing area.

“We are hoping that our justgiving page will be a huge success! Thank you for all your support in developing this very special project at our school.”

To donate towards the project visit their Justgiving page at: https://www.just giving.com/crowdfunding/ westbury-leigh-primary-school.