WESTBURY Infants School has been awarded funding from the Wessex Water Foundation to support the development of their outside learning area.
The school report, “The grant of £2,500 will allow the school to re-develop the ‘wild area’ to create a magical space for children to extend their learning outside the classroom. This will not only encourage the children to take pride in their outdoor areas, but will give them opportunities they may not otherwise have to enhance their personal and social communication skills.”
Mrs Channon class teacher and co-project manager said, “We are thrilled we got the full amount. We will be able to make such a difference to the area and actually get to use it to its full potential.
“We are planning to incorporate lots of the children’s ideas to make the area special to them’. The increasing popular school plans to remove the current structure which has rotted away and create a space where children can learn in an outdoor classroom environment.
“We want to create a space where children of all abilities can access the outdoor space including a sensory aspect to create a calm area. We intend to incorporate water features, wind chimes and sensory plants such as lavender, mint and rosemary”.
The school added, “As well as the Infant children benefiting from this new space, Westbury Infants will continue to develop their strong links with the community by encouraging the pre-schools to use the space and also local vulnerable families”.
The Wessex Water Foundation is a multi-million initiative, launched in June 2020, which provides a dedicated funding stream for projects across our region. It is run in partnership with Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset and Quartet Community Foundations and from April 2021 it will provide at least half a million pounds of funding every year to support local community groups, environmental projects and charities helping those who are suffering the consequences of poverty through low income or unemployment.
