Flourish news

Pirates and prehistoric creatures bring Lewisham school to life

A school in Lewisham has radically transformed its school grounds into an ‘outdoor-classroom’, winning praise from teachers and the local community. Last year, Haseltine School’s grounds were entirely tarmaced and consisted of plastic play equipment, milk crates for sitting and a defunct ‘pond’ in a metal trough. Today, the garden is a beacon of excellence for school gardens everywhere.

Children play pirates in a shipwrecked boat in a sea of sand surrounded by sails and Norfolk reeds, battle with ‘tyre-annosaurus’ dinosaurs in a jungle of ferns and cordylines, and construct castles of mud in the digging area. They enjoy the ‘good life’ by growing potatoes, salad leaves and broad beans in four raised beds. Their senses are stimulated by three silver birches underplanted with rosemary, thyme and lavender, providing texture and scent. A pebble mosaic complements salvias, Verbena bonariensis and ornamental grasses in a curved flowerbed and arches of jasmine and other climbers attract butterflies.

The garden includes a range of fixed and moveable features, allowing the school to ring the changes and adapt the environment for changing needs and interests. A bandstand structure in the centre provides a peaceful area for story-telling and a lean-to structure provides shelter from sun and rain.

Pupils from the school today unveiled their school garden to local dignitaries and members of the press. The 4-year-old children took visitors on a tour of their garden and demonstrated how it helps them learn about subjects as diverse as maths and art.

The ‘outdoor classroom’ provides virtually limitless opportunities to teach the Foundation Stage curriculum. Talk is used as a tool for thought, creating hypotheses, sharing experiences and telling true and imaginary stories. Mathematical concepts are conveyed through counting and spacing seeds and measuring plants as they grow. Developing children’s knowledge and understanding of the world are integral to the project.

“The staff, parents and visitors have been really struck by the children’s enthusiasm, cooperation and high level of commitment. Our ‘outdoor classroom’ is already delivering excellent results and helping us develop successful, confident learners,” said Richard Edmonds, Head Teacher at Haseltine School.

Steve Bullock, Mayor of Lewisham, welcomed the children's new facilities and praised the hard work from everyone involved. Steve said: "Haseltine's new garden provides children with a great opportunity to have fun learning out of doors. I am really happy that everyone's hard work in developing this project has reaped such magnificent rewards. Lewisham's superb record in the London in Bloom competition includes community involvement and horticultural excellence criteria; this garden has excelled at both."

The special open day marked the conclusion of nine months of hard work, commitment and funding by school staff, gardening charity the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), Lewisham Borough Council, an educational consultant and a landscape architect.

The RHS donated £1,000 to Haseltine as part of its Flourish pilot and provided gardening advice and practical help. Landscape architect James Gartside was responsible for the design and landscaping of the play area to the side of the school. Freelance educational consultant and Early Years Advisor Helen Bromley provided inspiration on a range of outdoor classroom activities for the school’s teachers.

Lewisham Borough Council provided a grant from its Seed Challenge Fund which encourages environmental projects in Lewisham schools.