Verifying Plans

On Wednesday 27th September, we came to the school prepared with some posters full of research ideas for the bench, meadow, fence and bug hotel.

Georgia had spoken a carpenter about possible benches that we could create within our price budget. He recommended creating something using palettes as it was cheapest, but still hard-wearing. We most liked the look of the benches that are placed around the trees, however we are thinking of creating two separate benches so that there are more places for the children to sit within the meadow area.

Natasha researched suitable plants for the area, preparation and the long-term management through using online research and contacting experts such the West Sussex Wildlife Trust. Our main focuses have been to provide colour and interest all year round, choosing native British species and providing rich habitats for wildlife. We have also had to consider suitable plants for both the sunny and shady areas.

Lizzie looked into possible fencing and thought that picket fencing would look the most attractive in the area. However after pricing it up, we realised that it would take up all of our available budget as we wouldn't just have to get the fence panels, we would also need fence posts, support boards as well as the concrete, gravel and dirt. We also looked into the resources needed to create a bug hotel and worked out what we already had and what we needed. Even though the school already have a bug hotel, it is apparently a very popular feature in the school so we thought we would create another new and improved version for the children to enjoy.

Later in the afternoon, we organised a meeting with Mrs Gasser to talk through our plans and check that we were going in the right direction. She seemed very excited by our proposals and when we expressed our concerns about how expensive the fencing was going to be, she told us some great news.. she will now be funding the fence using an alternate school budget and that we no longer need to account for it. We agreed to assist the caretaker, Mr Wileman, in building the fence in the upcoming weeks.

We had organised with Mrs Buncle to meet the children that were involved in the gardening club. We told them what our initial ideas for the area were and then asked them to explore and tell us what they would like to see in their meadow. They came back with loads of great ideas, some of which we hadn't even thought of such as: hedgehog houses, waspinators, squirrel feeders, tree houses and bat houses. One child in particular thought of a name for the area 'The Mellow Meadow', which we thought was brilliant! They were all really enthusiastic and we are really looking forward to working with them throughout the project.

Here is a rationale to further explain our decisions:

Importance of Outdoor Learning
Outdoor learning is necessary in children's education as it opens many opportunities and allows them to use rich resources that may not be available to them within the classroom. Bilton (2010) and Waite (2017) believe that the outdoor environment is a complete learning environment, which caters for all children's needs: cognitive, linguistic, emotional, social and physical. In order to ensure children are receiving the best possible education, it is important to provide children with learning experiences that venture further than the classroom walls (Nelson, 2015). An outdoor classroom supports children in developing a more expansive view of how the world and nature works as they can clearly see the processes happening before them (Waite, 2010). Linking to this, being outside in a range of weathers adds to children's interest and imagination (Robertson, 2014). The Department of Education (2006) say that to ensure that children acquire the benefits from outdoor learning, the area needs to be well-designed and managed to support children's emotional well-being and understanding of the world around them. Barnes (2015) believes that our experience of the world is cross-curricular and that everything that surrounds us in the physical world can be seen and understood from multiple perspectives. It is due to this that ensuring children get the opportunity to partake in outdoor learning is necessary in today's education. Also, it is important to regularly include outdoor learning in teacher's planning, because revisiting outdoor learning allows patterns and change to be noticed, as well as enabling the child to deepen their awareness of detail and their understanding of what is happening (White, 2013).

Why Children Need Reflection Areas
It is important that children are provided with quiet spaces where they can enjoy their own space and their own thoughts and mental perceptions of the world. Having a space, whether it is in the classroom or outdoors is beneficial to children regardless of their age (Mayesky, 2008). Children will ultimately respond better during their learning and remained more focussed and engaged if they are provided with a space whereby they can take a break and have some reflection time (Oberparleiter, 2011). In a similar way, reflection time allows child development to take place; interaction between children's cognition and emotion is reinforced during reflective periods and this then prompts their intention, motivation and will to learn (Charlesworth, 2010).