Melissa Quinney reports on a transformative new space at Asfordby Hill Primary School in Leicestershire.
Asfordby Hill recently upgraded their school grounds with a 7m x 4m Outdoor Eco Classroom with a 3.8m partition. ‘The Pod’ now provides two functional rooms for learning and support activities. From emotional literacy support to music tuition and Lego therapy sessions, the staff and students make full use of the versatility of their Outdoor Eco Classroom. Here are some comments from the staff at Ashford Hill:
‘The two rooms of the cabin are used for different purposes, simultaneously without any noise or disturbance from the other side. In the smaller room, we have one-to-one interventions, nurture groups or wellbeing sessions. It’s also a support space for when social workers visit our school to meet with certain children. We use the larger room for lots of different meetings such as when Autism Outreach is here or other outside agencies, as well as for our Lego Therapy and reading groups.’ – Nicola Bailey, Assistant Head & SENDCO
‘Before we had The Pod, I was all over the place. I had a box which I would cart around the whole school. Sometimes, sessions used to take place in the library but this was open plan and so not ideal for the children as they need to have a safe spot where they can open up. Here in the cabin, we have a really nice safe space. I can have all of my resources out, and the children can come and help themselves to colouring or craft materials and we can just sit and make things and have a chat. It’s great!’ – Jo Purkis, Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA)
Author: Melissa Quinney
Melissa Quinney
Melissa Quinney is Marketing Assistant for Cabin Master.
Website: cabinsforschools.co.uk
