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A smiling woman and young girl pose together outdoors by a wooden play structure. The woman wears a white top and polka dot skirt; the girl wears a colourful striped jumper and has her hair in a ponytail.

Fresh Air, Bright Minds

This week we welcomed back the children and once again the Prep was buzzing with the excited conversations of children.

It has been a busy summer on site and we were delighted to open our newly-built enclosed verandah around the Reception classrooms and a new playground. The playground is, of course, a big hit and the children have been enjoying lots of imaginative play and challenging themselves physically.

The outdoor kitchen, the seaside chalets and the play house are all providing lots of opportunities for make-believe and role play games. The climbing posts, suspended nets and climbing walls all promote gross motor skills, especially when hands and feet have to cross the centre line of our bodies.

Six adults, four men and two women, stand smiling under a canopy in front of a school playground, dressed in business or smart casual attire, with colourful playground equipment visible in the background.

Pictured left to right: Bob McLintock OBE (Governor), Jeremy Blunden (Bursar), Alice Goodfellow (Head of Prep), Sarah Leung (Director of Early Years), Roz Townsend (retired Director of Early Years), Scott Norris (Vice Chairman of Governors)

A colourful playground with climbing frames and slides sits in front of a large brick building under a blue sky with scattered clouds. Trees border the play area.
A wooden sign decorated with stars reads Magic Happens Here at the entrance to a playground, with play structures and trees visible in the background.
Children and adults gather at an outdoor play area with colourful flooring. A boy balances on a bench whilst others converse and supervise. The scene is lively and social.
A young girl slides down a green slide attached to a wooden playground structure whilst a boy stands at the top. An adult is in the background.
Three blue wooden beach hut-style shelters with benches are lined up on a paved outdoor area, with a brick building and fence in the background under a clear sky.
Wooden playground structure with two green slides, small climbing ramps, and a bridge set on green safety flooring. There is a wooden playhouse structure on top and trees in the background.
A smiling woman and young girl pose together outdoors by a wooden play structure. The woman wears a white top and polka dot skirt; the girl wears a colourful striped jumper and has her hair in a ponytail.
A wooden signpost with four arrows labelled Forest, Astro, Higgs, and Library against a backdrop of trees and a blue sky with clouds.
A red brick building with white-framed windows and a glass-and-metal canopy over the entrance, set against a blue sky with scattered clouds.
Two children play on a rope bridge at a playground while adults stand and watch in the background near a brick building.
A colourful playground with climbing structures, benches, and a wooden archway sign reading Magic Happens Here, set under large trees and next to small blue buildings.
A young girl with long brown hair, wearing a light green jumper and white trousers, walks on a playground with green flooring and brick walls in the background.
Children and adults gather at a colourful playground. A young girl carefully balances on stepping stones, whilst others explore climbing frames and interact nearby.

The verandah is not an aesthetically motivated addition, although it tastefully matches the Victorian style of Middleton Hall, which is the adjacent building. Its purpose is to enable a free-flow approach to learning for our Reception children. The benefit of a free-flow environment is that children have the choice of moving between different learning areas or activities both indoors and outdoors.

There is a growing body of evidence of how learning outside leads to improved memory function and learning retrieval. A range of research sets out that mental fatigue is counteracted by time spent outdoors, as well as enabling better self-regulation, allowing children and adults to have a greater capacity for focused attention. All the while, the children are having a great time and enjoying being at school.

We are gearing up for House Cross Country next week, when all children from Year 1 to Year 6 will run increasing distances around our fields, and for the older years into the woods as well. It is a highlight of this half-term as we witness the grit and determination needed to complete the courses.

I wish you a wonderful weekend, hopefully with plenty of time outdoors.

Best wishes,
Alice Goodfellow

 

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