Parents pitch in for playground
It’s been anything but a quiet holiday for a school playground getting a spruce up before the beginning of term.
Parents from the group, Friends of Coatesville School, have given a ‘‘new lease of life’’ to the playground at Coatesville School, which faced an uncertain future without repairs or replacement.
Replacement cost of the playground was estimated at around $80 - 90,000. However, the DIY work parents have put in has brought the cost down to just $1500.
Coatesville School principal Richard Johnson said the work had been a ‘‘massive’’ saving of school funds and a huge boost to play areas within the school.
‘‘The school is indebted to this amazing group of hardworking, motivated parents who coordinated all the labour and expertise required to come and revitalise our playground for a fraction of the cost of a new one,’’ he said.
‘‘They also sourced the required materials from Mitre 10 Mega Albany, who showed tremendous support for our school.’’
More than 30 people have helped at the two working bees so far, with one more planned.
As two new play areas were installed in the school in 2016, the cost to replace the old playground - which is around 20-years-old would have been ‘‘prohibitive’’, Johnson said.
A recent engineering assessment deemed the majority of items in the playground safe. However, a short list of additions and maintenance were needed before it could be used by students again.
Work has included replacing wooden platforms, putting extra railings in place and plastic protectors over chains.
Friends of Coatesville School chairman Jason Steele said the working bees have been a chance for community to come together.
‘‘It’s not about necessarily doing stuff, it’s about doing it with others,’’ he said.
The group’s communications facilitator Nicki Gibson said the working bees had been a ‘‘real community effort’’.
‘‘It’s been really lovely... rallying the parents together to have a working bee to fix this for the children.’’
See the Friends of Coatesville School Facebook page for more on when the playground will reopen.