£10k award helps school create sensory garden
PRIMARY pupils are to benefit from a new outdoor sensory garden and a science discovery classroom after scooping a £10,000 national award.
Parkview Primary was awarded the money by financial services company OneFamily as part of its Community Awards.
The funding will be used to transform a currently unused area of the Summerston school’s playground into a vibrant outdoor classroom and garden, which will be filled with educational toys and equipment.
Children will be able to learn about the environment in the science classroom, which will include plants, bug hotels and bird boxes to encourage wildlife.
There will also be a vegetable patch, where children can learn about where food comes from and shelter so lessons can take place in all types of weather.
Joanne Lamont, who has a Junior ISA for her daughter with OneFamily, put Parkview Primary forward for the funding as she is the current Parent Council treasurer.
The school is one of 32 organisations to have won an award in this latest round.
Joanne said: “The new outdoor classroom and garden will be a vital asset to the school and will be a fun and stimulating space for pupils that can be used throughout the year.
“It will also be an area that children with additional learning needs can use if they’re feeling stressed or anxious, providing a safe environment where they can relax or speak to a member of staff.
“We were overwhelmed with the response we received from the local community during the voting stage of the awards.
“We thought only parents would get involved, but people from across the area took the time to vote for us and we can’t thank them enough for helping us to win this fantastic funding.”
The awards are part of the OneFamily Foundation and were created to give OneFamily customers the opportunity to support projects in their area that matter to them and their families.
This year’s awards saw customers nominating projects to win £5000, £10,000 or £25,000 across four categories.
Guy French, corporate and customer strategy director at OneFamily, said: “This is an exciting project that will be valued by Parkview pupils for many years to come.
“The projects that our awards support are very special to our customers and make a positive difference in their local communities.”