A CARING Evesham school is appealing to Vale residents to dig deep and help them raise more than £100,000 to renovate its outdated playground.
The Vale of Evesham School, which caters for children aged two to 19 with special needs, has launched a ‘playground project appeal’ to raise the much needed funds to enhance the site.
The schools playground has remained largely unimproved since the late 1960s and does not fully accommodate the increased number of wheelchair users and those with more complex physical needs, who now attend the school.
There has been a renewed focus at the school on the children’s needs to learn through play, where they can develop vital social and cognitive skills, mature emotionally and gain the self confidence required to engage in new experiences and environments.
However, this is a challenge due to the old playground and reinforces the school’s mission to greatly improve the current site, by making it accessible and safe to all.
The large cash sum, which the school hope to raise mainly through fund-raising events, will go towards creating an area where children can actively burn off excess energy, relax, meet new physical and mental challenges, explore new experiences and socialise.
A vital part of the playground improvement plans would be to provide an increased ‘sensory diet’, which many of the children at the school, particularly those on the Autistic spectrum, would greatly benefit from.
Sarah Harman, school fund-raiser said: “The playground has largely remained the same since it was first built in the 1960s.
“Unfortunately there isn’t really any special equipment on the playground, as it’s very outdated and it isn’t the best for wheelchair access.
“We know roughly what we would like to do to enhance the site and what would meet the needs of the children at the school. But we need to raise well over £100,000, so we’re holding several fund-raising events in the coming year to help achieve this total.
“The money raised will then go towards the redevelopment of the playground, which will take place across several stages, hopefully starting by next summer.”
The school is holding a Christmas Fayre tomorrow (Saturday) from 1pm to 3pm, to raise funds towards its playground renovation project.
Visit www.valeofevesham.worcs.sch.uk for more information.
