Teachers View - The Wey Valley School

The school is a mixed comprehensive community school serving Weymouth and surrounding areas. It has a truly comprehensive intake, drawing in pupils across the full ability range. The school joined forces with its onsite primary and a special school 4 miles across town to create a sensory garden in an unused courtyard using funding from a Barclays New futures award.

building a table Health and Safety issues forced a site move to the front of the school where improvements included plans to demolish an unsightly small block, leaving hard to disguise foundations. Enter the project with plans to incorporate the foundations to create a curving brick path, accessible to all, enclosed by segments of garden.

Pupils from the mainstream school had visited the special school and were shown round by special pupils. They were examining what had been used in their own gardens and play areas. The visit was a revelation for the mainstream pupils, out of their own environment and not in control. Previous contact had involved special students visiting Wey Valley. Fear of the unknown and nervousness generally soon disappeared. Visits to the special school are now seen as useful and enjoyable, and valuable relationships develop.

The inevitable sense of caring that evolves as mainstream pupils learn to support special students is only one of many striking outcomes so far. Pupils come to appreciate the variety of disabilities that exist, but of far greater significance is their recognition of the strengths as well as the difficulties of their new friends. Prior to the project many students felt completely alienated from the special school students. Having a clear purpose for meeting, interacting and communicating and having the common goal of the sensory garden has worked its magic. There is now a feeling of sharing, a garden for them to enjoy together.

The project has made a variety of demands on everyone. Five of the team travelled to Cardiff to a Barclays New Futures regional conference, overcoming great nervousness to give an excellent presentation. They then took part in workshops looking at different citizenship issues, working with students from many different schools. Students have had to learn to work with adult professionals - teachers, designers, suppliers and external organisations - in environments quite different from school and home. A big challenge is to fit this within the normal framework of the school day and curriculum.

wheelbarrows Many areas of the curriculum are enhanced by this work. Communication, number and ITC are the Key Skills involved. In this project, the wider key skills are also in use as students learn to negotiate, influence, and teach. Science/Botany, Design Technology, PHSE and Citizenship, Writing for audience and purpose, mathematics for a real context and a general sense of inclusion are all evident. The students have experienced working in their own team and as part of a wider team of adults.

The future is exciting because we still have a lot to do on the project. The next stage for the team is to become trainers of the younger pupils who will take over from them ie Y11s training Y8`s. The regular work within the garden will require regular sessions with the special students. The arrival of citizenship in the curriculum has opened possibilities for many more students to become involved with the activities which will arise from this work in the future. Who knows where it may lead.

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