Ribbon fun leads to happier playtimes in Shipston
Pupils at Shipston Primary School will be revelling in a world of colour this week as they take to the playground for some Chinese ribbon dancing.
The session has been arranged as part of a project at the school to make playtime more fun.
The scheme is run by The Treasure Project, part of Warwickshire County Council’s Educational Psychology Service. The aim is to get the whole school involved in coming up with ideas to ensure playtimes are happy times for the children.
Youngsters have been involved in weekly meetings to come up with ideas about what to do when it is raining, ways to spruce up the dining hall or fun and different things to do in the playground. An appeal has been launched to raise money for new playground equipment, but many ideas cost little or nothing to implement.
And the children of Key Stage 2 (aged 7-11) will be getting to grips with Chinese ribbon dancing this week .
Laura Tan, project co-ordinator for The Treasure Project, said: “We don’t go into schools with a set programme and tell them what they must do. We encourage children, lunchtime supervisors, parents and governors to come up with ideas.
“We then work to support the group in whatever way they need to achieve their dreams. Some of the goals inevitably require money and we are able to identify suitable funding streams and support the bidding process.
“But not everything is about raising money. Already the Shipston group have made several no cost, or low cost changes with which the children are delighted. These include organising music for dancing in the playground and setting up areas for colouring and small board games.
“The children are delighted with what we’ve done. If they are unhappy in playtime they will be unhappy in school and this is helping to create a very positive mood.”
Lunchtime supervisor Nicola Wild said: “It’s helped us all think together and start doing things to make playtimes better for us all. Coming together has been a fun learning experience too. We’ve shared ideas, and home made cake, every week, and at our school fete we launched our appeal to raise £100,000 to improve the playground environment, based on the children’s dreams. The PTA have already pledged the money they will earn from this year’s fundraising, and the local playgroup were our first supporters, donating £100. “