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Waterman Primary School,
The Boulevard, Rochford,
SS4 1QF
Head: Mrs.Welch
01702 546237
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Waterman Primary
Waterman Primary
www.watermanprimaryschool.ik.org
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“Three New Projects”
Talking with Rachel Welch, Head of Waterman School about recent changes in school
(10th May 2012)
Talking with Rachel Welch, Head of Waterman School about recent changes in school
(10th May 2012)
New Chair of Governors
RL: What been happening in school since I was here in January? I noticed from the board you have a new Chair of Governors?
Rachel: Yes, we’re very pleased to have a new Chair of Governors. I had talked with Debbie a couple of times because she’s now supporting another school in Basildon and so time was really restricted for her and she felt she wasn’t giving the role any longer what it needed
RL: So what happened?
Rachel: Well we had had a couple of people enquire about being a Governor and Alan came and looked round and said he would like to be a Governor. He had been a Chair of Governors previously but had no intention of being the Chairman ever again, but attended one meeting that Debbie hadn’t been able to attend and it was really hard work.
Rachel: Yes, we’re very pleased to have a new Chair of Governors. I had talked with Debbie a couple of times because she’s now supporting another school in Basildon and so time was really restricted for her and she felt she wasn’t giving the role any longer what it needed
RL: So what happened?
Rachel: Well we had had a couple of people enquire about being a Governor and Alan came and looked round and said he would like to be a Governor. He had been a Chair of Governors previously but had no intention of being the Chairman ever again, but attended one meeting that Debbie hadn’t been able to attend and it was really hard work.
He’s a young head, the youngest of the group out there, and he was very enthusiastic and wanted to know everything about everything. It was a very different experience for him in this country and he took many photos while he was here.
RL: So how did the garden development link with Kenya?
Rachel: Well, a part of our partnership is to develop something that is between the two schools, that both are doing, and Bruce had put forward this plan of developing the garden area. Initially we were really just going to build on what we had; we had had the raised beds put in the year before and run a gardening club and we were going to build on that. We had an e-mail from Wendy who is part of the Allotment Association who is a friend of Carmel in our Office, and she asked if we would like support with gardening, so Wendy came with Dave and we said how good this was tying in with our Kenya Project. They said they could donate compost and plants for our raised beds.
RL: So how did the garden development link with Kenya?
Rachel: Well, a part of our partnership is to develop something that is between the two schools, that both are doing, and Bruce had put forward this plan of developing the garden area. Initially we were really just going to build on what we had; we had had the raised beds put in the year before and run a gardening club and we were going to build on that. We had an e-
RL: But it’s gone beyond that?
Rachel: Yes, while talking we said there were two other things we’ve wanted to do for a long time. One was to develop the garden area around the outside of the outdoor classroom and that is what our Parents’ Association has been raising money for, and the children had drawn a plan and had wanted a pond (see the drawing on Rachel’s interview back in January). The other thing is that we have a field out the back that we call the Meadow and it’s just a bit of land that’s got nothing in it really, and I’d contacted people like Watt Tyler Park to see if we could have a pond put in there instead because it’s more out of the way and would be more of a wild-
RL: So how did it develop?
Rachel: Dave came and had a look and got excited about both of those projects and it’s grown from there really. They came down with the plants and compost while Francis, the head teacher from Kenya was here, and then Dave has gone away and drawn up a plan for the new garden around the outdoor classroom. My idea had been to have a sensory garden because it fitted in with the Guide Dog for the Blind charity that we had been raising money for.
We talked about having a pathway through and Dave wanted aubrietia and camomile and alpine plants growing through the path, and a pergola and benches, and that has developed. We’re talking to the man who did the new water provision on the allotments about a water feature in it; we’re having a mini-orchard, raspberry and blackberry bushes and we’re putting trellis over the existing containers at the back with fast growing climbers going over it. We’ve talked about lavender and grasses so there are a lot of ideas.
RL: How is it being financed?
Rachel: I showed them the meadow and Dave spoke to the leader of the Parish Council and he came down and they were interested in funding the pond part for us, but they were concerned about health and safety aspects of it. We were having a health and safety audit in school and so I asked their advice and also got in touch with the Essex Wildlife Trust people, and Laura came down from them and said there were just some guidelines to follow, and through that she drew up a pond design and that’s starting to be dug out this Saturday.
RL: So you cleared the health and safety questions?
Rachel: Yes, we were able to tell the Council we’d looked at the health and safety aspects of it. It’s going to be 20m x 10m and we’re going to have some decking, so the children can do pond dipping, and it will have different depths for different creatures, with gradual sloping sides, getting to 1m deep in the very middle. The area is gated off and we’ve got to put a sign on the gate, and Dave has managed to get a life ring. And that’s all being funded now by the Parish Council and I’ve also been in touch with the biodiversity part of the Essex Wildlife Trust and they are donating some orchard trees and a hundred and twenty pounds worth of pond plants. Laura from the Wildlife Trust is coming back because she’s going to be working with the children in developing the area and encourage more native wildlife, so we were talking about having log piles and things like that which will attract creatures and insects, so that area can be completely developed
RL: Will others use this as well?
Rachel: Well yes. As I said to the Parish Council, it won’t only benefit the children here, because we also have the Children’s Centre with the younger children, and we share our swimming pool with Rochford Primary, and we supply Stambridge School with dinners now, so we’re linking a lot more with other schools, so they can come and use the area as well, so it’s more of a community thing. Things that we’ve long planned are now happening quickly. We’ve had our chickens donated, which also something they’re going to do in Kenya. We’ve got five and Francis is talking about probably having three hundred so that they get the eggs to help with school meals! I’m going out there at half term to see him and their school. Hopefully the project will continue if the funding continues, and you move on to something else, perhaps like weather stations, so what we’re doing isn’t the end but just the beginning of things. But the work that Dave and the others have done has just been fantastic. It’s gone from one little thing to three big projects. We’ve had competitions to do with the marathon and we’ve had competitions to name the chickens so it’s been a busy time all round
RL: Well that is wonderful. It will be great to watch and see how this all develops. Thank you so much for sharing and giving up your time. It is very much a case of ‘Watch this space!”
...and the Garden layout work makes a start 23rd May 2012
RL: How is it being financed?
Rachel: I showed them the meadow and Dave spoke to the leader of the Parish Council and he came down and they were interested in funding the pond part for us, but they were concerned about health and safety aspects of it. We were having a health and safety audit in school and so I asked their advice and also got in touch with the Essex Wildlife Trust people, and Laura came down from them and said there were just some guidelines to follow, and through that she drew up a pond design and that’s starting to be dug out this Saturday.
RL: So you cleared the health and safety questions?
Rachel: Yes, we were able to tell the Council we’d looked at the health and safety aspects of it. It’s going to be 20m x 10m and we’re going to have some decking, so the children can do pond dipping, and it will have different depths for different creatures, with gradual sloping sides, getting to 1m deep in the very middle. The area is gated off and we’ve got to put a sign on the gate, and Dave has managed to get a life ring. And that’s all being funded now by the Parish Council and I’ve also been in touch with the biodiversity part of the Essex Wildlife Trust and they are donating some orchard trees and a hundred and twenty pounds worth of pond plants. Laura from the Wildlife Trust is coming back because she’s going to be working with the children in developing the area and encourage more native wildlife, so we were talking about having log piles and things like that which will attract creatures and insects, so that area can be completely developed
RL: Will others use this as well?
Rachel: Well yes. As I said to the Parish Council, it won’t only benefit the children here, because we also have the Children’s Centre with the younger children, and we share our swimming pool with Rochford Primary, and we supply Stambridge School with dinners now, so we’re linking a lot more with other schools, so they can come and use the area as well, so it’s more of a community thing. Things that we’ve long planned are now happening quickly. We’ve had our chickens donated, which also something they’re going to do in Kenya. We’ve got five and Francis is talking about probably having three hundred so that they get the eggs to help with school meals! I’m going out there at half term to see him and their school. Hopefully the project will continue if the funding continues, and you move on to something else, perhaps like weather stations, so what we’re doing isn’t the end but just the beginning of things. But the work that Dave and the others have done has just been fantastic. It’s gone from one little thing to three big projects. We’ve had competitions to do with the marathon and we’ve had competitions to name the chickens so it’s been a busy time all round
RL: Well that is wonderful. It will be great to watch and see how this all develops. Thank you so much for sharing and giving up your time. It is very much a case of ‘Watch this space!”
...and the Garden layout work makes a start 23rd May 2012
The master board for the projects
Part 1 - the original beds to be developed
Part 2 - Dave’s original plan which has now been expanded & developed for the garden area around the outdoor classroom
What a wonderful chicken coup! Chickens watch out the new garden area is coming here for Part 2
It’s a field! No it’s not, it’s the Meadow - watch this space for the Pond is coming in Part 3
To see the work of creating the pool shape on Saturday, CLICK HERE
DK Surfacing start to excavate the area for the new garden layout around the outdoor classroom.
Dave & Sylvia from the Allotment Association check the plans for the garden layout with Darren and Andy from D.K.Surfacing
Afterwards he came to see me and said he would like to do it if we were interested, so we grabbed him. He’s very proactive and he’s been into school a number of times, getting to know the children and listening to readers and things like that, and getting to know the staff . He’s met with Joanne several times who is our Special Needs Co-ordinator, because that is his interest and he’s coming in tomorrow for the whole day, and another new Governor is coming with him to shadow what he does. He’s actually been to our coffee morning and two parents have come forward saying they want to be Governors, so everything in that way is moving in the right direction. He’s really hands on and very enthusiast, so it’s very good and we’re very pleased.
Projects & Partnering with Kenya
RL: I hear you are planning big things outside?
Rachel: Yes, we’ve been having help from Dave Patmore of the Allotment Association. We’ve been lucky enough to get a grant from the British Council and we have a partner school out in Kenya. It was something that Bruce was leading and we had the head teacher from the partner school come over.We had a timetable for him because he needed to see certain things..
Projects & Partnering with Kenya
RL: I hear you are planning big things outside?
Rachel: Yes, we’ve been having help from Dave Patmore of the Allotment Association. We’ve been lucky enough to get a grant from the British Council and we have a partner school out in Kenya. It was something that Bruce was leading and we had the head teacher from the partner school come over.We had a timetable for him because he needed to see certain things..