St Michael’s Primary School in Farnsfield, together with the Parent Staff Association invests in outdoor areas to support education — they even have goats

A school has invested in its outdoor areas to help support the education of its pupils.

St Michael’s Primary School in Farnsfield, together with the Parent Staff Association, are making the most of their outdoor space by investing in several exciting new additions.

These new features include a greenhouse, with compost and seeds so the children can grow their own vegetables and plants.

There is also a new trim trail, all-weather pitch and bird tables, and the school recently welcomed two goats, Izzy and Indy, as its newest residents.

Alongside, several chickens already in residence, pupils take turns looking after the animals and can also play with them at break times.

It is hoped that the new areas will help to give the school children an understanding of hands on skills beyond the classroom.

New play equipment, sports facilities, a reading area and even a theatre space have also been installed to help diversify play and encourage new interests and social interactions.

Deputy head, Deb Taylor, said: “We wanted to be as includive as possible with our spaces and make sure that they are accessible for everybody.

“So we have lots of lovely spaces to match the diverse interests of our pupils, where after a few years of covid they can really learn to play and be children again.

“I want to thank our PSA who helped pay for our new greenhouse and all gardening equipment and put it up in their spare time.

“We’re hoping to use it with our gardening club where the children can learn about growing, look after the plants and find some comfort in nature.

“The pupils have really loved our new areas so far and it is lovely to see how well they have all engaged.

“We have all ages, from the youngest four-year-olds to the 11-year-olds in year six all playing together and that’s what we wanted to achieve.”

It is all part of the vision of school head, Mrs Carpenter, who wanted to instill a passion for learning in every child and allow them to flourish through the ‘love to learn, learn to love’ motto.

Future plans involve raising money for an outdoor PA system and a barbeque.