Wooden Spoon - Spoonews
Taken from the December edition of Spoonews
Oaklands Park School
Oaklands Park School stands on the outskirts of Dawlish, on Devon’s east coast, in a substantial Victorian property with a veritable honeycomb of other buildings in its grounds. The school provides an education and care service for children with severe learning difficulties. It is able to cater for up to 55 boys and girls at any one time with residential provision for 25 of them. Approximately half of the pupils have Autistic Spectrum Disorders.
Bob Pugh is the head teacher as he was back in 2002 when Spoon first made his acquaintance. As a former rugby player of Welsh extraction, it did not take long for a good relationship to blossom. “Sport is a priority in the school. Although all of the children have special needs, from a physical viewpoint, many of them are as able as their peers in mainstream education.”
One of the key attractions of the school, certainly as far as its pupils are concerned, is the fact that it has a pool. It reflects huge credit on the staff that when the children leave, 95% of them are able to swim. In 2002, however, the structure in which the pool was housed was beginning to show signs of its age. This was not altogether surprising given that it was 30 years old and had been anticipated to last for 10 years or so when it was first put up. Bob remembers that it was “an unwelcoming environment” but the estimated cost of replacement – put at close to £70,000 - was beyond the school’s means without a major fundraising drive that would have taken years to achieve its goal.
“Two parents met Bruce (Priday, chairman of the Devon region) at a fundraising event and he came to visit,” recalls headmaster Pugh. “That led to a visit from the project manager (Philip Blunden) and in what appeared to be no time at all, the project was in hand. I was really impressed by how little bureaucracy there was while, at the same time, everything was done very professionally.”
Bob recounts that the Devon committee raised roughly £15,000. This was matched with central funds and the school could then apply for “seed funding” which doubled the £30,000 aggregate. With the shortfall made up by a local drive for funds, the necessary sum was soon available. “We could never have done it, however, without that initial input from Spoon. It has made a huge difference. It has given the pool another 30 years of life.”
When Spoon News arrived on an abysmal winter’s day, the importance of the facility was plain to see. Even at 9:30 in the morning, the first class was already making itself ready for its dip in the pool. “Swimming is our best lesson,” says Julie Gibbons, assistant head (autism.) “Each class uses the pool twice a week, once with an instructor and once with the class team. Furthermore, each of the residences has the pool for its exclusive use during one evening of the week.”
Julie points out just how important the facility is in developing channels of communication with the children. “The interaction is a lot more spontaneous in the pool than it is outside in what could be termed “the real world,” particularly with the pre-verbal kids.”
There is no doubting the enthusiasm of the children even early in the morning. “The best thing about the pool is swimming underwater,” says George Milburn aged 10.
His friend Charles Welsh, 9, is similarly keen. “I couldn’t swim before I came here but now I can.”
“I like it when the roof comes off in the summer,” says Daniel Rose also 9, before adding: “Next time, can the pool be made deeper please.”
The ability to have the roof retracted is not just popular with the pupils. “When the sun is out, you can almost imagine that you are in the Caribbean,” says Julie with more than a little wistfulness in her voice as we watch the rain lashing down outside. It is easy to see why the pool is such a selling point.
The school is set to undergo further re-developments and improvements in the future. “We’ve had the architects out to see how the changing rooms and everything else can be fitted together,” explains Bob. “It’s a question now of bringing the other facilities up to the same standard as the pool!”
He pauses and then mentions that the opening ceremony had been conducted by none other than Welsh legend, Phil Bennett. “It was just such an honour to meet him,” says the awestruck head teacher. “It was quite probably the best day of my life, although you had better not tell my wife that!”
Don’t worry, Bob, your secret is safe with us.
Oaklands Park School
Oaklands Park School stands on the outskirts of Dawlish, on Devon’s east coast, in a substantial Victorian property with a veritable honeycomb of other buildings in its grounds. The school provides an education and care service for children with severe learning difficulties. It is able to cater for up to 55 boys and girls at any one time with residential provision for 25 of them. Approximately half of the pupils have Autistic Spectrum Disorders.
Bob Pugh is the head teacher as he was back in 2002 when Spoon first made his acquaintance. As a former rugby player of Welsh extraction, it did not take long for a good relationship to blossom. “Sport is a priority in the school. Although all of the children have special needs, from a physical viewpoint, many of them are as able as their peers in mainstream education.”
One of the key attractions of the school, certainly as far as its pupils are concerned, is the fact that it has a pool. It reflects huge credit on the staff that when the children leave, 95% of them are able to swim. In 2002, however, the structure in which the pool was housed was beginning to show signs of its age. This was not altogether surprising given that it was 30 years old and had been anticipated to last for 10 years or so when it was first put up. Bob remembers that it was “an unwelcoming environment” but the estimated cost of replacement – put at close to £70,000 - was beyond the school’s means without a major fundraising drive that would have taken years to achieve its goal.
“Two parents met Bruce (Priday, chairman of the Devon region) at a fundraising event and he came to visit,” recalls headmaster Pugh. “That led to a visit from the project manager (Philip Blunden) and in what appeared to be no time at all, the project was in hand. I was really impressed by how little bureaucracy there was while, at the same time, everything was done very professionally.”
Bob recounts that the Devon committee raised roughly £15,000. This was matched with central funds and the school could then apply for “seed funding” which doubled the £30,000 aggregate. With the shortfall made up by a local drive for funds, the necessary sum was soon available. “We could never have done it, however, without that initial input from Spoon. It has made a huge difference. It has given the pool another 30 years of life.”
When Spoon News arrived on an abysmal winter’s day, the importance of the facility was plain to see. Even at 9:30 in the morning, the first class was already making itself ready for its dip in the pool. “Swimming is our best lesson,” says Julie Gibbons, assistant head (autism.) “Each class uses the pool twice a week, once with an instructor and once with the class team. Furthermore, each of the residences has the pool for its exclusive use during one evening of the week.”
Julie points out just how important the facility is in developing channels of communication with the children. “The interaction is a lot more spontaneous in the pool than it is outside in what could be termed “the real world,” particularly with the pre-verbal kids.”
There is no doubting the enthusiasm of the children even early in the morning. “The best thing about the pool is swimming underwater,” says George Milburn aged 10.
His friend Charles Welsh, 9, is similarly keen. “I couldn’t swim before I came here but now I can.”
“I like it when the roof comes off in the summer,” says Daniel Rose also 9, before adding: “Next time, can the pool be made deeper please.”
The ability to have the roof retracted is not just popular with the pupils. “When the sun is out, you can almost imagine that you are in the Caribbean,” says Julie with more than a little wistfulness in her voice as we watch the rain lashing down outside. It is easy to see why the pool is such a selling point.
The school is set to undergo further re-developments and improvements in the future. “We’ve had the architects out to see how the changing rooms and everything else can be fitted together,” explains Bob. “It’s a question now of bringing the other facilities up to the same standard as the pool!”
He pauses and then mentions that the opening ceremony had been conducted by none other than Welsh legend, Phil Bennett. “It was just such an honour to meet him,” says the awestruck head teacher. “It was quite probably the best day of my life, although you had better not tell my wife that!”
Don’t worry, Bob, your secret is safe with us.
posted by Andy at 7:11 AM
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