Highfield Community PrimarySchool, situated in Highfield, Rowlands Gill, Gateshead, is a 135-place school for students aged from three to eleven years of age. The school provides for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) in its Nursery and Reception classes which are accommodated together in the Foundation Stage unit. The nursery draws from a wider geographical area than the school so several children who attend the Nursery join other schools at the start of the reception year. In key stage 1 and 2 pupils are taught in three mixed age classes, each of which covers two school years.
In April 2007 the school moved to a new building, built under the government’s private funding initiative (PFI). Another primary school, St Joseph’s, is housed in the same building and the facilities are shared.
Head Teacher Mr Thompson explains why they wanted a
school canopy:
“We wanted a canopy for two reasons; we wanted to put a shelter out there because there’s nowhere for our parents to stand in the morning if it’s raining, they all tend to congregate by the front door which causes problems, so now they can stand under there and still keep an eye on the kids, so they’ve been really positive about it. Also, we wanted a canopy in the nursery area because we wanted it as an
outdoor classroom; we need to make sure that the children have got access to outdoor play all year round, not just in the summer, and the comments from both the children and their parents have been very enthusiastic. The installers were very professional, they did the job properly and the area was left very clean and tidy, we’re more than pleased and we’ve had no problems at all. We’d definitely recommend you to other schools because we’ve had such a good experience – the canopies are excellent quality and will last a long time."
and Mrs Whisler, Nursery and Reception teacher added:
“It’s absolutely fabulous, you can see how much they love it. We use the outside area much more now because it’s such a good extension of the classroom. We’ve got these doors wide open, which we never had before, and it defines the area because we can have tables and toys underneath, so it extends what’s happening in the classroom, we love it. The children have just taken to it so well because even if it’s a bit drizzly outside, it doesn’t matter - they can still come out, and it gives so much shade when we do have bright sunshine. I particularly love the leg pads, too, because apart from the children using them for all sorts of play and counting, they’re such a good safety feature. Also, a lot of our parents arrive 10 minutes early and I think it’s nice for them to have somewhere to wait; it shows that we care about them too, we don’t want them standing out in the rain!"
The
Qube outdoor classroom and other
POCCA school canopy products have always been praised for their aesthetic appeal, their environmentally sound management of rainwater and their affordability. There are very few companies that provide this type of structure, even fewer who provide made-to-measure structures, and certainly none who do so as cost effectively. The Qube is generally recognised by schools as a breakthrough in facilities management.
Pictured top: Canopy outside the nursery classroom
Pictured bottom: The Canopy to protect the parents when it’s raining
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