Children Know Best

What is the most effective way of developing an engaging outdoor area which satisfies the needs of everyone?

I must have visited over 3,000 schools in my job over the past 12 years but none compares to a meeting I had just last week which totally blew me away.

For the first time ever my presentation was not to management or the PTA but to the school’s eco and playground council and as a result I found myself staring down at the expectant faces of 20 or so children! My approach was to engage the children and get them talking about their ideal product rather than me blurting on about the benefits of mine. And this is where it became absolutely fascinating.

What amazed me was firstly how much they all knew about environmental issues and how they could incorporate these into features for the building. After an hour, we had created a truly original building with a sedum roof complete with wind turbine and solar panel, water butts for rainwater harvesting which fed straight into planters and a CCTV bird box with a video link back into the school.

We now had a product which the children could actually learn from so it had become an educational resource as well as just an outdoor classroom facility.

We have therefore put together some proposals for the school but the great thing is that the children can take 100% ownership of this project as it is their creation, not mine. They are also a forest school and the school council wanted to have a proper den which embraced the natural setting of the forest. If you click through on the link below, you will see what we have come up with.

Of course you don’t have to engage the children in the design process – but if you think your school children would benefit from us coming along and working directly with them to create engaging classroom buildings, playground or garden areas, then please call Simon Fearnehough on 01865 858982 or email simon@hideouthouse.com

The Hideout House Company www.hideouthouse.com