Both our Adult and Junior Judging Panels were unanimous in their decision to award this group the “top” prize.  The portfolio was very well put together and contained some innovative ideas for a play space that is boring at best.  300 pupils squeeze into a fairly small space each day at this school and the facilities are going to be vastly improved now that the Project Team has won.

Keeping the secret from the children was really hard and we are extremely grateful that Lisa Shelton, the lead teacher, agreed to do so… we really wanted to tell the children face to face.

Rimini Hall, 11, was project co-ordinator, she said: “I can’t wait to see the end result, we all worked really hard and I was so surprised when we found out that we’d won.”

Well done you guys!

I’m Gosbert and I’ve recently joined Kids First where I’ll be helping out with the running of the Playground Partnerships scheme. I’ll be blogging regularly in order to keep you up to date with my activities, thoughts and general updates on all things Kids First Trust(ish).

But what brought me here to the Kids First Trust? chance? Intention? Or how about some good ol’ fashioned luck? To be honest it was a combination of all three. My undergraduate years at University were spent studying Law, and as expected the next ‘logical’ step was to become a lawyer right? Well, not exactly……

After graduating I spent time abroad working, as well as getting involved in various bits and pieces revolving around community action/legal work. But what really hit me after graduating was a conversation I had with an ex schoolmate, he’d been through a hard time and left school with a handful of poor GCSE grades. In our conversation he said to me ‘Gosbert, everything is okay for you, you’re well smart’. That statement got me thinking, I don’t consider myself smart, if someone sets me a task, yes I’ll work hard at it, but I’ve never thought of myself as having ‘super duper’ brain capacity!

Then I realized it wasn’t intelligence that set me and my friend apart, what separated us were choices, choices which in many cases were made for us. This inspired me, in such a way the thought of practicing Law had never done before. I scoured the net and began volunteering with organizations that aimed not only to improve young people’s lives, but also worked towards ensuring every young person has the chance to truly reach their potential.

Through the use of Playground Partnerships and other related schemes, I hope I can assist Kids First Trust in providing those chances, as well as those choices, of which so many young people are denied. Building key skills, developing confidence and providing a platform from which all young people have a chance to shine is what motivates me, nothing more, nothing less.

Until Next Time!

Gosbert.

Gos is just completing his Masters in Law and has an active interest in using his time, talent and knowledge to assist people that are working to empower children and young people. He regularly works with Young Enterprise London and has now joined the Kids First Team as the Project Coordinator for the Playground Partnerships scheme that we are launching in September.

Welcome!

You see this wasn’t any invite. Tarland School were finally opening their new playground, designed by the pupils and paid for by the Kids First Trust Playground Partnerships Scheme.  I remember this school portfolio very well. You see the children had captured their ideas and dreams for the new design on a dreamcatcher.

Not one element of the children’s design was cut in the final finished article. As the Playground Partnerships Team took me on a tour around their new play area they explained the reasons behind every single item we came across. The playground now boasts a stage area, football goal posts, a quiet area, gigantic play pencils, smaller games that are attached to the walls and lots more besides.  The piece de resistance is the total transformation of the tree area where the Playground Partnerships team designed a climbing area amongst the existing woodland.

I spoke at length with the pupils that formed the team and one story will remain with me for a long time yet. One pupil recounted the day she had to ring a local businessman to ask for a quote. She had never made a phonecall before and so understandably, felt very nervous. She did it though and its not just the teachers that recognise what an achievement it was, she does too:

“it was brilliant. I know I can do anything”

I can talk about the skills and confidence that children develop through the scheme as much as I am allowed to but hearing such stories directly from the pupils that participate in Playground Partnerships illustrates it best. As adults we think nothing of picking up a phone and making a call. For a 9yr old its a big deal. Furthermore, it made her feel like she can do anything. I’d say that’s a pretty important outcome.

It is enough to blow any adult’s mind when you see the creativity and thought that these primary aged pupils have put into their area. However, this is not all that the team are doing. Not wanting to leave things unfinished, they have now handed over the Playground Project to the incoming School Council made up on younger pupils as the PP team move on to Secondary School. The new school council has plans of its own.

As Jill so succinctly put it “even if we hadn’t won the money, going through the process has given the children so much confidence they would have found it from somewhere anyway” and having met them, I believe her.

Since the school found out it won the Playground Partnerships award they have always won the Eco Schools recognition and a competition run by Shell; they have appeared on Scottish TV and made the local press.

Thank you to all of our supporters that help make children’s dreams come true. You certainly started something at Tarland School….

Not to be daunted by this, we decided that despite the big cheque not landing on the doorstep it is business as usual for Kids First Trust. Ladies and gents, we are launching Playground Partnerships with the money that we took away with us when we left Woolworths.

Its make or break time for us and if this is the last thing that we do as a charity it will be worth it. We are passionate about children and young people. We are determined to continue impacting their lives positively and so, we’re not waiting around anymore.  We’re doing it anyway.

I am proud to be part of the Kids First team, to have wonderfully supportive and visionary Trustees and brilliant supporters.

The summer is going to be mega-busy as we prepare all the materials required to launch the scheme in September.  If you think you know a Primary or Special school in the UK that may benefit from the scheme please ask them to register their interest on the Playground Partnerships website or contact us directly via our website.

Through the Playground Partnerships Awards primary school pupils are invited to redesign their school playground whilst developing core skills and competencies that we believe helps them to grow into responsible adults.

Pupils aged 7 – 11yrs old are asked to produce a portfolio of design for their school playground with a chance to win up to £10,000 to have their playground dreams made real.

Entry is by on-line registration, after which we will provide a password that enables access to the special resources that we have designed to assist School Teachers, LSA’s and Play Leaders in delivering the idea to their pupils.

If you are a school teacher or play leader at a primary school in the UK please visit our Schools Section for further information

Today, I had a response from James Cleverley, Youth Ambassador for London.  This is what he said:

“Kids First Trust fulfills a vital role by encouraging and supporting the importance of play amongst children in London. I am happy to lend my support to this organisation and its Playground Partnerships scheme which has produced some excellent results through the involvement of children in the transformation of school playgrounds. I hope its work continues into the future.”

Play is the work of children.  The Playground Partnerships Awards programme gives children the ability to shape their environment and places them at the very heart of the project.

We understand and appreciate that the financial grants are important but for us The Playground Partnerships Awards are not just about the money. They are designed specifically to provide children with the opportunity to shape the thing they care most about – their play area.

From self-selection to form part of the team, through to portfolio production and completion of the application form, we encourage teachers and supervisors to allow children to take control and own their project, themselves.

We believe that the life skills children learn by completing their projects process are essential to their development into confident and responsible adults. Imagine managing a budget of up to £10,000 at age 8, 9 or 10yrs!