Parents’ Voice:

Allotment

As a school we are very fortunate to have our very own allotment.

Visiting the allotment is a firm favourite with the children.  They enjoy digging, planting, weeding and watering their very own class plot.

On the allotment we grow a wide variety of fruit, vegetables and flowers.  We have also created an Insect Tower and habitats for our native mammals, amphibians and reptiles.

Benefiting from being in the fresh air, the children experience the miracle of growth first hand and their self-esteem increases as they develop a sense of respect and fondness for their environment.  The children gain knowledge of a wide range of gardening skills and feel confident when using the tools.  They are so amazed and proud when they dig up their first, carrot, radish or potato from beneath the soil!

Our allotment also has a bottle greenhouse that was made by the children (with a little help from Mrs Hutchinson and Mr Geal!) using 800 plastic bottles collected from the children. Each child decorated one bottle. The whole school use this greenhouse through our outdoor science learning.

Our latest addition to the allotment is 2 bee hives that are looked after by a former pupil, Charlie Burton. The children in Year 2 get to experience being bee keepers in the summer months. They dress up in bee suits and get to handle a frame of bees trying to identify the 3 types of honey bees– worker bees, drone bees and if they are really lucky they can spot the queen bee!. The look to see if they can identify eggs and larva. Again if they are lucky they get to see bees being born! This experience is unique to Pashley and something that the children will remember for years!