Let's GLOW!

See the Calendar for the date of our next Let's Glow!

Please come along and share this special day with us.

A selection of photos

‘Let’s Glow!’ is 7 years old!

Here’s an update about our outdoor learning project.

Lets’ Glow! means Let’s ‘Grow and Learn Outside in Wellies!’ Our fantastic logo was designed by a friend of Mr Walton. Back in 2007 we had great ideas about what we wanted the Let’s Glow! project to achieve - real, active, outdoor learning in a safe environment that made the most of the wonderful school grounds here at Bagthorpe. We made ambitious plans for developments to make the woods and grounds into exciting, inspirational places where our pupils could enjoy learning outside the classroom all year round.

Our first Let’s Glow! outdoor day took place on World Environment Day in June 2008 and since then, once a term, the whole school has taken part in ‘Let’s Glow!’ days together. These cross-curricular, outdoor days are now a permanent part of our school calendar and have followed a themed programme of activities, including:

‘Words in the Woods’ – literacy theme, writing, poetry
‘Let’s Glow! Global’ – life in Malawi, water, music, art
‘Let’s Glow! Together’ – memories, heritage, community
Let’s Glow! Challenge and Adventure’ – team challenges, problem-solving, teamwork and leadership
‘BioBlitz’ – surveying the many species of wildlife found in the school grounds
‘Let’s Glow! Safely’ – many aspects of personal safety, road, rail, risk assessment, first aid, fire and rescue, smoking
‘Let’s Glow! to the Diamond Jubilee’ and ‘Olympics’

Classes now incorporate regular outdoor sessions in their curriculum throughout the year and can see the benefits of this type of learning in the children’s confidence, motivation, learning and well-being. Teachers plan their own Let’s Glow! days for the Autumn and Spring terms, to support their classroom curriculum. Maggie Morland organises the Summer term Let’s Glow! day to take pressure off the teachers during a very busy time of year.

Parents and other school staff have been involved with Let’s Glow! from the outset and many regularly give up their time to help in a variety of ways. We have had a wonderful team of regular volunteers, who give up their time to help with projects needing more adult supervision, but are now looking to develop this team further as many of the original team are no longer able to help. If you are an enthusiastic D-I-Y er or would like to help in any way, contact your child's teacher.

Here are some of the things we’ve achieved together so far:
created ‘WordSpace’, an outdoor storytelling/literacy area in the top woods,and a log circle, den and benches in Plantation Wood
created the ‘Woodland Theatre’ with tiered seating round an outdoor stage
built a covered ‘Changing Space’ area between the school buildings for waterproofs, wellies and outdoor equipment
planted a small orchard of apple and pear trees by the playing field
made interpretation boards about woodland and pond wildlife
developed a range of orienteering courses for all ages
extended and surfaced the adventure playground area
built the ‘Ropewalk’, used for many adventurous activities
created a bog garden and laid an irrigation pipe to it
surveyed the trees with the help of an arboriculturist
built a pond-dipping platform and fenced both ponds
re-surfaced paths and built new steps and bridges in the woods
assembled a huge range of displays, equipment and resources, (including a digital weather station) in the newly-refurbished Green Room
planted a living willow ‘fedge’ with windows, archways and tunnel
made and put up bug, bird and bat boxes and enjoyed bat walks
made scarecrow bird feeders
planted a mixed native hedge along the footpath
constructed a minibeast ‘hotel’ and compost bins in the garden
re-designed the garden area with polytunnel, gazebo, raised beds and tree seat
planted thousands of spring bulbs, woodland and bog garden plants
built brushwood fences in the woods, to provide homes for many woodland creatures
regular litter picking, made ‘dog poo’ notices and painted a new litter bin
environmental art and sculpture, musical ‘soundwalks’, photography,shelter-building, recycling, sensory games, maths with trees…and much, much more!

Bagthorpe Primary School is also an on-going Eco Schools Green Flag Award winner.

Other local schools have enjoyed using our outdoor spaces and students from Selston Arts Community College have joined in and helped with Let’s Glow! days. We have encouraged links with other schools and invited them to Let’s ‘Glow’ days. Forest School groups regularly enjoy our woodlands and outdoor facilities. We want to encourage even more schools to come to enjoy the benefits of our wonderful outdoors. This will also have benefits for our school, as it will help fund future Let’s Glow! projects and resources.

We’ve also been fortunate to gain the support of local businesses, including IKEA, MVM (the construction group who widened the motorway), Browne Jacobson (a Nottingham law firm), Ashfield District Council, Notts Wildlife Trust, and individuals who have given time or money to support the project. If you know of a company who could support the project with either funding or as part of a staff team-building event, please let us know. Some of our best contacts so far have come from teachers, parents or relatives. We have great plans for the future of Let’s Glow! and we’d like you all to be part of those plans. Contact your child's teacher if you think you can help in any way.