Inner city school turns playground into nature area

Children at a primary school in inner city Bradford have been remodelling their grey asphalt playground into a nature haven.

Lapage Primary School in Barkerend is one of 10 schools to receive £25,000 as part of a programme to tackle unequal access to nature in schools.

Headteacher Richard Grogan said the children had a key role in deciding how the playground would be transformed.

"It is bespoke to us but we've taken the idea from the children. So they've had direct input to this, which we feel is really important because they need to own that space to be able to engage and want to engage with it," he said.

The school received £10,000 from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and £15,000 from Northern Star Academies Trust.

As part of the project, the children have been planting trees, building dens, and creating bug habitats and outdoor art spaces.

"What we've been able to do is rejuvenate the area and make it certainly more engaging for children and make it an area where they can come and relax and engage with nature," said Grogan.

"There's so many benefits to being outside, to be engaged and to being able to be hands-on. That's an important factor and a huge benefit."

As part of the scheme, an organisation called Learning Through Landscapes will come into the school eight times a year to work with teachers and children.

According to the WWF many children have limited access to nature during the school day, particularly in more disadvantaged communities.

Its research suggests 70% of primary schools do not offer daily opportunities for children to connect with nature.

Jon Turner, head of schools and education at WWF UK, said the aim of the project was to connect a million children to nature by the end 2028.

"We know from an absolute wealth of research now that kids being in nature makes them happy and helps them with learning, it improves attainment, it improves their wellbeing and health, it helps them regulate their emotion and behaviour as well," he said.

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