Help
Business Reviews
Loading...
Neston High Celebrates Revamp of Student Support Area
| Author: Katie Robson | Published: 29th January 2013 15:11 |
Students, teachers, parents and community visitors came together this week to celebrate the official opening of the newly revamped Student Support area, Overton 8, at Neston High School.
Amongst the guests at the event were Mayor of Neston, Cllr Pat Hughes and his wife Marie, Chair of the Governors Reg Chrimes and Head Teacher Mr Steve Dool. All were served coffee, tea and biscuits by students keen to show off their new surroundings.
Formerly a functional but rather dull space was divided into two classrooms with no 'soft' areas for relaxation. Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator Mrs Kath Thomson was keen to involve students in the overhaul to ensure their future needs were met. She explains: "Some of our older students, who have been using the area for a few years now, were very involved in the designs for the space.
"They chose calming colours, helped to plan areas for work and relaxation and created space to allow those with physical disabilities to move safely.
"We are busy before school, at break and lunch, as well as during lesson times when students access small group or individual support in literacy, numeracy, communication skills, speech and language therapy.
"Students can also come along after school - we run a homework club along with a fun literacy club and a maths group. In all, around 50 students use the area every day, so it was important to ensure that we came up with designs suitable for an inclusive environment, both relaxing and practical."
One of the students involved in the design is Alex. Whilst removing old fixed wall cupboards in preparation for the refurb, a maths exercise book appeared which had work in it from years ago. The name was tracked and the book was returned to its rightful owner - Alex's mother!
Some of the students' designs can be seen in our photos below and several of the budding designers presided over the official ribbon-cutting to declare their new area open (above). As the brochure handed to guests highlighted - "Overton 8 was designed by students for students. Supporting each other to work and socialise together in a calm, comfortable environment."
Mr Steve Dool, Mr Reg Chrimes, Mayor of Neston Cllr Pat Hughes, Mrs Marie Hughes and Mrs Kath Thomson.
The Mayor and his wife receive some IT training!
Some of the students' own designs:
Separate, spacious and comfortable areas for students to enjoy:
For more information about Neston High School, visit the website here.
Report this article as inappropriate
Comments
You need to log in before you can do that! It's only a quick registration process to join the AMA network and completely free.
Help