28/01/2026
We would like to pass our thanks to Surrey County Council with support from our Waverley Borough Councillor, John Robini, for awarding our school with a Your Fund Surrey Small Community project fund.
The grant was put towards different elements to enhance our outside areas for the benefit of the school community and also the wider community who rent out our facilities for local events and clubs outside of school hours. We have outlined below details of the projects our grant funded and how they made a difference to our community.
Our school did not have a suitable disabled access pathway from the road to the main office/reception door. Our previous paved pathway was not level and we were experience numerous trips and falls on the uneven and broken paved pathway which was also not suitable for wheelchair access or for people with mobility issues. Our main entrance pathway leading up to the school was resurfaced with this grant and it provides an even pathway making it safer for everyone who comes to the school, especially for wheelchair users or for those or with mobility issues. This improvement means we are now more welcoming and inclusive to the whole school community and visitors to our school.
We purchased some outdoor recycled picnic benches for the playgrounds and seating around a tree in the allotment area. New picnic tables and tree seating have had a positive impact as the children have somewhere to eat packed lunches, and are being used for other activities and for outdoor learning. Picnic benches also encourage and promote socialisation, interaction and friendships amongst the children. We purchased recycled seating which are environmentally friendly, maintenance free and are guaranteed for 25 years.
We now have a wonderful story telling chair which we have put in our wildlife garden area which not only looks good, but has resulted in the children engaging with the teacher during learning activities and for class story time.
Two excellent quality and robust outdoor wooden gazebo’s for the Key Stage 2 playground and the Early Years garden have been installed. We now have a very large wooden gazebo and shelter for the playground which has seating around the edges which is big enough for a whole class to use as an outdoor learning resource (outdoor classroom). The children also use the area at breaktimes for quieter activities like reading books, or calming activities, as well as providing welcome shade in the summer. The wooden gazebo in the Early Years garden area allows the children to play outside and in the sandpit in all weathers as it offers shelter from the rain and shade from the sun.
These projects have already made a huge difference to our school community, and we very much look forward to welcoming the wider community and visitors to our school to utilise these wonderful new additions and improvements to our outside areas. In recent years, community groups like St Bartholomew’s Church, JC Sports school holiday camps, Haslemere Scouts, Parent’s of Bart’s and Haslemere Confederation of Schools, have held events or activities at our school and we hope that this continues in the years ahead.
