Overview
On Friday 22nd March, Freshford School hosted their much anticipated Playing Out event.
Despite some ominous grey clouds and spitting rain, the sun finally broke through buoying the spirits of even the most sceptical.
With barriers in place and a barrage of high visibility jackets to steward the area, pupils emerged warily from the confines of the school before plunging en masse to the extremities of the road closure to verify the reality of the enterprise.
Once established, a happy calm held sway. Children busied themselves with chalking, skipping, playing football and generally getting down to the important business of play. Despite the (thankfully) uneventful chaperoning of no fewer than three buses traversing the closure, even the adults on duty relaxed – improved no doubt by the delectable Ashe class cake sale.
With the familiar perils of the school run removed, parents, residents, staff and children were able to enjoy a more sociable end to the school day with many families choosing active travel methods to return home.
While survey results are still being collated to gauge the success of the initiative, the children themselves have gleefully voiced their delight in an approach that puts them at the heart of the solution.
Feedback
Your feedback on the day would be most welcome. It would be helpful to know of the positives and negatives of the day to help address any problems that might have arisen. This form was distributed via a community email, and feedback would be appreciated by Friday 29 March.