Ringwood Mayor Rae Frederick had the pleasure of officially opening Poulner Junior School’s Polytunnel. The Polytunnel was funded by Ringwood Town Council two years ago and Headteacher Jo Randall was delighted to welcome the mayor to finally open it and see just what has been achieved. Jo Randall explained ‘to make a project like this work and become embedded takes time, so we wanted to open the facility now, so we can show and thank the town council for the funding and to show them how it has evolved.

The school values environmental learning and feels that this should be taught alongside academic. The children gain so much from being out in nature and learning wider skills and supporting their own wellbeing. We are delighted to be able to invite the Mayor back to see the progress and thank the Town Council for supporting us.’

Over the last five years the school have adopted a whole school approach to the outdoors, with all children being involved in monthly outdoor learning sessions, weekly groups such as Forest schools and gardening and over 70 children now completing their John Muir award that recognises their involvement in conservation and the environment.

The Mayor was delighted to be shown all of the projects by the children with a guided tour. She was very impressed by the knowledge and enthusiasm of the children and commented ‘it is so impressive to see the school develop this approach and to see that they are working with so many members of the local community including Ringwood Greening, RACE and the local parent community who help fund and maintain the space alongside the children. The school leaders are doing a fantastic job in giving these young people such a rich education and I am thrilled to be able to hear and see the work that has been done.’

The school’s vision is based on three key words of learn, grow, thrive and it certainly seems that this is at the heart of their work. The Mayor and supporting visitors were not only shown the areas that have developed, such as the orchard, the sensory garden, pond and allotment, but were also given a box of fresh produce, harvested by the children, to take home to enjoy!