Education Spotlight
Early Learners! by Jim Byrne, VA Technology, Ltd. S
o if Creativity is the Thinking, then Innovation is Doing It …. and back in March 2020, as the impact of the pandemic loomed on the horizon it became clear that schooling for all ages would be under terrific pressure to meet the necessary guidelines on ‘pupil to pupil’ spacing. It didn’t take complex math to determine that schools couldn’t cope within the available space restrictions, and doing something about it was equally complex due to the safety restrictions on working practices within the classroom building industry. Difficulties abounded, the importance of online connected education for all ages became paramount and got underway nationally and a seed
36 ❘ December 2020 ®
was sown to build a classroom for the local primary school. And if we could do that, then why not build an Outdoor Innovation Classroom and “Oh I See” would become the test of when the children would be inspired. The local Primary School
Headteacher was approached on the opportunity to provide the school with the OIC facility. This was enthusiastically welcomed and it didn’t take long to identify a potential site location on a small wooded mound, adjacent to the school playground area. With a basic drawing of the building, a preliminary site layout, and a summary scope of the Innovation elements that might be contained in the
facility, the local government authorities were approached, and soon thereafter formal approval was received, together with a commitment to support some of project implementation costs.
What is the OIC? The Outdoor Innovation Classroom, is a relocatable building, primarily manufactured off site, and final constructed on site, on pre-prepared foundations. Utilities including power, IT Comms, security, and fire alarms are interface connected to the school established facilities. The classroom is constructed in compliance with school building standards, and the size of 600sq Ft (55sqM) can accommodate up to 30
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
