Ticket to Ride


Trains, planes and double deckers make fun, exciting learning spaces. Zena Alli hopped aboard to hear how four schools found extra va-va-room


‘Parents and staff hop on and off the library bus before and after school’


bus. But it had fallen by the wayside, so we set about breathing new life into it. The hard work had been done – purchase, planning permission, health and safety compliance and groundworks. Now it needed some TLC. Our site supervisor, Gary, is an


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ex-builder and is absolutely brilliant. We worked out how we wanted the bus to look and Gary made it happen. We formed writing groups with the children to send letters to companies asking for


12 AUTUMN 2022 pta.co.uk


hen I became headteacher, I inherited an amazing library


discounts on materials we needed and they measured up for carpet, too. They really felt part of the process. We painted plants and foliage over the


exterior and continued the woodland theme inside. There’s a ‘tree’ with ‘branches’ winding its way up the stairs and Gary painstakingly added fake leaves with matchsticks. Renovations cost around £5,000, which


mainly came from our Christmas and summer fairs – around £2,000 each – plus a sponsored pedal push around the playground and a sponsored egg roll at


Easter. One of our teaching assistants put in a lot of work, too, including designing the artwork inside. Our office team works closely with the PTA organising events and fundraising activities. We’re all very proud of the bus. The


children look after it, so there’s not a lot of ongoing maintenance apart from repainting every few years, replenishing the books and heating it in winter. Before Covid, parents and staff could hop on before and after school, to have a quiet space to read with children – we hope to reintroduce that soon. We also use it for one-on-one phonics practise. Rachel Otter, headteacher, Pinewood Primary School and Foundation Unit, Nottinghamshire (194 pupils)


IMAGE: ID8 PHOTOGRAPHY


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