COVER STORY – Build it!
The headteacher suggested making a toilet the teachers could sit on that would fl ush clean water over their heads
lots of fun. It involves using boat bilge pumps to pump water from a tank into lengths of roof guttering set at a slight angle. The water fl ows down the slope, across the back and ultimately back into the tank. Players use a bath duck and pump as fast as they can to propel it around the course. You could have two players next to each other and hold a race!
Team effort I always discuss my ideas with the
PTA committee members and the headteacher, and we set some ground rules. For The Floor is Lava, we allowed ten children to use the apparatus at one time, and there was always an adult supervising the game, which is the same as at playtimes. Another volunteer took money and supervised the queue. If the children started acting silly, the helpers would blow a whistle and ask them to stop. These rules helped maintain a level of control and monitoring during the game. We noted the ground rules on the risk assessment, which the headteacher signs off. We have also developed rules for
our Jeep driving, especially for the younger children. The Jeeps are powered by a 12-volt battery with an old windscreen wiper motor in the back. They travel at walking pace and are speed limited. To ensure safety, there’s a kill cord at the back of each one that an adult helper can pull to stop the vehicle instantly. Volunteers supervising the driving wear high-visibility vests with ‘driving instructor’ written on the back so they can help the children with steering whenever necessary. We always keep the two vehicles apart and use a whistle to alert spectators who accidentally stray onto the track.
Give it a go If your PTA doesn’t have a resident
maker or you’re not ready for a large project, review your available resources and don’t underestimate your skills. You might make a game of Topple the Teacher by printing colourful pictures of the staff with silly faces, wrapping the images around tin cans, and stacking them on a table. If you’re up for a bigger challenge and have access to a handsaw and a cordless drill, try building my chick-racing track. Another easy game to make is Pin
the Tail on the Donkey. I made a Christmas version by sticking a poster of Rudolph on an A1 magnetic board and cutting out round nose shapes from fl exible magnetic sheets.
Ask around There are lots of ways to fi nd
someone with practical skills. Get some ideas together and approach your parent community with a specifi c request. Someone may be happy to give up a few evenings or weekends even if they don’t want to participate actively in anything else. If that doesn’t work, look beyond
the PTA. Try asking a community group such as Men in Sheds. Make it easy for people to say yes by developing a team mindset. If one person makes the item, someone else can paint it and a further volunteer can run the game on the day. It’s good practice to offer to pay for the materials. Besides helping make your
best-ever fair, developing a strong relationship with a practical helper can also lead to new opportunities. They may be willing to assist with projects such as constructing a mud kitchen or creating a reading nook for the library. ● Richard Brigg is chair Moorside Friends in Lancaster (630 pupils)
pta.co.uk SUMMER 2024 13
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