DREAMS

When the Extended Services funding ceased at the end of August 2011 some of the schools in the Nechells Education Action Zone joined together to fund new POD Project Officer post to coordinate after school and holiday activities.  Carole Johnson was appointed and is now coordinating the DREAMS project on behalf of the Nechells Zone schools.

Update on the Easter Activities 2012 - Carole Johnson. 

The DREAMS Easter holiday programme was held at the POD on 10 April to 13 April. 48 children from 5 of the participating primary schools (St Vincent's, St Clement's, Nechells, St Joseph's and Cromwell) attended. Focusing on environmental issues, with a specific theme of Safer, Greener, Cleaner children participated in a range of activities such as film-making (using animation and green screens) and including techniques such as editing, camera shots and voice-overs. 

There was also an opportunity to explore the outdoor learning environment with gardening and planting vegetable seeds in raised beds, scarecrow making and transforming plain grassland into a beautiful butterfly garden or alternatively scaling the dizzy heights of the 12 foot climbing wall. Our "safer" activities were delivered by the British Red Cross and included resilience training and an awareness of how to cope with everyday dangers such as fire, floods, power cuts, road accidents, first aid basics. Other activities in relation to safety included Wushu (martial arts).

Our sincere thanks to our partnership working with Gro-Organics, The British Red Cross, Front Row Films, Freax and Laychan Thoong (Wushu) - and for ensuring their workshops were child-centred and provided dynamic opportunities for new experiences/challenges and equipped our children with lifelong learning skills.
The children were constantly reminded that they were "learning" through play and throughout the whole process asked to consider and decide what their preferred learning environment was (indoor or outdoor), and what range of learning styles they were using with each activity.  A fun time was had by all.  There will be a further two weeks of activities at the POD starting on Monday 23rd July 2012. If your child goes to one of the schools involved in the activities and would like to attend the programme please ask the school for details.

Take a look at our Video and photo gallery.