Entrant's address and contact details

School name:	Ashmole School
School/college address:	Cecil Road Southgate Greater London N14 5RJ England
School phone number:	020 8361 2703
Number of pupils in school(s) - male:	692
Number of pupils in school(s) - female:	693
Number of staff in school(s):	100

Our team leader and our team

Name	Position (e.g. Headteacher, parent, etc.)	Organisation
Miss Jennifer Hart	Science Teacher	Ashmole School
Mr Venkat Nallimilli	Science Teacher	Ashmole School
Miss Sarah Newman	Science Teacher	Ashmole School
Dr Nadine Risso	Science Key Stage 3 coordinator	Ashmole School
Mr Andrew Smith	Head of Sixth Form Enrichment	Ashmole School
Mr Glenn Doe	Garden specialist	Garden Maintenance Company

The key skills, strengths and roles of each team member are: (200 words)

Miss Jennifer Hart (HAR)

Ability to motivate pupils and colleagues. Jenny has the necessary flair and creativity to produce a programme of study which makes full use of the new facility.

Mr Venkat Nallamilli (NAL)

Ability to co-ordinate complex activities. He also has two years’ experience of working in horticulture. He is willing to volunteer the necessary time to organise the landscape team/pupils/finance and any other business necessary to deliver the project successfully.

Dr Nadine Risso (RIS)

Extremely focused and dedicated. Nadine is passionate about engaging young people with science and is at the very forefront of implementing the new science curriculum at KS3. She also leads a trip for sixth form pupils on a residential to carry out ecology work. Her knowledge of the outdoors will prove invaluable.

Mr Andrew Smith (SMI)

Head of Enrichment. Andy has worked tirelessly for years to provide Sixth form students with a variety of Enrichment projects to participate in. He is very passionate about the benefits of school enrichment.

Mr Glenn Doe (GLE)

Has run his own landscape gardening company for 15 years. Glenn also has experience of working in the school environment, and is very keen to provide much needed expertise.

Our proposal

Topic area of proposal: Processes and Living Things - Ecology/environment

Briefly, the aim of our proposal is: (50 words)

The project aims to inspire Sixth form pupils as part of their enrichment to get involved in a very hands-on outdoor science project and develop the currently unused school spinney (woodland).

The spinney could then be used in multiple ways including the better delivery of KS3/4 science curriculum including previously neglected areas such as ecology/sustainability.

The woodland would also give endless scope for activities during extra-curricular Science Clubs; boosting attendance.

The project could also help the school develop links with primary schools, e.g. primary pupils could work with our pupils/staff on projects such as growing organic vegetables, basic ecology etc.

Pupil type to benefit: All

Age range to benefit from proposal: 16-19

Learning outcomes from our proposal: (50 words)

• To raise standards of attainment at KS3-5.
• To increase participation in extra-curricular clubs, mainly Science.
• Increase pupil appreciation of healthy eating, sustainability and the environment.
• Further improve our links with local primary schools to aid eventual pupil transfer to our school.

Our reasons for developing this particular proposal: (100 words)

The developed woodland would enable better delivery of the new 21st century science courses where there is now increased emphasis on healthy eating, sustainability and environmental protection.

Ashmole School is a Specialist Science School and the faculty continuously strives to improve itself, the facility would allow for more activities to take place at extra-curricular clubs; boosting science learning.

Pupils on the school council and last years enrichment group highlighted their wish for different experiences from school, including learning through the outdoors.

Developing links with local primary schools is of course pivotal when it comes to secondary transfer.

Detailed description of our proposal: (300 words)

An enrichment group of 30 students will work alongside staff and a landscape gardener to improve the schools’ grounds in such a way that it is beneficial to both the environment and education of pupils within our school, this will be done by clearing overgrown vegetation within the spinney (4000m2 woodland) and then wood chipping the area. Then steps leading into the woodland will be constructed and a path leading from here to a sectioned off area set-aside for the purpose of growing organic vegetables, this will include installing a greenhouse. To encourage wildlife, bird boxes will be built and installed, also wildlife friendly shrubs/trees planted.

Another enrichment group of around 20 students will work to develop a programme of study for incoming primary pupils. They will design and eventually deliver activities, learning resources, etc to incoming primary pupils. Activities could include growing vegetables, basic ecology, flora and fauna identification etc.

Those actively involved in the design and construction will be enriched in many ways, as well as working alongside professionals they will develop their leadership, communication, creativity and interpersonal skills, all of which are transferable and useful in later life.

The project will have many spin-offs in many subject areas, providing opportunities/facilities for activities e.g. outdoor theatre, musical performances, orienteering, geography clubs etc.

The facility will also be used during science lessons (all year groups), with an increased emphasis on environmental protection, healthy eating and ecology in the new science curriculum, this project ties in well with recent changes.

The project is innovative and will make use of a currently unused part of the school grounds which has much potential as an outdoor classroom. The project will also produce a valuable case study to encourage excellence in science teaching and share best practice with other schools that, in the future, may consider similar build projects.

Putting our proposal into practice

Outline of how our team would implement our proposal over a period of not more than 24 weeks: (300 words, bulleted lists accepted)

Weeks 0-2

• SMI will organise timetables, and oversee pupil selection of enrichment programme. He will ensure pupils will have allocated periods to take part in enrichment and that suitable pupils are placed into both enrichment groups involved, i.e. group 1 will be involved in design and construction whilst group 2 will be involved in developing a programme of study to engage both our students and primary pupils.

Weeks 4-10

• NAL will organise necessary equipment to begin initial clearance of vegetation within the spinney. Then will supervise pupils who will undertake the work, implementing the school health and safety policy.

Weeks 10-12

• NAL/HAR will attend INSET on how to implement growing vegetables in schools.
• HAR/RIS will work with the second enrichment group to develop a programme of study, for use with both local primary pupils and our pupils during science lessons.

Weeks 12-14

• NAL will oversee wood chipping of spinney – which will be carried out by pupils.

Weeks 14-18

• NAL will supervise pupils who will use woodwork facilities at school to build, then finally install bird-boxes

Weeks 18-20

• NAL will supervise the planting of wildlife friendly trees/shrubs.

Weeks 20-24

• All will work alongside (GLE) to complete the project by finishing any remaining clearance/tidy work, and building access steps, a path and installing the greenhouse within a sectioned off area in readiness for growing vegetables.

Weeks 22-24

• HAR, NAL, RIS will be involved in primary pupils visiting the school and taking part in organised science programme of study. The Spinney will now also be used whole school.

Monitoring and evaluation

The monitoring procedures we will use during the project are: (200 words, bulleted lists accepted)

• Fortnightly meetings to update team and monitor progress.
• Continual feedback from students via interview/ questionnaire within the enrichment groups regarding their experiences.
• Schedule evaluated and modified as appropriate (NAL/HAR) to ensure completion of the project learning outcomes by week 24.
• Report of work completed to be recorded electronically alongside a photo diary, as evidence of progress.
• Project will form part of lead teachers professional development programme.

The evaluation procedures we will use at the end of the 25 weeks to check the effectiveness of our project are: (200 words, bulleted lists accepted)

• Enrichment group feedback via questionnaire/interview - each student will be asked to feedback with the emphasis on how the enrichment course has developed their skills
• Head of science faculty and staff feedback regarding success of using the new facility to deliver the curriculum.
• Final group meeting and future planning of how to get the most out of the new facility, within science and other curriculum areas.
• The uptake of membership of the Science Club.

* Primary head from local schools feedback on success of the project in terms of involving primary pupils.

* Video diary of the building part of the project.

Budget

Itemised costs of putting your proposal into practice within a maximum budget of £5,000 or equivalent in Euros:

Budget Item	Cost (GBP)
Clearance equipment	200
Greenhouse	1800
Landscaper to install, steps, path greenhouse	1500
INSET for teachers	150
Bird-boxes	100
Trees/shrubs	200
Woodchip	400
Steps and path	650
TOTAL	5000