Fittleworth Village School is delighted to announce that we have secured £224,000 of funding to improve our school grounds. Working together with the Western Sussex Rivers Trust we’ve designed a Future Proof Playground to tackle issues such as managing water during times of heavy rainfall and increasing shade to allow the children to play outside even during hot days of summer. The project will also make space for wildlife and provide a more inspiring and enriching outdoor environment, encouraging different styles of play and learning.

We’re all feeling the effects of our changing climate, and it will have implications for how and where our children can play outdoors at different times throughout the year. Schools need to adapt, and our school is pioneering this approach in West Sussex so we can provide a showcase for other schools in the region.

Our pupils have enjoyed some fantastic sessions learning about climate change and what nature does for us, as well as taking part in a fun workshop with Landscape Architects so they could input to the designs. They’ve worked with an ecologist to investigate the wildlife living in our school grounds, and input to an important ecological report.
This year will see us starting work to create this beautiful new space.

Concept design for playground – please note this is a concept only and will change throughout the design process

Concept design for playing field – please note this is a concept only and will change throughout the design process

Throughout the design process the children were inspired by some particular education and play features that we could add to the new nature-friendly space, such as a giant chess set, outdoor book nook, quiet playhouses, adventure play trail and a funnel ball hoop. There are also opportunities to sponsor a raingarden!
If you would like further information or may like to support our project we would love to hear from you. Please email Debbie Burnett – head@fittleworth.school

We would like to give a huge thank you to the South Downs National Park Authority for their incredible contribution of £200,000 through their Community Infrastructure Levy, and to members of our community who have been so generous in making donations for our Future Proof Playground.