Bids
The current fund for bids from the school is approximately £38,000.00.
There are 9 bids for consideration. Each bid section explains who has asked for it, which group(s) will benefit and why, and how much the items will cost. The agenda of the BHSA Meeting on February 22nd has provision for a detailed discussion of these bids. Please take the time to read through them all prior to joining the meeting on Wednesday.
The voting will start after the meeting and will finish on February 28th at 9pm.
Thank you for your time.
Juniors / Nursery
Outdoor Seating
£1520
In Nursery we would like to request some outdoor seating to create a quiet corner in our busy playground to read stories. Listening to stories together is one of the girls’ favourite pursuits, and we often have a crowd sharing a book with a grown-up. It would be lovely to sit in a cosy corner by the library with some new seating to enjoy books together.
Juniors / Forest School
Outdoor Learning Equipment
£595
Outdoor learning helps to develop resilience, confidence and allows children the opportunity to take managed risks. It can have a positive effect on both physical and mental wellbeing and allows all children the opportunity to shine.
We would like to extend our Forest School offering at Juniors. Mrs Brown in Nursery has recently undertaken Forest School training which would allow the children to use tools and to erect shelters under her supervision. However at present we lack the necessary equipment.
This bid is made up of a number of items and the photo is only of one of these for illustrative purposes.
Juniors / PE Dept
Netball & Basketball Hoops
£1040
4 (in total) adjustable Netball & Basketball hoops for the junior school playground.
How it will have an impact on the girls? We have found the girls are practicing their shooting ahead of matches during their play times. If we have a range of hoops that are of varying heights it will allow for more of them to practice their shooting. In turn this will have an impact on their game play in Netball particularly as we will have a wider range of practiced shooters to select from.
New Basketballs have been ordered for the playground so if we have some Basketball hoops it would introduce the girls to a new sport (which we could then introduce in the curriculum). It will also increase their shooting success.
Juniors / PE Dept
£6550
This, the PE Department readily admit is “a BIG one.” These items are not something they would ever be able to afford within their budget.
The girls at Blackheath Juniors could really benefit from two trampolines for their PE sessions which could also be used for a gymnastics club after school. Miss Dunne & Miss Ndagire are British Gymnastics qualified to teach trampoline, as are PE teachers at Seniors.
This purchase would transform gymnastics in the school and also offer an alternative sport in PE/Games. The girls would work on accurately replicating the basic shapes of pike, straddle and tuck; something that is at the foundation of all gymnastics whilst improving core stability, flexibility and cardiovascular fitness, the foundation for a fit, healthy body.
The PE Dept now works with all girls at juniors from Nursery to Y6. It is often best to start children off young with sports such as Trampoline that involve an element of ‘fear’ as fear only grows as a person gets older. If students become comfortable on a trampoline at a younger age they are more like to be able to try and refine the more complicated skills than if trying them for the first time post 12 years of age. Trampoline also offers a perfect opportunity for students to peer assess: watching/analysing performance and giving feedback to one another on what needs to be improved.
It would also prepare them for senior school where they offer trampoline in their PE lessons. But more importantly anyone who goes on to choose GCSE or A level as an option would be able to pick Trampoline as one of their sports and would be in a stronger position if they had learnt the fundamentals at junior school.
Eventually we would look at developing some inter-GDST school junior trampolining competitions and possibly hosting them here at Blackheath.
Two trampolines would be required: unfortunately a ratio of one trampoline to 24 students would involve too much waiting around for students and would result in inadequate progress.
As these are Olympic British Gymnastics recognised trampolines, it may be possible to get in a qualified coach to offer after school
sessions and enter in external London competitions.
Parents often note the Trampoline at Seniors and comment wishfully for the juniors.
Juniors / Music
Looper Pedal
£470.00
These are very versatile pieces of equipment and can be used for both music and literacy. In literacy, for any setting description, you can create a soundscape with a class which helps bring the description alive. This also works into live composition in a music classroom. It can also be used in music in lots of ways to demonstrate live recording and loops.
Juniors / Playground
Games & Gardening
£900
As part of the school’s focus on quality outdoor learning this additional equipment would enhance the learning potential of our playground and expand the opportunities for
independent and collaborative play.
The school has selected items for our playground seat-planters, giant stacks and building blocks, and other games such as balance boards, hula hoops, giant chess pieces, french skipping ropes.
Seniors / Art
Specialist Sewing Machines
£1,560
Adding two more sewing machines of this quality to our existing collection would make a considerable difference to the opportunities for students to engage with the different textiles
projects that we offer both as part of the curriculum and as additional provision. Art GCSE is a very popular choice and all students undertake a textile design project as one of their areas of study. With access to more machines students can experiment with more advanced and ambitious ideas as they individually have a greater amount of time to develop/explore different approaches. We would also be able to include more textiles approaches/outcomes/projects in our KS3 provision. Also many students from across the age range want to participate in our annual Fashion Show but we often have to limit numbers of younger students joining our Fashion Show Society wishing to create their own garments as we have a limited number of sewing machines. These would change that.
Seniors / Music
Keyboards & Headphones
£5000
20 new classroom keyboards with Bluetooth and USB connection & 20 pairs of headphones.
A keyboard for each, with headphones, will enable students to progress at their own pace rather than relying on a partner when in class. It would also improve focus on their own work. New keyboards with Bluetooth and USB connection would have a significant impact on learning in Years 7 – 9 as they would enable schemes of work to be implemented with a focus on keyboard skills and music technology.
Teaching keyboard skills at Key Stage 3 by focusing on building a vocabulary of different chords enables students to gain instrumental mastery and develop an understanding of harmony in a practical way. These skills and knowledge can then be used to support their compositional development in Key Stage 3, but also beyond into GCSE and A Level.
Bluetooth connection would allow students to connect their school iPads to their keyboard and headphones. This would allow them to play along to videos when learning different chords to create the experience of piano accompaniment and to master a wide variety of musical repertoire.
USB connection would enable students to use their keyboard as a MIDI instrument, enabling them to play and record into GarageBand. This would help to further embed songwriting into schemes of work, ensuring that the Music curriculum keeps pace with contemporary uses of music technology.
The Whole School (juniors & seniors)
“Tooled Up,” A Resource
£2,000
Dr Kathy Weston recently gave a talk to parents on ‘Raising a Resilient Child’. The feedback from parents and staff was extremely positive. Many saying it was the best speaker they had ever seen.
Kathy and her team also provide an enormous evidence-based resource to empower parents and those who work with children. She works with qualitive researchers and collaborates with eminent mental health and other professionals to sources, curate and develop resource information in order to support parents and teacher.
There is a commitment to giving parents practical tools they need to help parents flourish based on evidence.
Many other independent schools are now using this resource
Resources can be personalised to Blackheath High School
Package includes Inset for staff, parent talk and Q&A’s with parents
Examples of recent evidence-based research available:
- Calming down ideas
- Wellbeing for Teachers
- Advice on screen use
- Tackling bullying
- Kindness and Empathy Anxiety
Impact on children:
- More resilient children
- More effective family environment
- Children that thrive academically and socially
- Children who are physically ‘tooled up’ for early adulthood and beyond