Community spirit working hard to help secure future of Mid Devon youngsters

FROM scrubbing out scrubland to rallying local businesses, one Mid Devon group of volunteers is redefining what a school PTA can achieve - and transforming children's futures along the way.

- by LEWIS CLARKE

In a time when school budgets are stretched to breaking point, it's easy to assume that little can be done. But the Friends of Willowbank, the passionate PTA behind Cullompton's Willowbank Primary School, isn't one for standing still.

It's not just baking cakes and manning stalls it's coordinating grants, wielding spades, filling skips and chasing down sponsors with one unshakable goal in mind: raising £40,000 for a new outdoor classroom and play area that will benefit generations of local children.

"This isn’t about extras," says Sami Tucker, the group’s chair. “It’s about giving our children the tools, space and environment they deserve because every child, no matter their background or needs, should have access to brilliant, inspiring spaces to learn and grow.”

And with a growing team of volunteers, parents and even local businesses backing it, it is proving that when a community rallies behind its children, remarkable things start to happen.

The idea for the outdoor classroom came from necessity. The school’s old climbing equipment, well past its prime, had to be removed, leaving behind a lifeless patch where imagination once flourished.

Rather than simply replacing what was lost, the PTA - in collaboration with the school’s leadership - saw an opportunity to reimagine the space altogether.

“We want to bring learning outside,” Sami explains. “Studies show that outdoor education improves focus, mental health and behaviour.

“We've got children with additional needs who don’t currently have access to key areas of the playground this project will change that.”