We are delighted to share with you the latest addition of Jean Barratt’s blog, Tales from the Greenhouse. Jean, a teacher at Seashell Royal School Manchester, runs a programme that looks to develop our students’ skills through horticulture. The programme evolves with the seasons, and provides an opportunity for students to experience change and regular routine: from sowing seeds in May to harvesting in June and planting in autumn.
In this blog, Jean provides an insight into the activities of the horticulture programme and the positive impact sessions have on individuals at Seashell, as well as some top tips for getting your own young ones interested in crafting.
It has been a funny old start to the year; OFSTED behind us and a brand new school to look forward to. Any of you reading this who have SEN youngsters to care for will appreciate that whilst this is exciting, it is also a challenge to make such a huge transition run smoothly. It would be hard to quantify how much time and effort all the contact staff have put into this: we have had regular visits during construction; virtual tours; social stories and much, much more to put everyone at ease. Without this preparatory groundwork many of our students would have been thrown off balance by such a move, but from my vantage point of the greenhouse, I can see how ready they are to accept this change.
For the present, my area remains unchanged, and I will still be updating you from the old school gardens where we have not stood still either. Over the winter months there have been some new directions taken in our mini-enterprise and we have been selling our plants and crafts both on and, for the first time, off-site too. This has been something I have aspired to since before Covid struck, and in November it finally happened. Our good friends at the Time Out Group allowed us to set up shop at their centre in Handforth and some of my brilliant crafters came along – not only to man the tills, but also to set up crafting stations and show everyone how to make the beautiful wreaths they create so expertly. Given it was a big ask to have the students work in a new environment and with unfamiliar people dropping in, they worked at their tasks like old pros. The students at Seashell always amaze me with what they can do and this was no exception.
Over the winter we have diversified into making pom-pom flowers and framing them. These have evolved over the last few weeks as we have adapted and refined the process to accommodate even the most subtle of learners by wrapping wool around a strip of card and tying off with wire and cutting through the strands. A twist of florist tape around the stem and ‘Hey Presto! A lovely flower. For some students we used the activity as a sensory experience – feeling the wool between their fingers- for others we exaggerated the wrapping movement, extending and stretching their arms to incorporate some Occupational Therapy into the session too. If you want to have a go at home there are videos on Youtube and Pinterest which will show you the basics and you can take it from there. I’m sure you will agree that once framed and ready to sell the flowers are beautiful.
Our next exciting project is a Schools’ Garden exhibit at the Tatton Show in July. Given this is our Bicentenary year, it feels like a fitting double celebration of both the natural world and the skills we are developing here at Seashell. It will be a challenge as this is something very new for us to attempt alongside our usual growing activities, but I have every confidence in the students and the brilliant staff who have stepped up to be part of the event. Once we get started putting our display together – the theme is bio-diversity – look out for our updates on the website and in the newsletters. We all hope you will find the time to come and see our creation at the show and say hello to us.
Happy gardening!
Jean Barratt,
Outdoor Learning Teacher, Royal School Manchester
