What we're going to do with your amazing donations.
Let's get right to the nitty gritty - what are we going to do with your cash? We're going to provide a once in a life-time trip for some really blooming marvellous children!
We want to take 15 disadvantaged children aged 9 and 10 to London in summer 2022, for a once-in-a-lifetime trip filled with awe and wonder.
The experience is for children who otherwise would never have the chance to go on a trip like this. The impact on their development, confidence, team work and resilience is huge, and your kind donation could make all the difference*. As part of the trip children will:
- Experience two nights away from home; a huge resilience and independence builder. The children will stay in a group youth hostel.
- Experience a train ride from Bradford to the capital (funded by Superbloom) and the London Underground.
- Visit a city they've never been to before and see all the sights and sounds that London has to offer.
- Visit some of London's best museums; exploring the world through history, art, geography and more.
- Visit the Superbloom installation at the Tower of London and learn about the fascinating history and science that has lead to this moment (funded by Superbloom).
- Work as a team to plant their own wild flowers on return to school.
- Make lasting memories with their friends that wouldn't be possible otherwise.
Read on to find out why our brilliant children deserve this fantastic opportunity.
*Please note: train fare and entry to Superbloom has been funded separately by the Superbloom project.
Our children are super!
We're sure every school feels like this, but our children really are super, incredible, talented, hardworking, passionate and funny! They deserve the very best education, opportunities and experiences.
Our children are determined to succeed, but the wide-ranging and significant challenges that the majority of them face means that the path to happy and successful lives will not be smooth.
Our children, and their families, face significant and wide-ranging challenges. The area around our school is in the top 10% of most deprived areas in the country (IMD, 2019). 45% of our families are on Pupil Premium and therefore face financial difficulties or poverty. Our community faces higher than average crime levels; 713 crimes were reported within a one-mile radius of school in November 2021 alone. In addition to this, 23% of pupils are on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities register. 75% speak English as an Additional Language and we have a large population of children from a Gypsy or Roma background.
Why they need your help.
Due to the poverty and deprivation faced by our community, many of our fantastic children lack life experiences. Many have never left the city, been to the seaside or ridden a bike. These opportunities might seem small, but experiences like this are where we learn about ourselves and the world around us. They provide opportunities for play, inspire us to take up hobbies and be active, show us the power of our own potential and give us the confidence to try new things. Without all those kinds of experiences, developing in to resilient, well-rounded kids is hard!
The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated this, with many of our families not leaving the house for the duration of the lockdowns. Children in Nursery and Reception have started school significantly behind, not just academically and emotionally but also in terms of their understanding of the world.
Ethnic minority and financially insecure families had a worse experience during the 2020 lockdown than other families, with many facing overcrowding (and therefore higher transmission rates), food, employment and housing insecurities (source: 'Experiences of lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic')
Across Bradford, Pakistani heritage children and those who identify as 'any other' ethnicity were significantly less active during the pandemic than before (Source: 'Ethnic differences in children’s self-reported physical activity and the importance of leaving the home environment'). These ethnic groups make up 89% of our school population, and so effects the majority of our children's health, development and well-being.
As a school, we must provide opportunities for our children to be active, to play and to experience the world. We invest heavily in an exciting and engaging curriculum so that children can play, explore and learn. We also run as many extra curricula activities as we can. This, coupled with the efforts of our wonderful team, mean that children at Bowling Park make excellent progress (Bowling Park Primary Progress Scores). However, providing quality opportunities against a strict budget is a balancing act, one which we are constantly battling against.
We have seen from previous projects how much difference trips like this can make. Children leave with huge smiles, ready to take on the world.
Our capacity to deliver this project.
Our school has a dedicated staff team that work hard to give children the best possible environment for learning. In March 2017, we were graded as 'Good' by Ofsted.
Parents and visitors agree that our school is a happy place to be (taken from the 2021 questionnaire and visitor book):
- 96% of parents say 'the school supports my child to develop resilience, confidence and independence'
- 97% of parents say 'my child experiences a wide variety of learning opportunities and experience'
- Chol Theatre said "Bowling Park [has a] really enthusiastic, committed staff...and very energetic and creative classes".
- Ian Shaw PhD, University of Leeds said "Visiting Bowling Park Primary every week is a fantastic highlight of my working life...Their curiosity and enthusiasm is inspiring and a reflection of the amazing school spirit!"
In recent years, we have been lucky enough to secure funding for other projects that have helped us to provide the best possible environment for learning, play and development. These grants mean we have extensive experience of delivering large scale projects, and can make 'Blooming Marvellous' a success! Some examples of these projects include:
- 'Stronger Me'; a project aimed at vulnerable female pupils, funded by Let Teachers Shine. The project consisted of self-defence classes, outdoor adventure sessions and mentoring. It also included a drop-in clinic for previous students to support girls' social and emotional development.
- We work closely with 7 other schools in our area as part of the BD5 Local Achievement Partnership. Alongside these professional friends, we have delivered two large scale Strategic Improvement Funds projects, totaling £750,000.
And finally...
We really appreciate your support. Every donation, no matter how big or small, makes a difference to our children. Shares on social media are fantastic too, and help to spread the word about our project.
So, we would like to say a very very big THANK YOU for your support.
If you would like to find out more about our school, please visit our website or Twitter page.