A second year of success for Quilters Junior School Rotakids Club

First impressions are the best impressions and just five minutes inside the school and you understand why the school, under the leadership of head teacher Mike Wade and his excellent staff, not only excells as an academic institution, but makes its mark in areas, like RotaKids, outside the classroom.  Pupils were still buzzing around, perhaps looking to go home but others waiting patiently to take part in an after-school activity, in the gym perhaps. Some have just emerged and changed from swimming.  “Have you remembered your swim bag,”?  One anxious mum to one bewildered son.   It was always thus in school.

Outdoor Learning

The cash prize from their success at the Soapbox Derby, added to our club donation of £2,000 is being used to help create an Outdoor Learning Space, areas in the playgrounds and surrounds where pupils could express their artistic instincts. We saw the potential when Helen Kilby, the leader of the school’s successful Rotakids club, showed us the area where this will all happen.
Helen says “It will take time, but, in my colleague, Jill Busby, we have a wonderful painter.  With the Soapbox Derby, pupils were asked to suggest a design for our entry.  They responded and we had some great ideas. The final soapbox design came down to all of those put together. And Jill organised the painting”

So what have Rotakids achieved in the past year?

Helen says “We have not been able to do all we hoped but we supported Billericay Rotary Club at the Christmas Market and the Soapbox Derby, and would have contributed to the Summerfest but for the timing. And we have continued to support community and charity events where we can assist.

Also, we have kept our contact with our media projects strong.  TV or Radio programmes go out every other week and the children still run it. We have maintained a series of programmes which range from serious discussions to areas of interviews and fun.  It seems to be working well”, she says.

Helen spelt out in detail how RotaKids works within the school. Members are all from the School Council, all years, made up predominantly from year 6, but with four members (two boys and 2 girls from each years 3-5) - all members of the School Council. They make the decisions on the projects to support.
Helen said. “We may have to look at this to ensure pupils in years 3 to 5 have more of a say when decision are made.

Safety Squad

A great innovation by the school. How safe do pupils feel?  Pupils are asked to complete a questionaire asking where they felt Very Safe, Safe or Fairly Safe.
Answers ranged from:

• Thank you for keeping the toilets clean
• I feel safe inside school.
• I don’t always feel safe out of school
• Slippery floors on rainy days!
• Playground... feel safe, thanks to teachers being with us.

Not just a RotaKids issue, But an aspect that all schools now have to take on board.  As Helen told us: “I taught at another Billericay school for eight years, mostly happy ones. I have been here for a year. It’s a good school and our range of learning extends beyond the classroom.  Which is why we consider RotaKids and our relationship with the Rotary Club so important”.

And it's not over yet - we have a fundraising event planned for July 15 to raise money for teh Meningitis Trust.  Click here to see the separate report.