Youngsters at a Ripon primary school for children with special educational needs have a revitalised playground, thanks to a grant from the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation. Mowbray School in Ripon has 55 students with a range of different SEN needs. Pastoral Manager/HLTA Clare Siniawski said: “Our children love to be outdoors and lunchtimes and playtimes are a key time for them to develop their communication skills and build positive relationships with their peers. When our school first opened four years ago, there were the faint markings of previous playground designs and the children loved walking along the alphabet snake and counting to 40 following the number line. Unfortunately the markings wore away, which left us with a very uninviting playground.” The school applied for a grant from the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation to invite a specialist playground painting company to create engaging and stimulating designs. The Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation provides grants to both young individuals and to organisations which support them across the whole region. Its main annual fundraiser is the Yorkshire Young Achievers Awards, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary and has now raised more than £1.5m. The proceeds originally went to a children’s charity, but the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation was founded in 2010 to further support charitable projects for youn
g people in the Yorkshire region. Mowbray School’s playground project has now been completed, thanks to the grant. Clare said: “Your generosity has really made our playtimes so much more engaging and it has brought the fun back into playtimes!” Details of how to apply for a grant or how to nominate a winner for this year’s Yorkshire Young Achievers Awards can both be found at www.yorkshireyoungachievers.co.uk.
