A lesson in creating something special

WHEN the floodwaters started rising in Hull one Friday morning back in June 2007, staff at Ganton Special School feared the worst.

Within hours, the school was up to a metre under water and the children and teachers evacuated, unable to return for months. All work records, play equipment and educational resources, including computers, were lost.

The 140 pupils – most suffering from severe learning difficulties and some with severe physical disabilities – and staff found themselves forced to operate across four temporary sites while the school was slowly refurbished.

"You can imagine how distressing it was," said deputy headteacher Sue Jones.

"The school was completely broken up, but we had to continue working as a school. We wanted to try to make a positive out of a negative situation. So we decided to start on our Eco-Schools bid."

Eco-Schools is an internationally-recognised award scheme through which schools introduce a range of environmentally- friendly and sustainable measures to earn formal recognition.

At Midmere, the school's main "evacuation" site, the children wanted to improve the play area and grounds to make it feel more like home – and so the Eco-Schools Action Team was formed.

Mrs Jones said: "It provided a focus for the pupils and staff spread across Hull, and gave us all something positive to work on when we had few resources and were reliant on old-fashioned teaching methods."

By December, the school had earned its Bronze Eco-Schools Award and, by July 2008, the Silver Award as well.

The success was down to the hard work of more than 50 pupils on different projects, including paper recycling, energy-saving poster competitions and a puppet show with an environmental message.

Staff and pupils together have continued their work for the past 18 months after moving back into their refurbished school, redeveloping their outdoor play area, establishing a composting scheme to be run by the older students, and forming international links with schools in Brazil and Ghana.

"They've loved getting post from Africa," Mrs Jones said. "They've received pictures and work from children from across the world, and it's been fantastic."

Through the dedication and hard work of the pupils and staff, the school was finally awarded the top Green Flag Eco-Schools status in November 2009.

"Our mantra has been 'small acts can have big consequences'," Mrs

Jones said. "We hope to continue our work in this area with ambitious plans this year."