Parents have come together to create a mindfulness room at a Letchworth school which will provide a quiet and calming space for children.
Garden City Academy’s new ‘Zen Den’ was waiting for students on their return to school after the festive break.
The idea came from a suggestion at a PTA meeting, and was quickly organised by parents Jemma and Martyn Schofield.
Martyn said: “The build went really well. We were blessed with the good weather and all the volunteers had a task and completed it perfectly.
“Every person’s efforts led to the success of this build.
“The story behind the project came from a PTA meeting. In the meeting the idea of a mindfulness room was suggested by the school. My wife Jemma had a ‘ping’ moment the minute she heard of the idea, and decided this is something we had to be involved in – and I agreed.”
Martyn and Jemma decided to fund three quarters of the project from their company, Grace Improvements Ltd, and the PTA would raise the rest.
“We wanted to do this as a way of giving back to the school, as Garden City Academy has been and continues to work so hard to better the life and education of our children,” said Martyn.
“The room will give children the time to care for their mindfulness. It will give them a moment out during the stressful school day to read, draw or think.
“In turn, this will improve their performance at school and their understanding of life matters and how to deal with them.”
Headteacher Jenny Redgrove told the Comet: “We are delighted as a school to have received the support of Grace Improvements, the PTA, parents and the local community to fund and build our new Zen Den.
“This is a fantastic resource for our children to access a calm space during their school day and is supportive of their mental health and wellbeing.
“We have adopted a whole-school approach to mindfulness and are currently involved with the Letchworth Centre for Healthy Living in training our staff members around approaches to mindfulness and howw we can support children emotionally and mentally in school.
“The community spirit and support around this project has been overwhelming and, on behalf of the school, I would like to thank every single person who has contributed to the project.”
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