Tons of sand, buckets and spades, ice cream, donkeys and 40 infants running around in their swimming costumes describes a scene from a seaside on a sunny day. But this outing for the nursery children from Moorfield County Primary School in Irlam near Manchester went no further than their back yard. A year ago in July, the four- to five- year-old children and their teachers decided they wanted to go to the seaside. High costs and safety concerns ruled out the possibility, so they decided to bring the seaside to the nursery instead.
The adventurous idea belonged to early years co-ordinator Sarah Aitken who, with the help of two nursery nurses, made the 'day out' in the nursery grounds one to remember. A visit to the seaside would have cost more than 10 per child but this treat only cost the children 1.60. The inner-city mini-seaside was just as good as the real thing even if the weather was disappointingly chilly for July. Sand was in abundance, rainbow-coloured towels paved the 'beach', 15 paddling pools made a huge splash, every child had a donkey ride, and the ice-cream man with his jolly tunes turned up.
The organisation of the 'Life Experience Day', as it was called, was also full of fun and games, and excitement built up over the six weeks that it took to plan. It was not an easy task, but the children enjoyed having their say. They discussed what they would need for the day, designed menus for their teashop, talked about the importance of suntan lotion and drew pictures to hang on the railings. Head teacher Cath Green said, 'It was more exciting for the children because they were involved in the preparation.'
On the day, the staff arrived at the nursery at 6am, well before the excited nursery children were due at 8.45am. Even children who were normally late arrived early. As the seaside day was only for the early years unit, older children from the primary school looked out of their windows enviously on and off throughout the day.
The lunchtime meal was in the spirit of things. An outdoor barbecue did not comply with health and safety rules, but the cooks ensured that their meal matched seafront cuisine. Hot-dogs and chips were served, and dessert was supplied by the ice cream van man. The children were even given the opportunity to go aboard the van and help out.
Cath said that the day was a real success which everyone enjoyed. 'Some of these children had never been to the seaside so it was a new experience for them,' she said. 'Parents were not allowed to come because we wanted the children to feel independent as if they were on a real school outing.'
At 3.15pm the school outing had to come to an end. Though it was time for everyone to pack up and go home, the excitement did not stop. After seeing the effort that everyone had put into the day, staff at the Manchester Evening News were so touched that they came up with an all-expenses-paid trip to Llandudno, a real seaside resort, which was taken on the first day of the summer holidays.
A year on, the children are still making references to their adventure. Cath said, 'It made a significant impact on them. They learned a great deal from the planning and organising and had loads of fun at the same time. They didn't even encounter that many problems well, apart from a couple of delayed donkeys!'
NW