Dare to Dream Library Train for children

Here at Kirk Merrington Primary School we would like to turn a decommissioned railway carriage into a magical learning library where children explore their imagination and allow them to indulge in the love of reading,  encourage creative writing in an environment that will be relaxed and less formal than a school classroom.

Our area is steeped in history in respect to the railroads and we believe having a carriage will assist in reinforcing our heritage as well as providing a fun, imaginative, colourful learning environment.

Whilst we would be looking to maintain some of the original seating and tables, would be also be looking to create an informal and relaxed seating area where children can relax and enjoy their imagination within the book they are reading.  We would also be looking to have a story telling chair where teachers, guest authors can come on board the carriage and create a magical listening environment for the children. We are looking to creating a dressing up area where the children can act out their favourite book characters and be who they want to be. We would be looking to use the locomotion history to underpin this into our curriculum of local historical people eg George Stephenson and Timothy Hackworth, both instrumental railway engineers that transformed the rail system that is still used today.

School libraries and school library provision are at a critical juncture.  In a time of educational reform financial constraints and devolution of decision-making powers every aspect of school life has to demonstrate its value to the wellbeing an attainment of the pupils in school.

Our school had a purpose built library, however due to the increase in pupil numbers this space was required as a classroom and the size of the library was reduced and moved into the school corridors and time spent by the children in this area has greatly reduced.

Now more than ever the school is looking to create a space where our children can have a breakout area for them to have time out to express their worries and anxieties with a member of staff who can counsel their emotions. We feel the carriage will give them this space away from the main school classrooms.

The funds raised will go towards the refit of the carriage which will include bespoke library furniture, new flooring, repurposing some of the original seats and tables so that the children get the feel that they are on a train journey.  In todays fast paced world I would question how many children have actually made such a journey and experienced the sound and movement of a train.  We would be looking to create magical ambiance which will include soft and formal seatings, dragons, tipee, dressing up wardrobe, story telling chair and some sensory equipment to assist in the wellbeing of the children. We would also be looking to make the train energy efficient in the use of solar panels to provide electricity and heat.  The train will also require a dehumidifier to take the moisture out of the train to stop our books from getting damp. We are hoping to have a platform made for the train so that the children feel they are at the station waiting for the train to take them on a journey.  For school the ‘Dare to Dream’ train will allow the children to learn, dream, explore, develop their creative writing and want to bring the train carriage to a new life with the excitement of children’s laughter and voices.

We can only make this happen when we have the funds available to create this amazing learning experience. We feel this will become an iconic piece of school and railway history for many years to come.

Thank you for allowing us as a school to be creative and think outside the box to ignite the imagination of the children of today for the world of work for tomorrow.