Sticky Fish Pre-School
The outdoor space at Sticky Fish Pre-School in Fishponds is wonderful. As you walk through the church hall and step outside, you are greeted by a welcoming, interesting and well-resourced environment that the children obviously love.
There are opportunities for running, climbing, hanging, swinging, digging, drawing, building, problem-solving, pretending and the equipment, time and space to support every type of schema a child might have. The mud kitchen is extensive, with plenty of loose parts and even a real microwave and a covered area provides shelter when the weather might not be at its best.
Just beyond this enclosed area, the wild garden provides a real oasis of calm and opportunities for children to learn about and connect with nature. Carefully designed and created with Avon Wildlife Trust, the wild garden supports numerous natural ecosystems and is teeming with various plants, wildlife and insects. There is also a pond and a forest shelter and its just magical being in such a natural environment in the middle of the city.
But it has not always been like this and Sticky Fish have been on a real journey to get where they are today. Starting off with not much more than a strip of tarmac, they’ve worked hard to acquire and totally transform overgrown areas of land in the church grounds that were unable to be used by anyone. The enclosed space was first to be developed and since Covid, the pre-school has completely changed how it runs and is now more like an outdoor pre-school that sometimes goes inside.
At the heart of the Bristol Standard are always the benefits to children and Liz said there have been so many. Being outdoors and in nature has been good for the children’s physical and mental wellbeing and there have been big changes in their behaviour. It has supported the children’s self-regulation and improved their social skills as they can work together, share and co-operate in a calmer environment with less distraction. The noise level outdoors is lower and there’s less ‘sensory overload’ than inside. This really supports neurodiversity and Liz said there is more acceptance of needs when outdoors. One of the greatest benefits though, is that the children are happier and more joyful and in turn, the staff are happier and more joyful too.
Sticky Fish are now about to embark on the next leg of their outdoor journey and will be switching from using the Bristol Standard Outdoor Audit to using its replacement, the Bristol Standard Outdoor Reflective Framework. They are looking forward to diving into the framework’s reflective questions, which they hope will continue to give them fresh ideas and keep them inspired. Well done Sticky Fish, you truly are inspirational!
Contacts
The Bristol Standard Team
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