At FCSS we have over 21 childcare settings providing a mix of early learning and childcare and specific support for children and young people with additional support needs (ASN).
Our Inverurie Life Skills group supports 9 young people from the ages of 12-18 who will soon transition to adult care.
The group has been designed to help the young people to become more independent giving them the skills that they need as the prepare for adult services. Activities within the group include cooking, woodwork, shopping and general life skills that will support their transition into adulthood.
So when our Tillydrone nursery were in need of new planters for their garden space, it came as no surprise that the Inverurie group volunteered to make them themselves.
Kimberly, the Service Manager at Tillydrone, managed to source some pallets from her father Mike Fyfe and Sarah, a Childcare Practitioner supporting the both Tillydrone Nursery and Life Skills Group, was able to cut them into ‘jigsaw’ pieces which could then be given to the young people for them to secure them together.
To say that the children were excited would be an understatement, and they weren’t just interested in making the planters – they wanted to be involved in every aspect of the activity.
Firstly, they undertook their own risk assessment – highlighting and mitigating risks such as heavy lifting, injuries from tools and trip hazards.
Having understood where the risks were and how they could be avoided, the work began in earnest.
The young people used hammers, saws and drills to fit the pallet jigsaws into perfect planters. They painted and varnished them to protect from the elements and general wear and tear. And once they were finally ready they loaded them into the FCSS Minibus and jumped aboard to deliver them to Tillydrone.
They unloaded the planters and filled them with soil making them ready for the children at the nursery to begin planting the next day.
The children at the nursery were delighted with their new planters and have since planted onions, potatoes and carrots which will be harvested, prepared and cooked by the Life Skills Group for one of their evening meals.
According to Megan, one of our Aberdeenshire Service Managers, said,
“This was a fantastic opportunity for our young people to create something to support one of our organisation’s nurseries. Well Done to everyone involved – a great project indeed!”
