Pete Dean, CAP.CO’s Head of Happiness has been with us for nearly a year now, and has been travelling around the UK on behalf of CAP.CO, visiting schools and searching out new projects that promote physical and mental wellbeing, and that encourage children to be active, curious and, above all, to have fun. We are always looking for projects that inspire us to design and create play experiences that help children explore, play and connect with nature – and our recent visit to Harmeny School, near Edinburgh, was one that will stay with us for a long time.
A special place
Some of the CAP.CO team travelled up to Harmeny to share the design for an exciting new project happening soon. Harmeny is a very special school, supporting children impacted by early years’ trauma, and for many of the children there, it is not just a school but their home – a place of safety and fun.
Pete led an assembly with the children, and spent time talking to the amazing staff there too. Together, they talked through the project, and the children and staff fed back the ideas needed to help maximise its potential. As always, the children had the best ideas of the day, along with some new ones for us to carry forward into future builds.
Harmeny’s vision
Harmeny has a wonderful vision for the children in its care:
“We want to live our values every day, ensuring that Harmeny is a place where remarkable children and young people have the love, encouragement and nourishment they need, to grow and reach their potential.”
It is an approach where young people’s needs sit at the very heart of everything the school does, and that ethos was clear in everything we saw during our visit.
Space, nature and growth
Harmeny sits within a wonderful setting – acres of space, great classrooms and facilities, and grounds that are simply beautiful, with plenty of trees and places for children to be children and to play. The grounds team do an incredible job, and the vegetable beds and plants growing across the site let the children learn about nature first-hand, and see the results of their own work.
A culture of care
What struck the CAP.CO team most was the care and support the staff provide. It was inspiring, and it had a huge impact on the whole team. That combination of love, care and professional support creates a culture of freedom and fun, underpinned by real safety and support – exactly the environment every child deserves.
We’d encourage anyone interested to take a look at Harmeny’s website to see the incredible work the school does. Harmeny also has a fundraising team who make remarkable things happen for the school, inside and out, and they always welcome support for future projects.
We’re proud to be part of Harmeny’s story, and we can’t wait to see this new project take shape.
