Clearview Primary School

Clearview Primary school is located in Rolleston just outside of Christchurch. It is a 0-8 school which has recently opened a new building.

The Ministry of Education is no longer building single celled classrooms instead is moving towards classrooms that enable a flexible learning environment for students.
When I toured this building several things struck me, it was light, comfitable and all students were in a variety of places and spaces. Clearview is used to having people tour the building and the students were not phased at all.

Large open space learning area

Large open space learning area

This room has sliding glass doors

The building a square and in each corner are two classroom spaces.  One of these smaller spaces has 2 sliding glass doors which enable it to be used separately. Wide corridors then connect these 4 corners with other open spaces, including a communal kitchen area for students and staff. In the middle of the building is an open air courtyard designed by one of the students at the school.

Outside court yard

Wide multi-purpose hallway with window seats

A wide hallway/teaching space next to the communal kitchen

What you can see from the pictures is the range of seating and working areas . A variety of heights for tables and chairs as well as a variety of colour.

With a change in classroom design the teaching and learning taking place has also changed with more collaborative planning and teaching by the teachers. Students, for example can choose workshops which are taught by different teachers this the  lends itself to the strengths/interests of individual teachers.  A challenge has been working out the reporting but this has been overcome by using Google docs.

It was interesting as a high school teacher to take a look around a primary school and see how their learning environment has changed, how it has impacted on planning/teaching and that the students enjoyed what they were doing.