West Lothian pupils need your TV vote

Oct 30 2008 by Alistair Watson, West Lothian Courier

AN ambitious project to build a new playground for a special needs school needs the help of the people of West Lothian.

A number of years ago parents of pupils at Pinewood School in Blackburn raised money for the current playground, but it is now in a state of disrepair and in urgent need of an upgrade.

The Parents and Staff Teachers Association (PASTA) have been working hard to raise the £100,000 needed to fund a project that will vastly improve the quality of life for the kids at the school.

Pinewood is the only school in the county which caters for children aged between five and 18 who have a range of additional needs, including severe learning disabilities, and specific syndromes such as autism and Down’s.

Some of the pupils have a dual-disability, which means they also have physical problems.

Campaigners want to install basketball courts and football pitches for the older kids and provide a safe and fun environment for the younger ones.

Since May campaigners have raised £44,000 but they have the chance to reach their target next month due to the project being shortlisted for The Big Lottery, People’s Millions Competition.

The project will now be the subject of a short feature on the ITV evening news on Tuesday, November 25.

The school will be up against another project on the night.

Whichever project obtains the most public votes between the hours of 9am and midnight will receive £50,000 of lottery funding towards their project.

When the school opened in 1972 it catered for around 20 children, but now it caters for 92 children, of primary and secondary age, most of whom will spend their entire school years at the same school.

Angela Bruty is on the school’s PASTA committee.

Her son Elliot (12), who has autism and Tourette’s syndrome, attends Pinewood.

Angela and Lynsey Findlay, who is the Treasurer for PASTA and whose son Kerr (7) has autism, are behind the fundraising and are urging people in West Lothian to support their bid.

Angela said: “This would enable us to achieve our dream of having a fantastic playground.

“The children at Pinewood have few opportunities to play in their own communities due to their disabilities and we feel play is such an important aspect of their development.

“The lack of facilities at the school is causing frustration to both pupils and staff.

“Funding for this project would make such a difference to the children.

“The playground is place where the children and young people play and socialise.

“We feel it is important to modernise the playground to create an exciting, safe area to play in, and due to some of the children’s disabilities, a well-adapted area for all.”

The pair said their aim was to have the playground finished by next Easter to coincide with new classrooms being built for the school.

Angela added: “The playground will not only be available to the children during school hours, but will also be used by the after-school club.

“We are also hoping to have a summer club available for the children who attend the school, so again it would be used out of normal school hours.

“We need help to promote the project and make the general public aware that they can help with their phone vote.”

The phone number will only be obtainable from 9am on November 25 from the Big Lottery website www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/peoplesmillions