I had dedicated 13 years to the PTA, but last year my youngest child moved on, and it was time to say goodbye. I wanted to leave behind a final project that would be my legacy. So it was wonderful to see our fox dome project come to fruition.
The dome is spacious – an adult can stand inside it with room above their head. If you tried to fit a whole class in, you might have health and safety issues, but ten children can fit in there comfortably. It’s a versatile space with so many uses and so many benefits.
A couple of years before we commissioned the dome, I came across the inspiring sculptures of Chris Oakey, who runs our forest school sessions. Chris used to be a primary school teacher but had branched out into outdoor learning. Now he creates willow sculptures for schools, stately homes and private clients.
At the beginning of each year, the PTA meets with the school team to outline potential projects. There’s no guarantee that the PTA will fund every request from the school, nor will the school accept all our suggestions. When I presented the willow dome idea, I focused on the benefits for the school. The team were enthusiastic right from the start, asking for more details about costs and timescales.
Connecting the fox dome project with our annual sponsored fundraiser seemed realistic, as we knew roughly how much we would raise. It allowed us to show potential sponsors how their money would impact the children.
Although Chris offers a variety of different animals, we chose a fox because we like to think of the wild fox that runs through our school grounds at night as our school fox. We named him Freddie the Fox – my son is also called Freddie, so it felt like the perfect choice.
We booked Chris to run a three-day workshop. On the first day, Chris and his helper constructed the fox’s steel framework. Then, on the second and third days, one class at a time came out with their teacher and teaching assistant to help. Half of the group wove willow onto the dome under Chris’s supervision, while the other half played a hoopla game using a willow figure and hoops. By the end of the third day, we had a fully constructed and covered willow dome. Chris made the head separately in his workshop using an old cricket ball for the nose and coiled black rope for the eyes.
The fox dome acts like a natural den, giving pupils somewhere to meet and offering shade on sunny days. It’s an ideal stage for role play and storytelling and provides a private space for one-on-one conversations.
We thought hard about where to locate the dome to avoid it being tucked away. Now, when anyone comes to the school, they see our fox. It reminds people why they help with cake sales and support our fundraisers.
Natalie Dawson was secretary at St James’ Primary School PTA in Cheltenham (420 pupils)
