Community Projects

Talking about the importance of democracy

I recently visited Woburn Lower School to speak with year 3 and 4 pupils about democracy and my role as a Councillor. We discussed the wide range of activities undertaken by a Council, from fixing the roads, providing school places and emptying the bins.

I was hugely impressed with the children's focus on the environment, and their wish to see society (and the Council) do more to promote a better environment for the next generation, for example by sending less waste to landfill.

I discussed the recycling targets set by Government (of 50% of all waste collected), and how we must do more to both meet and exceed this target - after all, 50% doesn't seem like a lot in a society where so much waste can be recycled. And recycling saves you money, because the more we recycle, the less of your money is spent on sending waste to landfill.

Many children told me that they were looking forward to moving onto Fulbrook when it converts to a secondary, and asked me to confirm that it was getting new buildings such as a sports hall (it is!).

You will see from the picture that the children had a board of “questions for Mr Baker”, a number of which covered community engagement, such as knocking on doors! I was asked if it was scary, to which I pointed out that it was lovely speaking to people, but I was occasionally met by dogs who wished to jump on me. I recalled taking a selfie with a dog in Birchmoor Green during 2019.

The school promotes a “School Council”, and I hope that I've provided some useful tips on how to campaign for a place on it!

Naturally, the children also sent me away with a job to do: see if it would be possible to implement a signalised crossing in the centre of Woburn, because the zebra crossing can be a little daunting particularly in winter. I've already written to the Council and asked whether it would be possible to consult on this proposal.

In summary, a good set of well thought out questions and a very enjoyable hour.



Pudsy says Thank You!!



Royal Mail Stamp Competition

Earlier this year we entered the Royal Mail stamp competition, we each designed a stamp with our lockdown hero on it. It was the largest stamp design competition in the world so has gained a world record title! Here we are with our certificates.



Harvest Festival!



Eco-Warriors

The Eco-Warriors have been up to our school allotment to look at the year's produce. There was a lot of sweetcorn and raspberries!



Woburn Open Gardens

On the 20th June Woburn Lower School opened up its school hall & its allotment to the public. The children had made scarecrows for the Woburn Open Gardens, and three local artists had set up their exhibition in the school hall.

Squirrels Class

Last week we were busy at school writing some ‘thank yous’ to the amazing NHS staff at Milton Keynes University Hospital. The pictures were displayed where the staff put on their PPE just before they go into ICU. The children really enjoyed making them, and we hope that this brought a little bit of joy to the hardworking staff.



Art Beat - Community Art Project

Working with Bedford Street Art Gallery.



The children had a fantastic day in the Abbey Gardens exploring texture. We look forward to working together on future projects.

Click here to view our photo album

Badgers Class

The children in Badgers Class made and sent cards to Devon Lodge retirement home in Woburn Sands as they were thinking about how lonely the residents must be during the pandemic. The cards all looked beautiful and the children thought the cards would bring the residents some joy and make them smile.


Working with Kate from Matilda Bay and Bob from Handelsbanken.



The Dragons report is as follows;

The year 3 and 4 children at Woburn Lower School have been taking part in a Dragons Den topic which involved putting together a business plan to sell different christmas products and presenting it to investors, one of whom was Bob Howe. During the presentations each group set out details about their products, the costs, pricing and potential profits and their marketing strategies. Two project groups were delighted when Bob agreed to invest half the cost of their raw materials in exchange for half of the profits and they took on board his advice about pricing and aspects to include in their marketing. Bob was impressed with the quality of the presentations and business plans, especially as the children involved are aged between 7 and 9 years old.

The products will go on sale next week in the school hall to children and their parents and the project groups have promised to keep Bob informed about the progress of sales and the likely return on his investment.

Click here to view our photo album