St Joseph's School Waitara to enjoy new playground thanks to NZCT grant

St Joseph's School Waitara pupils and the community will benefit from the NZCT grant. Photo/ Supplied

St Joseph's School Waitara pupils will be able to explore a new playground thanks to a grant from New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT).

NZCT awarded a grant of $15,000 to the school so they could repair their playground.

The school is an integrated primary and intermediate Catholic school that caters for ages 5-13 years.

As well as being an asset to the pupils, the playground also serves the local community, as well as the tamariki at the parish during and after church celebrations.

School board parent representative Claire Phillips says the playground was over 40 years old and, although it had been kept up to safety standards, it no longer met the requirements needed for 2022.

"St Joseph's School applied for this funding as a result of a playground safety audit done at our Waitara site in February this year."

She says the playground required a lot of work to bring it back up to standard.

"A safe, yet challenging recreational space for our intermediate class has been desired for some time and last year Years 7 and 8 did a class survey of what the students would most like to have improved."

Claire says thanks to NZCT, the school is in the process of planning and constructing a new adventure playground that will benefit the pupils.

"The grant will increase their physical development, improve movement and motor skills, and build social relationships in a safe and healthy context."

She says the playground can be built into the active healthy initiative that the school is currently implementing at St Joseph's.

"It will also support our cultural diversity and the quality of opportunities for our tamariki to participate."