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Fife Council’s Pupil Support Service is part of a multi-agency support team which helps pupils who are experiencing significant challenges in their lives. The aim is to make sure that education is available to these pupils, regardless of their personal circumstances, and this includes supporting children for whom inclusion in school and their communities can be problematic.  At Craigtoun, we have been fortunate enough to benefit from the work of a Pupil Support Service team over the past few months and this is their story, in their words.

We are S4 pupils that are doing a Steps to Work Qualification with our Teacher, Andy Kerr, at Craigtoun Park. We are based with Fife Council’s Pupil Support Service at Kirkgate Centre in Cupar and spend a Thursday and Friday morning helping out with various tasks around the Park.  Our main project has been in the Lodge Garden where we first started back in September with the clearing of all the overgrown weeds, nettles etc. as seen below. We learned skills such as how to safely use different tools, how to safely dispose of all the rubbish, organising tasks in order of importance and how to work as part of a team.

It took us a few weeks to clear everything out but when we finished it, we all felt a great sense of achievement. It was also great that the staff and members of the public were impressed with our work.

Now that it’s Springtime we have been working alongside other Volunteers to repair the walls (see below) and move chips and soil in ready for new flowers and shrubs being planted and hope that the public can enjoy this peaceful area of the park soon.

The many different experiences and skills that we have learned working in the park have been amazing and we know will not only help us gain our qualification but will give us skills for life. Thank you to Paul and Steve for all their help, patience and assistance during our time here and to all the Kitchen staff for their cracking food and drinks that kept us going.