We were delighted to welcome Nicky Hutchinson, Donations Manager for The Thames Valley Adventure Playground, to our whole school assembly on Wednesday, 10th February.

Every year the children of Dolphin School select a charity to support based on presentations given by the Year Eight children to the whole school. This year the majority voted for The Thames Valley Adventure Playground who provide, on a two acre site in Taplow near Maidenhead, a unique range of adventurous, therapeutic, educational play activities for children and adults with all types of disability in a safe, caring, stimulating environment.

Nicky was delighted to visit Dolphin and told us more about the Thames Valley Adventure Playground. It costs more than £300,000 a year to run and maintain the facility and only 5% of that cost is covered by the local council, the rest has to be found from charitable donations.

More than 10,000 visitors benefit from the incredible facilities each year. The playground includes swings and roundabouts with wheelchair access, a huge sandpit, a splash area, indoor facilities overlooking a lake, and incredible sensory rooms for those with sight or hearing difficulties.

Dolphin are delighted to be supporting such a worthy local cause this year. Year Eight were very proud to hand over a cheque for £1,011.56 representing the total collected so far this year. Contributing to this amount were the proceeds from the ever popular children's Christmas Fair, a Hot Lunch organised by the parents and a Story Character Dressing Up Day in our Nursery.

Year Eight hope to visit the Playground later this year and see for themselves how the money will be spent.