Donation allows RAF Lossiemouth to build two new outdoor classrooms at childcare centre
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A DONATION from the RAF Benevolent Fund has allowed RAF Lossiemouth to build two new outdoor classrooms at its childcare centre.
The Benevolent fund donated £6000 to the cause, with the new classrooms to aid the continued provision of out-of-school care for parents who work on base.
The classrooms – nicknamed Ben’s Bothies – have been equipped with solar panelled lighting and portable heaters to provide comfort in all weather.
Station commander group captain Chris Layden said: “Throughout Covid-19, my team has worked tirelessly with the RAF Lossiemouth Childcare Centre to ensure that all parents on-site who needed essential childcare were able to access it.
"The critical connection between our operational output and the ability of serving parents to secure childcare has never been more visible. RAF Lossiemouth needs its childcare facility to operate at full capacity."
With children from different schools and ages unable to mix freely in out-of-school care due to Covid-19 restrictions, innovative use of outdoor classrooms has enabled the RAF Lossiemouth Childcare Centre to maintain all its places.
Ben’s Bothies will ensure all 60 RAF children who go to Hythehill and St Gerardines primary schools have a safe place to attend before and after school.
Air Vice-Marshal Chris Elliot, controller at the RAF Benevolent Fund, said: “I am thrilled that we have been able to support the development of the outdoor classrooms at RAF Lossiemouth.
"The pandemic has placed additional pressures on children and young people and their parents over the past year but, as we begin to see social distancing measures lifted in Scotland, I’m confident the new spaces will prove to be an invaluable asset for the delivery of childcare provision at the station.”
This grant allows the RAF Lossiemouth Childcare Centre, which is operating at full capacity with a lengthy waiting list for new registrations, to continue to operate at full pre-Covid-19 capacity and honour the contracts of parents who need its services.
