Serving the Community in Ayrshire

Children and teachers can once again enjoy spending time in the garden at an Ayrshire primary school, thanks to the efforts of an unpaid work squad.

The much-loved space at Hillhead Primary, in Kilmarnock, had fallen into disrepair over recent years and become too much for the school’s staff to maintain.

It has now been fully restored by a group of people sentenced by courts to undertake unpaid work under a Community Payback Order, as an alternative to serving a prison sentence.

Supported by the partnership’s Community Payback Team, the squad dismantled broken planters, cleared skips full of accumulated waste, levelled soil to reduce trip hazards and strimmed, weeded and tidied the grounds.

Decked seating and picnic benches were also spruced up with a fresh coat of anti-slip paint to complete the restoration of the garden as an inviting and well-maintained area for pupils and staff to enjoy.

Hillhead Primary School’s Deputy Head Teacher, Emma Fraser, was delighted by the makeover.

Ms Fraser said: “We would like to say thank you so much to the team from Justice Services for the work completed at Hillhead Primary, we are absolutely thrilled with it.

“The garden is a huge benefit to the school and the community and much loved by all the pupils and staff. As a school it is difficult for us to keep on top of the maintenance tasks and we are indebted for the help with this.

“We now have a usable space for the children to learn about nature and take a moment to reflect on their day in school.”

People sentenced to undertake unpaid work are given a specified number of hours to complete, which should have a focus on reparation and provide a clear tangible benefit to the community.

As part of the sentence, they may also be required to take responsibility for their own behaviour by spending time on developing interpersonal, educational and vocational skills that help address the causes of their offending.

More than 11.6 million hours of unpaid work have been completed in Scotland through Community Payback Orders since their introduction in 2011, contributing significantly to communities throughout Scotland.

Management and supervision of people performing unpaid work is carried out by the justice social work departments of local authorities.

Gemma Fraser, Head of Insights and Intelligence at Community Justice Scotland (CJS), the public body responsible for promoting and supporting the use of community-based sentences, said: “Unpaid work as part of a Community Payback Order is a much more person-focused approach to give back to the community where offending has happened compared to other sentencing options.

“Most of the people will deliver the unpaid work in the community they live in, across a wide range of projects identified by the communities themselves.

“With more than 11.6 million hours of unpaid work carried out to date, these projects are of enormous value to communities, providing tangible local benefits as well as helping develop skills among those involved