Highweek Community Primary & Nursery School’s mental health team received a boost when Tesco donated £5,000 to enable it to further look after pupils.
The forward-thinking school puts youngsters’ mental health at the forefront of everything it does, with indoor and outdoor activities geared towards helping therapists work with children and families with significant needs.
To expand this service, the school applied to Tesco’s Stronger Starts scheme, which awards funds to charities and community organisations that make a positive difference in the lives of children and young people.
The school’s application was successful, earning it the special £5,000 grant, and school administration manager Tracy Lowe said the money will go towards giving young people and their families further support.
The grant comes after Highweek Community Primary & Nursery School was praised by Ofsted for this work, with the report saying that “pupils gain leadership skills by taking on roles such as mental health advocates, supporting other pupils in the playground and around the school. Pupils say that the school really cares about mental health”.
Tracy added: “We are very grateful to Tesco for this funding. At Highweek Community Primary & Nursery School we are seeing a dramatic increase in mental health with our pupils and families.
“We work very closely with the mental health support team to provide therapy and intervention for individuals and small groups. Our school funds therapists to work with children and families with significant needs through outdoor leaning.
“With the Tesco funding we can support more families within our community who would benefit from this sort of outdoor learning.
“We are constantly needing funds to improve our forest school, our vegetable-growing area and our sensory room. In addition, we are also needing to create a quiet low-stimulating sensory space to support children’s regulations.”
The Stronger Starts scheme, in partnership with the Groundwork charity, aims to support many Reading community projects and good causes in the coming years, with thousands of pounds to give away. The scheme typically gives shoppers a chance on voting for local good causes to receive a £500, £1,000 or £1,500 grant.
Claire De Silva, Head of Community at Tesco, said: “We’re delighted that we can help groups and clubs like Highweek Community Primary & Nursery School. Stronger Starts invites our customers to use their blue tokens to vote for local schemes they feel will benefit children and young people, and it’s so good to see the impact that the funding makes.”
Reading shoppers can support their local school and children’s groups by dropping the Tesco blue token they receive at checkout into the relevant voting box as they leave the store.
For further information please go to https://tescostrongerstarts.org.uk
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