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Community
As a UNICEF GOLD Rights Respecting school, we thrive on working alongside our school community and beyond. We foster positive, respectful relationships within and beyond our school community and celebrate the diversity that this brings.
We build our pupils knowledge of what characteristics a community has from the first moment they step into our school and explore how they as citizens can enhance and improve our local and national community.
Our PSHE curriculum coverage teaches the following in regard to community:
EYFS – rules in school and people in the school that form our community
Year 1 – what rules are, caring for others’ needs, looking after the environment
Year 2 – Belonging to a group, roles and responsibilities, being the same and different in the community
Year 3 – the value of rules and laws, rights, freedoms, and responsibilities
Year 4 – what makes a community, shared responsibilities
Year 5 – Protecting the environment, compassion towards others
Year 6 – Valuing diversity, challenging discrimination and stereotypes
In addition to this, as part of our ‘Ambition Project’ pupils take part in a community project working on an area of interest to improve or support in that academic year. Historically this has included making cards to share with a local children’s home, as well as creating craft packs for a local nursing home.
Lavenders Care Home
A group of Year 6 pupils regularly visit Lavenders Care Home in West Malling to share books, work and participate in activities with the residents.
Sue Ryder Charity
As part of the DT curriculum Year 6 have been designing and making jewellery using recycled materials. These are being sold in school and at our local Sue Ryder Charity Shop.
Local Mayor
We often invite the Mayor to visit us and our children take part in the mayoral debates at the offical chambers in Kings Hill. This is a great experience for our older pupils to develop their debating skills.
Harvest Festival & Food Bank
This event sees us come together with the local community to provide food parcels for those in need in our local area. Our families generously donate produce that the children then deliver to the Maidstone Homeless Care centre.
Fundraising for Charity
Throughout the year we raise awareness for a range of charities which are particularly important to our school community.
The children engage with a range of activities from dressing up to sporting competitions. Some charities we have recently raised money for include:
Local PCSO
We work closely with our Youth Engagement officer for Tonbridge and Malling. They help us understand topical issues around knife crime, common assault, shoplifting and peer pressure; who is legally responsible and more importantly who to turn to if you’re in trouble or feel worried.
We are lucky that our local PCSO regularly visits us to talk to the children on any relevant topics.
Neighbourly Scheme
This brilliant scheme sees supermarkets work with local organisations such as schools, charities and care homes to give away their unsold fresh food so it doesn't go to waste.
Our school receives regular donations from Aldi which we use for our tuck shop as well as for extra snacks for pupils.
We also package some of the food into parcels to distribute to individuals and families in need, within our local community.
West Kent Partnership and Services
Find all the services, including food banks, community hubs and helplines offered in the West Kent area.