Children at a Witham primary school to learn more thanks to a grant from Persimmon Homes Essex.

Holy Family Catholic Primary School has been committed to delivering Forest School as an after school activity, and now, thanks to a £2,000 donation from our Essex region they are able to extend that to ensure every child can benefit.

The funding, our Community Champions scheme, will allow them to run sessions throughout the school day so small groups of pupils can spend time in the outdoor learning area.

Veronica Lonergan, class teacher and Forest School leader at the Maltings Lane school, said: “Forest School encourages children to learn through creative play, exploration and supported risk taking. It teaches resilience, team work and an appreciation of our natural environment. At Holy Family, children enjoy taking part in a range activities from den building to using fruit foraged from the school’s apple trees to make apple crumble over the fire.

"This funding will enable us to offer a Forest Schools opportunity to every child. We find that those children with additional needs and those who don’t speak English as their first language particularly thrive in this environment, and it is rewarding seeing that. We are so grateful to Persimmon Homes and the wider school community who have applied for this fund for us.”

Luke Atkinson, Technical Director at Persimmon Homes Essex, visited the school to see how the money will be used and hear more about the benefits of Forest Schools. He said: “It was a pleasure to see the opportunities that this funding has created for the children at Holy Family Primary, and hear about the wider benefits of the Forest Schools programme. At Persimmon Homes we are passionate about giving back to the communities around us, and one way we can do that is through donations like this.”

Cllr Jackie Martin and Cllr Paul Heath, Braintree District Council members for Witham South, joined pupils from the school as the money was handed over. They said: “For children to be able to have access to a learning space like this during the school day is excellent, this offers a great opportunity for them to explore the outdoors and learn in a different environment. Persimmon Homes have enabled the school to ensure all children can benefit.”