Businesses go back to school to help make a difference

Staindrop CoE Primary School’s new Community Partnership Programme is bringing together businesses and organisations to support improvements for pupils.

The aim is to help provide experiences and improvements for children that go beyond what standard school funding can provide.

One of the first projects involved workers from Northumbrian Water’s metering team who volunteered their time to transform the school’s nursery garden.

They installed an outside tap, recycled existing timber to create planters, built a bird table and built a sandpit for the children.

Emma Taylor, of Northumbrian Water, said: “It was fantastic to be able to give something back to the community and play a small part in creating something that will make a real difference for the children.”

The project developed into a wider community effort.

When the Northumbrian Water team approached local suppliers for materials, they met David Wood of DRW Building Services, based in Barnard Castle.

David, who grew up in Staindrop and attended both the primary and secondary schools, generously provided the timber and screws and the tarpaulin for the sandpit.

Another partnership then contributed: Locomotion in Shildon donated the sand from its summer attraction for reuse in the nursery garden.

Gill Chapple, who has been helping to coordinate the Community Partnership Programme for the school, said: “This is exactly what we hoped the programme would achieve.

“It isn’t simply about asking businesses for money; it’s about finding ways for people and organisations to contribute whatever they can: time, skills, materials, contacts or resources.

“Northumbrian Water giving their team’s time started something which then brought DRW Building Services and Locomotion into the project.

“Between them, they’ve created something tangible for the children that the school didn’t have before.

“We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped.”

The Community Partnership Programme is open to businesses and organisations of every size, as well as community groups and individuals.

Partners can become involved through one-off projects, volunteering, donating materials or expertise, sponsoring specific resources or developing longer-term relationships with the school.

Gill added: “If there’s something you could offer our children, however big or small, we’d love to hear from you.

“The whole idea is that lots of people doing relatively small things can collectively make a very big difference.”

Anyone interested in becoming involved can contact Gill Chapple at dsdgillian.chapple@staindropce.co.uk