Knockhall Primary School Celebrates New Regeneration Project - ‘GROWING TOGETHER’
The community of Knockhall Primary School recently celebrated the opening of their newly developed regeneration project Growing Together areas; a project inspired by the school’s own pupils. The initiative, led by the children's creative ideas, has seen the transformation of an old garden and an overgrown pond into vibrant, educational spaces.
The project began with the school’s pupils who submitted imaginative design ideas for improving the garden and pond area. Inspired by their artwork, the Woodland Academy Trust Trustee Sue Butterfill, Headteacher Miss Yiannadji, the school’s Parents, Teachers and Friends Association (PTFA) led by Lauren Longfield and the Local Academy Committee led by Carol Gale, collaborated together to bring this project to fruition.
With community involvement at the heart of this endeavour and with teamwork a core school value, the project would not have happened without the involvement and support of Trustees, PTFA and the Local Academy Committee (LAC) at the heart of this project, and funding from Bluewater Shopping Centre and Ebbsfleet Development Corporation who have kindly granted aided, sponsored and given their time to make the children’s vision happen.
Bluewater Shopping Centre Director James Maugh provided funding to the initiative as part of their Bluewater 25th Anniversary celebrations, as well as Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, who promote education about healthy living and supports the creation of edible gardens.
The newly unveiled areas now feature an edible garden, aimed at supporting learning and activities around planting and healthy, sustainable living. Pupils are particularly excited to learn how to create healthy treats from the produce grown, which they can share with their families. The overgrown pond area has been transformed into a sensory space, designed to provide scents, tranquillity, and calmness for the children while also creating a habitat for pollinators. Plans are also already in motion for developing a forest school in the autumn term.
Headteacher Kathryn Yiannadji said: “This project has enabled the local community to work together to provide an amazing resource for the children at Knockhall Primary School. Having practical experiences such as planting and sowing will enable our children to understand where our food comes from. They have also been part of the development of the spaces from designing to implementation. It has been so exciting, and I thank all our volunteers and funders on behalf of the children for all of their support in making this happen.”
An official opening event to unveil the new learning spaces took place on Monday 8th July with attendance from the Mayor of Dartford. He officially opened the project areas with Woodland Academy Trust trustees, Trust executives and representatives from the school and community to celebrate and explore the new edible garden and sensory area. Families attended enjoying purchasing goodies from year 6 enterprise week, jumping on the bouncy castles, and taking a look around the new garden, celebrating the new spaces created for their children.
A school parent who attended the event shared their excitement- “what a great event, its lovely to see the school improving.”
Sue Butterfill, Trustee at Woodland Academy Trust who led the project, expressed her gratitude and excitement: “The philosophy of Knockhall Primary School is community collaboration. Providing learning spaces for the children has been at the heart of this project, and it has been a wonderful opportunity for us to come together—we thank everyone involved and to our new Headteacher, Miss Yiannadji, whose care, kindness, and ambition is a strength to Knockhall school and our learning environment.”
If you would like to find out more information about Knockhall Primary School, you can visit their website www.knockhallprimaryschool.co.uk
