Supporting our Village community
Smarden school is at the heart of the local community, with pupils going back generation upon generation. The local community is historically intricately interwoven, with older generations who themselves attended Smarden school, now volunteering and assisting with various roles within the community. The school has close links and continues to forge intergenerational bonds within various groups and community projects including but not limited to, St Michael’s church, where children attend annual church carol services, the Zion Baptist chapel, where children attend harvest festivals. The priests from both often attend the school and hold various different assemblies.
The local Community shop holds regular competitions for all to enter and this is always offered out to the school children. The children also learn from and about their community. This spring, the school council won a sustainability competition by working together to interview a local shop employee on ways the shop reduced waste and supported the local community. The children learned how the shop tries to reduce single-use plastics, how it buys produce and stock locally, and encourages customers to use refill cups. We regularly have non uniform days to raise money for local charities including a local food bank and a local hedgehog shelter. Our local Publicans are always helpful and frequently loan us marquees for any events.
Many of our local Governing body are from our village community and we hold an annual Governors’ prize giving where members of the community give out awards to the children.
Key processes, features and development
Smarden school has a long running Gardening club and belongs to the local RHS society. The links with the village Gardening society had lapsed but a year ago, we restarted building this relationship. I myself belong to the gardening society and enquired if the school was a part of this still; they agreed that we very much were. This was re-established with the help of a current teacher, Head teacher, myself and two community gardening volunteers. Members of the village society now attend the club weekly and the children learn a great deal from their wisdom and kindness. Children are encouraged to enter The Smarden Gardeners’ society competitions and now regularly submit their own artworks and plants. Much to the delight of some very shocked gardeners, Smarden school won some first prizes in their very first official RHS Garden society entries. We also always invite the gardening volunteers to our school events, e.g. the Christmas play.
Outcomes
The support of the community has recently led the school to achieve a level 3 RHS gardening award.
Children attend the village shows to see their own outcomes outside and independent of school accompanied by parents or other guardians.
Children have gained confidence, pride and knowledge around not only gardening in general but the well being gardening can bring. The children have given the older generation in our village joy, friendship and comfort.
Future actions/development
Continue with RHS levels, Continue building good connections with the gardening club. Also introduce more at home gardening ideas for the children to help with intergenerational bonding opportunities.
In other areas continue with requesting assistance from the local community in terms of volunteering and educational purposes, or opportunities.
Consider growing vegetables to be given to families in need in our community.