Community Volunteering Restarts

In recent weeks it has been very satisfying for pupils to be able to get out into the community again, volunteering at some of our partnership organisations. Keeping connected with the communities and people around Teddies is very important to the School, and provides huge benefits to both our pupils and the places they visit. 

Rachel Moffatt Partnerships Manager writes:  

We currently have pupils helping with Sport at Wolvercote Primary School. As part of these sessions the Teddies pupils plan and execute the lessons and help look after a group of primary school pupils. The feedback is that teaching is harder than it looks!
 
The gardening group have been hard at work at Cutteslowe Community Garden Centre, a hidden gem in North Oxford. They have been tidying up some of the flower beds in the park and tackling a ‘wild area’ that needs taming in the garden centre. As well as selling plants, the garden centre offers horticultural therapy for people with disabilities and learning difficulties. Some of the Shell pupils made some Bug Houses for the wild area as part of their ‘Helping Hands’ activity.
 
The pupils have been thrilled to be able to re-start our partnership with Northern House Academy which is a special school for pupils who have been identified as having Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) difficulties. Once a week Teddies pupils visit Northern House and interact with the pupils in their classrooms. The Northern House pupils also come into our School Library to play games, read, chat and spend time with the Teddies pupils. The interaction between both sets of pupils is a positive experience in so many ways. 
 
Cutteslowe Community Café and Food Larder started in lockdown and supports the community in a variety of ways. The food at the Food Larder is predominately donated by local supermarkets, and it would otherwise be thrown away to make room for new stock. This surplus food coming to the larder is now being used by those that need it and not going into landfill. This is a much better use on both levels, as well as a better environmental outcome. The Café is a free resource and runs alongside the food larder – anyone can drop in for a chat, a cuppa and a piece of cake. The pupils help in a variety of roles from making hot drinks to signing members in and bagging up and handing out the food.
 
We have lots more partnerships coming up with pupil volunteering opportunities including Hockey coaching at St Aloysius’ Primary School (in collaboration with Oxford Hawks Hockey Club), helping with core Maths and English support at Cutteslowe Primary School and social media provision at Wolvercote Young Peoples’ Club.

To discuss any existing or potential partnership opportunities please contact Rachel Moffatt, Partnerships Manager here.

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