St Marys Roman Catholic Primary School in Brynmawr achieved Silver Foundation of Community Engagement award.
Mrs. Donna Hawkins, Family and Community Engagement Lead commented, 鈥淎t St. Mary鈥檚 we truly believe that it takes a community to raise a child, and we recognise and value everyone in our school family. Achieving this award is extremely important to us as it acknowledges the hard work of the whole school community. The Heart of the Community framework has been a huge support as we continue our journey as a Community Focused School.鈥�
Pen-y-Cwm Special School in Ebbw Vale achieved Bronze Foundation of Community Engagement award.
Deborah Herald, Headteacher commented, 鈥淲e were very proud that following our Bronze award we were invited to the first ever youth conference held by The Foundation of Community Engagement. Representatives of our school Senedd shared their opinions and collaborated with others on what community means to them and what the school鈥檚 role is in building and supporting that community.
As head teacher of a school whose catchment area covers ALL of Blaenau Gwent, I am very aware of the size of the job in hand and this Bronze award demonstrates that we are on the right track. The framework provided by Sue Davies helps guide school development planning and with the continued hard work and support of all school staff, we will continue to develop and embed practices that help us move towards being a school at the heart of our community.鈥�
The last recommendation of the report was to listen to our learners so here is the perspective of one of the attendees, Courtney Collyer. Courtney said 鈥淚t was a fun day that was also very educational. I loved being in the fancy headquarters part of the stadium in Swansea. I would say that the brownies were the best part of the day, but it was actually nice to be surrounded by grown-ups who were actually listening to the children. It was nice to be heard.鈥�
Willowtown Primary School in Ebbw Vale achieved the Heart of the Community Award.
Melanie Evans, Headteacher commented, 鈥淥ur school prides itself on the strong relationships built with our families and indeed our community. Willowtown embarked upon the 鈥楩oundation of Community Engagement鈥� journey following a passionate and inspiring presentation by the founder Sue Davies at a Headteacher meeting.
As we looked at the pillars for recognition it became clear very quickly that we were already well on our way! As a school, we then embraced the opportunity to celebrate all of the wonderful activities/opportunities that were available and or taking place on a daily basis at Willowtown. Some of these include our Monthly Values, Cynefin project, Big Bocs Bwyd, Willowtown Welcome workshops, Parent volunteers, PTFA, Intergenerational projects, Multiply and Roots of Empathy programs to name but a few!
It has also allowed us to identify our strengths and next steps in Community Engagement so that we are able to continue and flourish in our journey. It has been a whole school approach to achieving our award, but I would like to give a special 鈥楾hank you鈥� to our Family and Community Engagement Lead at Willowtown 鈥� Mrs Hughes.
Our vision statement is 鈥榃e are the vibrant beating heart of the community鈥� and I could not be prouder to see this come to life through our work. #WILLOWTOWNWAY.鈥�
Blaenycwm Primary School has achieved the Hearts of the Community Award.
Blaenycwm Primary School has achieved the Hearts of the Community Award. Mrs Sarah Oliver-Bryant, Headteacher, commented, 鈥淲e have achieved our Bronze, Silver and Gold from the Family Engagement Foundation and now the Hearts of the Community in less than twelve months. Sue Davies, who assessed us was very impressed with the work that we do to support the community in Brynmawr, Blaina and Nantyglo. She was especially impressed with our Family engagement officer who works with all our families and the community. I have attached some photos of the presentation.鈥�
The Foundation for Community Engagement is encouraging and working with schools and partners to work together towards common objectives, to focus on the needs of people, at all stages of their lives.
The Foundation of Community Engagement hosted the inaugural community engagement conference aimed at young people across Wales on July 12th, 2024.
The day was an incredible opportunity for our young people to offer opinions, collaborate, consider preferences and interests, and share concerns in the way their community is supported by schools, and how their local communities can support schools.
Pupils from Penycwm School, Tonyrefail Community School, Brynteg School, Cwmbran High School, Idris Davies, Ysgol Hen Felin, Milford Haven School and Blessed Carlo Acutis Catholic School contributed their thoughts and ideas that will be shared across Wales.