Children from Duncombe Primary School taking part in activities on a visit to the Garden Classroom

A NATURE education charity based in Newington Green has been celebrated for helping open up conversations among children and teachers about struggles during the pandemic.

The Garden Classroom has won a prestigious award in recognition of its work with pupils outdoors as part of the School Travel Awards.

It works with schools to bring children into green spaces to improve mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.

Children at Duncombe Primary School have taken part in activities such as toasting apples, painting stones and climbing trees.

Kirstie Stroud, deputy headteacher at Duncombe, said: “Teachers could spend time having little one-to-one conversations with the children – something you just never get the luxury of time to do.

“It felt really important for our children to have that time to reconnect and bond with their teachers and talk about any anxieties or concerns they had, [and] talk about the experience they had in lockdown.

“Some of our children and families have had bereavements. It did bring up quite a few social or emotional concerns, and we were then able to put something in place to support the child when they’re back in school.

“That’s something that I don’t know how easily that would have come up if we hadn’t had one-to-one time with our teachers.”

The Garden Classroom bagged the “Education and Learning Team of the Year” this month.

Ms Stroud added: “They made it really easy to organise, they worked with the school to meet our needs, then on the actual day it was a complete pleasure for the staff and the children to engage in activities.

“The enthusiasm of the Garden Classroom staff was really infectious and everyone left feeling really positive.”