Children at Kingsmead take part in a range of different activities which engage them with and involve them in their local environment.

Healthy Eating and Gardening Sessions

Our Science Garden and the outdoor space at Kingsmead provides wonderful learning opportunities for the children and allow us to offer all children the chance to  develop their understanding of the natural environment. Children are involved in planting and growing seasonal plants, picking, harvesting, preparing and tasting  what they have grown. This allows them to learn in a hands on way in an outdoor context while also instilling an understanding of where their food comes from and the importance of a healthy diet. This learning is consolidated through structured blocks of Cooking lessons which are offered to children in Years 3 to 6 at The Hackney School of Food, where they learn how to prepare  and cook simple healthy food for themselves. The children also have sessions in the Hackney School of Food productive gardens, finding out about all the fruits, vegetables, salads and herbs that grow there as well as the School of Food chickens and bees.

                          

Working with EcoACTIVE

We have a close relationship with the local sustainability educational charity EcoACTIVE. EcoACTIVE regularly run workshops in our school on composting, recycling and reducing energy consumption. We have worked on a number of campaigns and initiatives with EcoACTIVE over the years and were a pilot school in their Access to Nature project based on Daubeney Fields.

Hackney Buzzline project

 We are now collaborating with EcoACTIVE on the exciting Hackney Buzzline project - whose aim is to create a corridor of flowering pollinator friendly plants that runs across Hackney linking green spaces, which includes the area where Kingsmead School is and nearby Daubeney Fields. Gerry, Hackney Buzzline's Community Ecologist, has been working with the school to get children involved. So far Nursery and Reception children have helped to in sow wild flowering plant seeds to create a meadow on Daubenery Fields, children in years 4 5 & 6 have helped to plant pollinator friendly flowering plants within the school grounds and our Junior EcoTEAM have teamed up with Gerry to become Citizen Scientists to help document local pollinator insects in the area. We are delighted to be part of this exciting local project and help improve the diversity and sustainability of our much needed pollinating insects.

         

    

 

School Travel Plan and Sustainable Travel

We actively encourage staff, pupils and visitors to use sustainable modes of transport to travel to the school when possible. We have been awarded Outstanding Standards level by the Sustainable Travel Accreditation Scheme for our promotion of sustainable modes of transport. Our school council have taken part in Air Pollution monitoring programmes.

 

Local partnerships

We work in close partnership with Concorde, our local youth centre, Immedicate Theatre, the Hackney Marsh Partnership and the Adventure playground, which is situated next to our school. We also work closely with Sanctuary Housing, who managing many of the homes on the Kingsmead Estate.