Making a Difference in the Community

Making A Difference In Our Local Community

In addition to making a difference to life in school, we also like to make a positive difference to our local community.
We do this in lots of different ways:

• Litter picking around Whitley
• Being part of Thames Valley Police Mini Police Programme
• Visiting a local old people’s home to chat, play games and garden
• Posting dog waste posters and poo bags on the fences outside school
• Monitoring the quality of air in the roads outside the school
• Collecting food for the local food bank
• Fundraising for local and national charities
• Taking part in community events and competitions run by Reading Borough Council and Reading University

Young Citizens Make A Difference Class Challenge

All classes also take part in a Make A Difference Challenge each year linked to Young Citizens. This is a child-led social action programme that empowers our children as young citizens. It provides them with an opportunity to identify and research a social or environmental issue that they feel
passionate about, then make a difference through awareness-raising or taking practical action.

The programme helps children understand the real issues that communities face and what they can do to help be part of improvements or a to help find a solution.

Examples of previous challenges that the children have led:

• Raising awareness of homelessness of young adults
• Addressing the dog poo issues in the local community
• Making hedgehog houses for hedgehogs in the school grounds

Find out more about the Make A Difference Challenge at the Young Citizens website.