After 3 years of delivering our Enrichment funding to local primary schools, East Brighton Trust directors agreed unanimously last year to extend the grants for another 3 years.

This fund was launched in 2017 when government cuts to school budgets meant that the schools had to cut almost all extra-curricular activities. East Brighton Trust stepped in and we now give each school a grant of £10,000 a year to pay for activities that enrich pupils’ educational experiences and their lives. 

St Mark’s Primary in Manor Hill have used previous years’ funding to improve the outside spaces at the school. They have added an outdoor gym featuring miniature gym equipment and also created a secret garden library. Through the guaranteed EBT funding, the school has repeatedly been able to source match funding from other grant giving organisations, meaning even more can be achieved. The school will use their next instalment to focus on literacy, with plans in place for some wonderful new initiatives to be rolled out across the school in the post Covid-19 world. This will include early reading provision, whole class guided reading and what’s known as a Recovery Curriculum. This is a way for schools to help children get back into school life, acknowledging the experiences they have had during the pandemic. A library of quality texts will enable discussion with pupils and staff about the experiences they have been living through and will help them reflect on the past.

“As part of our recovery curriculum provision we need to ensure that children, who may not have had the same home learning opportunities as other pupils, are able to rapidly catch up and close the gaps in their learning. We envisage doing this by expanding opportunities for children to access online personalised learning programmes which we have trialled when school was closed.” Headteacher Jane Fendley

At Moulsecoomb Primary School the enrichment funding for previous years has gone towards school trips and after school activities. Each class was assigned a portion of the grant which went towards residential visits as well as dozens of day trips including Herstmonceux Observatory, Brighton Synagogue, Seven Sisters Country Park, Hastings, The Natural History Museum, the i360, Brighton seafront and Brighton police cells.

In light of Covid-19 restrictions affecting visits and trips for the foreseeable future, the school decided to direct this year’s funds towards literacy, improving their outdoor spaces, developing home learning resources and also on a Recovery Curriculum focussed on wellbeing.

These activities will include the purchase of resources to re-engage children immediately with the reading curriculum. Shelters will be built in the school grounds, including a covered area in the Fairy-tale Forest and comprehensive home learning packs will provide children with an uninterrupted curriculum in the event of further disruption or lockdown.

“Thank you all once again for supporting the school, I hope you are able to see the impact that the funding has on our children; it really does make a significant difference to what we can do.” Headteacher Adam Sutton