BJF Group builds new safe space at Bovington Academy

The Bovington Academy

‘Listening Ear’ is a space where pupils can go to engage with an emotionally available adult, express themselves or simply relax and have some downtime during break times. It is crucial not only for the 70 per cent of children at Bovington Academy who are part of service families but also those whose parents are not in the military.

For the children of service personnel, it is commonplace to move schools many times, even during primary school years, meaning that they may find resettling difficult. This, combined with the impact of their parent or parents being away from home and potentially deployed for long periods of time, means that an extra level of pastoral care is often needed.

This can also be hard for the friends of these children who have to cope with their friends leaving them when their families are relocated.

When BJF Group heard about this project from the Garrison Welfare team, it was delighted, along with its supply chain partner O’Neill Construction, to offer the team’s time to complete the construction of a new, much improved space. Other contributors to the project provided monetary contributions as well as donations of materials and time and include Pinnacle Group, VIVO Defence Services, SSAFA, BFBS and Gavin Jones.

Lowry Stone, Head of Pastoral Care at Bovington Academy, said: “The new Listening Ear is an exciting project for us.

“We’ve always dreamed of a space which acts as a place of safety away from the noise of the playground that offers our children somewhere to go and be quiet, where they will be listened to and where they can express themselves.

“The Listening Ear allows us as a pastoral team to address the children’s worries because if we can do that, we can then help them learn.” www.bjfgroup.co.uk

The new space will open in September when the academic year starts.