West Midlands homebuilder gifts £3,000 towards school improvements

The charity, based close to the housebuilder’s Tenchlee Place development in Hall Green, was started in 2018 to help raise money for the Hazel Oak School, a special education school which supports children with a large range of learning difficulties.

To date, the Enterprise has raised £108,000 for the school and the recent donation from David Wilson Homes will be used to purchase equipment for the school’s new playground.

Anna Louise Weaver, Chair of the Hazel Oak Parent Enterprise, said: “We would like to thank David Wilson Homes for its donation. We are a small group of parents who are passionate about giving our children and school the very best facilities.

“Our organisation is so important for our school, to help raise vital money to buy extra equipment and resources to improve the facilities for our children who can struggle with day-to-day school life.

“These extra facilities can help our children grow in confidence, help with their wellbeing and develop their fine and gross motor skills.”

David Wilson Homes’ donation was made as part of The Barratt Foundation, which is designed to support national and local charities, large and small, across the UK to leave a legacy in the communities in which the housebuilder operates.

The charity has arranged a bounty of activities and fund raisers of the years to help the school raise money for equipment and facility upgrades. Anna has run the organisation for seven years now with the help of Kathryn Smith who has assisted during the last four.

Anna added: “We have arranged cake sales, World Book Day sales, a Hoffstock summer event, a Winterfest Christmas event and, externally, we have organised a charity spin bike challenge, a supermarket bag packing event, several popular quiz nights and more.”

“Me, Kathryn and three other mums have also completed The Wolf Run raising £4,000, Climbed Snowdon and completed the Velocity Zip line in North Wales travelling up to 100mph, raising £5,200.”

All these fundraising activities have purchased two new minibuses for student transportation, a sensory room and a lower school play area, the first phase of which is now finished.

Helen Lewis, Managing Director at David Wilson Homes Mercia, said: “We are proud to assist these dedicated parents in making their children’s school better.

“We are sure that our £3,000 will be put to great use to help enhance the experiences for pupils at Hazel Oak School.”