Birmingham students help out at foodbank to support local community and boost language skills

The children visited Perry Beeches Baptist Church, and supported Minister Tracey Sweet with organising food items to send to families across the Perry Barr area. In 2021/22 there were 1,755 children living in low income households in Perry Barr, 32.3% of all children in the ward.

The visit was part of the CORE multi academy trust’s ‘CORE Hello’ programme, which gives intensive support to students who are new to the UK and English. It allowed the students to volunteer in the community, whilst also practising their new knowledge of English.

The CORE Hello initiative is a high quality, intensive intervention designed to boost language acquisition and help students access the curriculum more effectively by enhancing their learning of the English language. The initiative also helps students integrate into the local community and become familiar with British culture.

Led by specialist teachers, the unit supports up to 24 children in 12-week blocks. Informed by best practice and research, students follow a bespoke curriculum, depending on their level and experience of English.

Overall, 24 children from schools across the CORE Education Trust in Birmingham will help at the foodbank over the next month.

Students helped sort and organise donations by type, including food, baby items and toiletries, with pupil Amina saying she “liked sorting the food out, finding the baby items and the toiletries for the families”.

Minister Tracey Sweet said:

“It has been a delight having the CORE Hello students helping with the food bank today. They have been very polite and extremely helpful.”

Ms Miles, a CORE Hello Teacher, commented:

“This visit was a wonderful opportunity for CORE Hello students to meet and communicate with people from the local community. Not only did they enjoy practising their newly acquired English skills, but they revelled in the opportunity to give something back.”