BJF Group, alongside some of our supply chain partners, have completed a community project to construct a new ‘Listening Ear’ 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% 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 we were delighted, along with our supply chain partner O’Neill Construction, to offer our time to complete the construction of a new, much improved space.
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% 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 we were delighted, along with our supply chain partner O’Neill Construction, to offer our 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 that 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
“The generosity and work that I’ve seen happen here is the epitome of what we want the Listening Ear to be.”
Ady Ingham, Garrison Welfare Officer for Bovington Camp added:
“The listening ear is used every day as a focal point to offer moral support and comfort to the children at Bovington Academy.
“The new space will open in September when the academic year starts and will make a huge difference to the students.”
Geoff Phillips, Head of FM Projects (South West) at BJF Group said:
“I am very proud of my project management team and our supply chain partners for their involvement in the construction of the new Listening Ear space.
It’s very important for BJF Group to be involved in community projects and as a business we are passionate about giving something back to the communities in which we operate and to our key clients such as the MOD who BJF Group has worked with for many years.”
