North Tyneside primary school to open community hub with foodbank and warm space

A North Tyneside primary school is set to open a community hub and food bank after receiving a grant from the National Lottery. Greenfields Community Primary School in Wideopen is set to launch its community hub on October 12.

Headteacher Gemma Robertson says the hub is "much needed" and will consist of a food bank, clothing bank and warm space. There will also be baby and toddler groups, a male only group, a knit and natter group, and activities aiming to encourage the elderly or lonely to come into the school.

Ms Robertson, who has worked at Greenfields for six years and been headteacher for three, wants the school to be at the centre of the community. She told ChronicleLive: "Covid and the cost of living crisis has put a big strain on families right across North Tyneside and Newcastle.

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"What I want is to go back to what schools used to be like when they were the centre of the community and a hub for the community. We're in a position now where we can start providing and it'll be small to begin with but I do hope it grows."

Ms Robertson hopes that community hub's services will be used by residents of not only Wideopen, but also Hazlerigg and Seaton Burn further down the line. And she admits that the location, in the north west of North Tyneside, was a major factor in establishing the hub.

She continued: "Where we are is quite limited for resources like this and it can be quite an isolated place. If you don't have a car, the traffic links aren't very good.

"There are families who really need something like this in the local community. It's not just something I want the families of the children that come to Greenfields to use, I want it to be something that anyone can access who needs it."

The project has been awarded almost £8,000 through the National Lottery Awards for All programme. Julie Galano, head of central funding at the National Lottery Community Fund, said: "The National Lottery Community Fund is rooted in the communities we serve.

"We listen to local people and invest most where the need is greatest, so we're delighted to support a new community hub opening at Greenfields Community Primary School which will benefit residents of Wideopen, Seaton Burn and Hazlerigg during the cost-of-living crisis and beyond."

Greenfields Community Primary School will open its community hub on Saturday, October 12.