More than 4,500 kg of textiles donated to Hartlepool school’s clothing bank in a year

West View Primary School, in the town’s Davison Drive, has received more than 4,537kg of textiles since its clothing bank started accepting donations in late June last year.

Any unwanted clothes, shoes and textile items can be donated and the clothing is then resold, reused or recycled, helping lessen the impact on the environment.

The initiative also helps raise funds for West View Primary, with 30p going towards the school for each kilo of clothing.

Headteacher Lauren Furness has praised the community for supporting the clothing bank, with more than £1,841 raised for school resources so far.

To mark the achievement, the pupils were recently presented with an apple tree by Fundraise and Recycle Limited, which provided the container for the clothing bank.

A tree was also gifted earlier this year after the school’s clothing bank became the first to raise more than £1,000 as part of the recycling scheme.

"So far we’ve had three trees that we’ve been able to plant in school, which has been fantastic,” said Miss Furness.

"We’re really pleased with how well the clothing bank has been used, not just by our staff and our families, but by the wider community as well.”

She continued: "The children have really enjoyed being able to plant the tree.

“Hopefully, we’re going to hit that £2,000 pound mark and continue to donate textiles through it that can be reused and recycled and continue to raise money for school.”

The funds are set to go towards purchasing an outdoor apparatus for the early years area at the school.

It comes as West View Primary has started working towards becoming an accredited curiosity approach early years setting.

The school started using the approach among its early years pupils in July 2021, resulting children engaging in activities for longer periods of time.

It has involved making changes to the lighting, so it is not too over stimulating for the children, using natural colours and real playing resources – including a boat filled with sand.

Miss Furness added: "We’re on a journey to becoming an accredited curiosity approach early years setting, which is really exciting.”

The school is documenting its journey on Instagram, @ our_curious_journey.