Forest school creates a buzz in Salford with helping hand from Salix Homes

Forest school creates a buzz in Salford with helping hand from Salix Homes

A once neglected parcel of land has been transformed into a thriving learning haven thanks to a cash boost from Salix Homes.

Manchester Bees Forest School secured £1,800 from Salix Homes through our Springboard community grant programme to help launch the ‘Salford Hive’ in Broughton. The school offers programmes for children around Greater Manchester, specialising in sessions for those with additional needs and neurodivergence.

The school, along with another housing association Onward Homes and their volunteers and partner organisations, have successfully rejuvenated the once neglected area on Rock Street that had become a hot-spot for fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour into a magical sanctuary for play and learning.

Manchester Bees Forest School has delivered jam-packed, fun filled sessions at the Salford Hive. Activities have included imagination play, bug hunts and face painting, and the Springboard grant was used to deck the space out with hammocks, dens, tool stations, balance lines, sand pits, a make-shift kitchen and a digging area.

Founder Siân Millward, who is a qualified teacher and community development worker, said: “Through these sessions, we are able to bring the great outdoors to inner-city children and families.

“Feeling welcomed into the Salford Hive has fostered community cohesion, bringing together both Jewish Orthodox and secular communities. The space, once neglected, has become a shared hub where children can play and parents can connect.

“It’s an open, inclusive area, where parents can see that children thrive with natural materials and imagination, showing that they don’t always need traditional toys.”

The Manchester Bees Forest School has four ‘hives’ across Greater Manchester and is one of the UK’s top rated forest schools. The school was launched in 2021, to help bring families in inner cities access to safe and inclusive green spaces for play, parties and outdoor education.

Siân Millward also tutors children who are not in mainstream school or who struggle to access the curriculum due to neurodiversity or disability.

Sian Grant, Executive Director of Customers and Communities at Salix Homes, said: “Through our Springboard Community Fund we’re able to support projects and organisations that are vital to the community in Salford.

“We’re so happy to have awarded funding to the Manchester Bees Forest School to set up their Salford Hive and provide a much needed safe and fun learning environment for the families of Broughton.”

Salix Homes’ Springboard grant provides funding to groups and initiatives across Salford that boost community spirit, improve the environment, reduce isolation and promote health and wellbeing.

The Salford Hive area is now being used and cared for by the local community and Manchester Bees Forest School is hoping to deliver more sessions there in the future. Find out more on the Manchester Bees Forest School website.

To apply for a Springboard grant visit our Springboard community fund pages.