Ward sponsor Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust’s recent programme, The Dockyard Discoverers

Being based in The Historic Dockyard, we’re delighted to build on our long-standing partnership with Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust by sponsoring one of their recent programmes, The Dockyard Discoverers.

The Dockyard Discoverers has been designed for underprivileged children and young people in Medway to access the Historic Dockyard’s award-winning Learning Programme for free. It is an interactive and immersive STEM programme that links to the national curriculum. Up to 900 children from disadvantaged backgrounds will benefit from ‘hands-on learning in a real-world context.’

As a sponsor of the programme, Ward ensures that each child attending Dockyard Discoverers will receive a free family pass to the Dockyard for up to four people, providing economic relief for low-income families in Medway. The initiative is expected to engage with up to 3,600 people, helping to break barriers to access and promote social inclusion and belonging within our community.

Brian Stroud, Director at Ward, said, “As a business based at the Historic Dockyard in the heart of the Medway Towns, we are proud to support this innovative project, designed to positively impact some of the disadvantaged Medway community. We very much look forward to seeing how children who may not have otherwise had an opportunity to do so, benefit from this amazing interactive learning experience.”

One school commented, “We wanted to say a huge thank you for the opportunity for our Year 4 children to visit the Historic Dockyard on Friday. The staff and the children have all said how amazing it was! One child said ‘This is the best day ever! It is better than my weekends at home.’ For many of our children who live in Medway and from deprived backgrounds, a funded trip like this is the only way they can experience the rich and wonderful history of their local community. We are very grateful that you chose our school for the funding.”

When asked about what the visit could provide the children that they couldn’t have learned at school, another Medway school said that “It provides our pupils with SEN real life situations in which to learn.” They highlighted “The flexibility of our two super guides and their ability to gauge how our pupils learn” and that “the pupils particularly enjoyed the rocket making and were very hands on when rope making.”

This is a fantastic initiative that has the potential to make a huge difference to the lives of young people in Medway.

Photo credit to P. Joyce – Pepsoft Photographic.