Our History
The Story of the Ardleigh Green Family Centre
The Story of the Ardleigh Green Family Centre
An Interview with John Morris OBE former Headteacher of Ardleigh Green Schools and currently the Director of Academy Improvement for the EMPOWR Learning Academy Trust
VISION to PROVISION
The vision to establish a Family Centre for the Ardleigh Green Community was birthed in May 2006 following a tragic event in the local community. Whilst supporting the families of those affected by the tragedy, the headteacher of Ardleigh Green School, John Morris was made aware that the Ardleigh Green Baptist Church was to close and decided to see if the Baptist Union would consider giving the church building to the school not to be used as a place of worship, but to establish a Community Hub for the Ardleigh Green Community. The Baptist Union whilst being sympathetic to the idea had already made the decision to sell the church on the open market with the proceeds being targeted to support other Baptist congregations.
The Governing Body of Ardleigh Green Junior School fully supported John’s vision to establish a Family Centre at the heart of the local community and agreed that John should contact the Baptist Union and request that the church be taken off the market to allow sufficient time for the school to seek grant funding. The Baptist Union not only took the church off the market but gave the school a retired Church Pastor to help support the project! After working in partnership for a year, with the imminent retirement of the church minister and access to government funding as part of Every Child Matters Agenda, the next phase of the project commenced.
The Baptist Union Corporation agreed to lease the church to the school for five years to see if the vision to establish a Family Centre could become a reality. It was recognised that for the building to function as a Family Centre the church would need to be rewired and redecorated. New toilets and a new kitchen would need to be installed, and parking facilities would need to be provided, The cost of the renovations was estimated to be in the region of £90K. It was agreed that if the school could raise the money for the necessary renovations, then the church would lease the building rent free. Through government grants, highlighting the importance of community cohesion funding was obtained to carry out the necessary renovations and the next phase of the project commenced.
Following a meeting with the Principal of Havering College Mr Noel Otley it was agreed to launch the Family Centre as a Five-Year Collaborative Community project in partnership with the Baptist Church, Havering College and Ardleigh Green Schools. The Baptist Church providing the building, the schools providing the expertise and knowledge of local needs and Havering College providing funding to allow John to second one of his staff to the project for two days a week. John approached his SENDCO Theresa Jordan who agreed to the secondment and the vision to establishing a Community Hub became a reality! All concerned were exited to be working together and learning together that the partnership would grow together. The Family Centre was officially opened by the Mayor of Havering together with representatives from health, education, police, the Baptist Church and Havering College endorsing the innovative approach to community cohesion.
The five-year lease quickly passed, and numbers soared to over 300 people attending the centre on a weekly basis. The weekly Baby Club was at the forefront of the project providing a much-needed facility for local families. A community choir was established, and the centre staged a Local History Exhibition to celebrate the history of the Ardleigh Green Community. Throughout the five-year period strong partnerships with a wide range of different services were established and the positive work of the centre was recognised both locally and nationally. Unfortunately, whist the work of the centre was gaining momentum, fund raising was certainly not!
Despite the local authority acknowledging the success of the project, they did not have funds to purchase the church. The school having secured the £85K to carry out the renovations, could not access any further funding and Havering College were not able to further support financially. The vision to establish a permanent Family Centre was seemingly not going to be a reality, or was it?
A conversation with Theresa’s husband Peter Jordan a local church minister, centred around the fact that to be a community you must build community. Peter encouraged John to take a lesson from the sitcom CHEERS and particularly the line in the theme tune, “We all need to be part of something where everyone knows my name.”
This was the encouragement that was needed to continue to pursue the vision. CHEERS had come to the Ardleigh Green Family Centre!
Working Together, Learning Together, Growing Together
Community Hospitality Engagement Empowerment Relationship Support
Following a discussion with the local councillor and the local authority a possible way forward emerged. If the council would agree to selling the School Keeper’s House (The school no longer had a residential School Keeper) and used the proceeds to buy the church, then the council would still have an asset, and the local community would have a Family Centre. The idea was presented to the council for consideration and passed unanimously at a Full Council Meeting. Unfortunately, when the sale went through there was still a shortfall of £145 and no school or local authority funds to meet the deficit. It was at this time that the idea of setting up the Ardleigh Green Family Centre Charity came into fruition. By becoming a Registered Charity the Family Centre could apply for a number of community grants to raise the £145K shortfall.
The local authority agreed to this way forward, as did the Baptist Union Corporation who agreed to extend the existing lease. Thankfully this was not necessary as with one grant application to the Veolia Trust a £145K grant was agreed. As part of the funding agreement, it was agreed that the Family centre would be self-governing and that Havering would draw up a lease which gave the Family Centre full use of the Centre in return for the Family Centre paying an annual rent. The Family Centre became a registered charity in May 2009 (Charity Number 1129624).
The work of the Family Centre initially focussed on the families of Ardleigh Green Schools and the immediate local school community. With National Lottery Funding (2024) to extend the work of the Community Well Being Hub the reach of the work has extended to families throughout the London Borough of Havering. John and Theresa continue to oversee the running of the Family Centre. Theresa is currently the Assistant Headteacher for Inclusion for Hylands primary School and having retired from the headship of Ardleigh Green Schools John is the Director of Academy Improvement for the EMPOWER Learning Academy Trust of which Ardleigh Green Schools are now a part.
The Ardleigh Green Family Centre remains committed to supporting families through every stage of their journey. By Working Together, Learning Together, and Growing Together, we continue to build a stronger, more connected community.
