Astley launches a local sponsorship with Harlow Green Primary School, featuring a road safety sign competition, facility tours, and volunteer support for SEN departments.
Gateshead-based signage specialist Astley has announced a new sponsorship partnership with Harlow Green Primary School. The initiative began with a creative road safety competition that engaged pupils across the school, with Eli announced as the overall winner and Aria and Esther named as finalists.
Children were invited to design artwork inspired by road safety themes to address driving and parking concerns around the school. Entries were reviewed by the Astley Board and then voted on by the wider workforce. The winning design by Eli will be professionally manufactured at Astley’s Gateshead factory and installed at the school in February.
Aria (Finalist) / Eli (Competition Winner) / Esther (Finalist)
On 14 January, representatives from Astley visited the school to present a monetary donation and award book vouchers to the competition winners. This partnership is set to continue throughout the year, with a second competition planned for April and a behind-the-scenes tour of Astley’s production facility scheduled for pupils before the end of the academic year.
Astley employees will also volunteer time at the school as part of the company’s paid volunteer day initiative. This work will focus on enhancing key areas of the school, including the Special Educational Needs (SEN) department and the Forest School space.
Lucy Wright, marketing manager at Astley, said, “We are thrilled to be sponsoring Harlow Green Primary this year, and our workforce have all enjoyed looking through the amazing entries by the talented children for the Road Safety Competition. We are also looking forward to seeing some young faces on the shopfloor later this year for their visit and hope to inspire some budding signmakers of the future.”
Leighanne Softley, assistant headteacher and SENDCo at Harlow Green Community Primary School, added, “Astley’s generous donation will help us purchase valuable resources that enhance our evolving SEND provision, making a meaningful difference to many of our pupils. Astley’s belief in showing children how creativity can lead to real-world careers here in the North East aligns perfectly with our careers work and school values.”
The partnership aims to enhance the school environment while providing children with an insight into how design and manufacturing skills can translate into local career opportunities.