Taylor Wimpey East Anglia donates ‘buddy bench’ to Bacton Primary School to help combat loneliness

A homebuilder has donated a ‘buddy bench’ to a primary school in Suffolk to help combat loneliness.

Taylor Wimpey East Anglia gave £500 to Bacton Primary School which was put towards buying a friendship bench and sports equipment.

A ‘buddy bench’ or ‘friendship bench’ is a seat in a school playground which pupils can use to make friends and talk to each other.

The new bench at the school is marked with the slogan ‘We sit, we chat and ask each other questions, we leave as friends with all good intentions’, which helps encourage children to use the bench as a signal that they would like someone to play with or talk to.

Tessa Saint, executive headteacher at Bacton Primary School, said: "We’d like to thank Taylor Wimpey East Anglia for their generous donation.

“It's been really heartwarming to see our pupils utilising the bench.

“They have been using the bench to talk to each other as well as invite each other to play in various games during their lunchtime and we’re sure they’ll continue to use it when they return to school after the summer break.”

Olivia Peters, head of sales at Taylor Wimpey East Anglia, said: “This small but impactful donation is just one of the ways we’re contributing to the Bacton community.

“We’re proud to see the friendship bench is encouraging young people to start conversations, aiming to tackle loneliness within the playground.

“It’s really important to us to provide something that improves socialisation within schools to support children’s mental health and we’re pleased to be able to contribute to that.”