Contents

Children and young people

School Report

New Lime Wood School

The Leader of the Council officially opened the impressive new Lime Wood Primary School in Erith at the end of last year. The school, the latest free school to open in Bexley, is situated in ‘The Quarry’ housing and regeneration scheme in Erith. It opened its doors to students in September.

Lime Wood Primary School opened with a reception cohort and has capacity for 630 pupils plus a new nursery setting.

Photo of Lime Wood School

Shenstone School update

Following a successful procurement exercise, the Council has appointed a contractor for the Shenstone secondary school expansion project.

Contractors Apex Ltd will be carrying out the works to the school in Halt Robin Road, Belvedere. The expansion is expected to be completed in time for the September 2025 academic year.

The school expansion will provide additional places for children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities, creating an all through school for Shenstone by opening the secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 19.

Cornerstone School opens

Cornerstone School in Belvedere held its official opening event as this magazine went to print. The new school is for pupils aged 11-19 who have a diagnosis of autism and Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) difficulties.

The new school is built on the former Woodside School site with its construction blending a modern extension with part of the traditional and former school building.

The project was delivered in two phases, commencing in October 2021 and was finished in June 2023.

Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Caroline Newton said:

This is all great news for children, young people and families in our borough. It was great to be able to join Cornerstone School’s official opening. It is a fantastic facility for our young people.

I’m especially pleased as Bexley is the only local authority to have successfully opened two free schools for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities."
 

Councillor Caroline Newton, Cabinet Member for Education

Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Caroline Newton

Fostering

Have you ever thought about how you could have a profound impact on a child’s life?

Now could be the right time for you to open your heart and home to children in need and be the hero they have been waiting for.

If you are considering fostering for the first time or are an experienced carer who would like to transfer, why not join our Ofsted-rated ‘Outstanding’ service?

Caring for children can be fulfilling as well as challenging. Our ‘Fostering Together’ is a program we developed in Bexley to ensure foster carers have the support they need to care for our children.

Call our Recruitment Team on 020 3045 4400 or visit our fostering pages.

Supporting foster carers

If you don’t have a spare bedroom or are not sure how fostering will fit into your life, you can sign up to be a Supporting Foster Carer for Bexley, where you would be providing a valuable service to the carers and children in their care. Support can be provided with a variety of childcare tasks, including helping take children to activities or to and from school, babysitting, supporting young people’s independence skills and much, much more.

Supporting foster carers receive the same benefits and payment as a foster carer. They are also provided with the same extensive training and development possibilities as regular foster carers, helping them to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to have a positive influence on a child’s life. It’s also an opportunity to see if you could become a foster carer in the future.
 

Fostering Together - caring people need care too

If you work and are wondering how fostering might fit into your life, Fostering Together is the ideal option for you.

Fostering Together offers an efficient and adaptive fostering community where helpful connections can be formed through extended family networks, benefiting children, young people, foster carers and their families.

The community is led by an experienced foster carer known as the Core Carer, who offers peer support, respite, advice and experience to foster families as well as arranging social events and building positive relationships within the group.

Between 6 to 8 fostering families are supported in each Fostering Together Community, forming extended members of the Core Carer.

Whether you are considering fostering for the first time or are an experienced caregiver, we would love to welcome you to join our community.

"We love that we can be there for other fostering families in their moment of need. We especially love that the foster children in our community will have the opportunity of always coming to spend time with us and our family for respite, hopefully feeling that they are going to an aunt and uncle... essentially people they will learn to trust and look forward to seeing, not more strangers."

If you want to learn more about Fostering Together, we invite you to reach out to our Fostering Recruitment Team on 020 3045 4400 or visit our fostering pages.

Photo of Ana and Mark, Fostering Together Carers

Ana and Mark, Fostering Together Core Carers.