A Wirral school has celebrated the opening of a new Wellbeing Hub – alongside kind-hearted Liverpool City Region Combined Authority staff who helped make it happen.

Teams from across the organisation – including Asset Management, Mersey Tunnels Tolls and Mersey Tunnels Police – clubbed together to raise vital funds for Woodchurch-based Foxfield School, which educates and cares for children aged between 11 and 19 with complex learning disabilities.

L to R – Lee Watterson (Police Constable – Mersey Tunnels Police), Paul Heaton (Maintenance Delivery Manager, Asset Management – LCRCA), Steve Pope (Fitter, Asset Management – LCRCA), Thomas Collins (24/7 Shift Team Leader, Asset Management – LCRCA), School Person, School Person, Mel Walker (Learning & Disability Nurse and Wellbeing Practitioner – Foxfield School).

A total of £2,000 was raised through monthly prize draws, collection boxes and a Christmas raffle to help the school, which is located a stone’s throw from the Combined Authority’s Kingsway Tunnel and Wallasey depot.

It is the latest chapter in a long-running relationship between the school and Mersey Tunnels, which has seen tens of thousands of pounds raised over five decades.

The latest funding was added to donations from the school’s Parent Teacher Association, allowing them to transform a dark IT room into a light, bright, warm and welcoming space to support the health and wellbeing of pupils, parents and carers.

Boasting fresh décor, wall art, new furniture, flooring and a kitchenette, the Wellbeing Hub is now a haven of calm and relaxation.

It’s already proving to be a big hit – and is in demand for coffee mornings, meetings with professionals, therapy sessions for the children and a range of workshops and events.

Cllr Steve Foulkes, Chair of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Transport Committee, said:  

“Hearing about this fantastic work to raise money for Foxfield school is truly heart-warming.

“This long-standing connection between the school and our staff is clearly a strong one which ultimately means young people are really benefitting from their commendable efforts – well done to all those involved and long may this continue.”

Foxfield School’s Learning Disability Nurse and Wellbeing Practitioner Mel Walker – the driving force behind the idea for the room – invited Combined Authority staff to see the difference their donations have made. Mel said:

“This is a space we’ve created with parents and carers to support mental health and wellbeing. The room has been highly successful and to the staff of the Combined Authority a huge, huge thank you – we couldn’t have done it without you. It’s incredibly difficult to get any additional funding for schools at the minute, so this has been a blessing.”

A plaque commemorating the generous support of both ‘Mersey Tunnels’ and Foxfield’s Parent Teacher Association was unveiled during the room’s official opening.

The support for the Wellbeing Hub is not just a one-off – in fact the school has held a very special place in Combined Authority employees’ hearts for decades.

Deputy Headteacher Becky McBride added:

“Mersey Tunnels staff have been supporting Foxfield School for around fifty years. Visiting the Tunnels in December has become a regular event that the pupils look forward to each year.

“The money raised over the years has supported a wide range of aspects within the school, all of which have a positive impact on the pupils.

“But this is the first time we have been able to support not just the pupils but the parents, staff and visitors, thanks to the generous support from Combined Authority staff for the Wellbeing Hub. We hope to continue receiving this support for many years to come – it makes such a difference.”

Combined Authority (and previously under the guise of Merseytravel) colleagues have raised tens of thousands of pounds for Foxfield School over the decades to buy new classroom equipment, fit out a sensory room and treat the children to specially adapted bikes.

The fundraising efforts reportedly first began in the 1980s when a Tunnel Tolls employee – and parent of a Foxfield pupil – cooked and then raffled off a lavish Christmas Dinner for those working the Tunnels shift over the festive season.