PUPILS from Chryston Primary School in North Lanarkshire have taken part in Cala Homes’ ‘Land to Life’ project – a new curriculum-based schools programme aimed at children aged 7-11.
The initiative is part of the housebuilder’s Community Pledge, designed to bring a host of benefits to the communities in which Cala builds.
Chloe Thompson, marketing co-ordinator and Suky Singh, engineering manager of Cala Homes (West), went along to Chryston Primary to speak to a primary three class to help build awareness of how new homes are developed and the role housebuilders play in creating sustainable communities. They spoke about the homebuilding industry and the variety of roles within the sector.
The pupils took part in a presentation and class discussion with Chloe and Suky before completing activities around job roles in the industry. The class had plenty of questions before Suky and Chloe headed back to the nearby Earls Rise development in Stepps.
The Land to Life programme supports a drive to cultivate early talent and help transform perceptions of roles within the housebuilding sector. It has been designed by Cala in partnership with a specialist education consultant, with participating schools receiving a suite of teachers’ notes and detailed lesson plans along with interactive presentations, worksheets and animated videos focusing on key topics.
The lessons cover design and technology, sustainability, planning and marketing. The programme aims to be as inclusive as possible with alternative activities available for children with additional educational needs and is expected to be rolled out to hundreds of children in Scotland and England over the next two years.
Chloe Thompson said, “It was brilliant to be able to visit Chryston Primary School and speak to the primary three class about Cala and the homebuilding sector as a whole. The pupils who were involved were thoroughly engaged with the full lesson, asking inquisitive questions about different roles and the different types of career paths available.”
Suky Singh, engineering manager, added, “The visit shows that there is a real opportunity to harness the curiosity of young people and highlight how this sector can open doors for everyone and allows us to ensure they have all the information they need to later evaluate if this is the industry for them.”
Rod Pearson, head of people at Cala, commented, “Land to Life will help support our ambitions around early talent and diversity, opening young minds to the fact that our industry is about much more than bricks and mortar. This is an exciting and dynamic industry to be part of, with such varied career opportunities, but we all know it needs to be more diverse. We believe changing perceptions at a grassroots level is one of the ways we can improve this in the long-term.
“Our hope is this inspires young people to think about our industry in a more meaningful way than ever before and view it as a brilliant career path.”
