Pupils from Cuddington and Dinton Church of England School have been given the opportunity to get stuck in and get their hands dirty with the donation of a mud kitchen from regional housebuilder Deanfield Homes.

The students, have kickstarted their forest school activities, fostering creativity and a connection with the outdoors. The life-like kitchen slots into the school’s outdoor area and allows the pupils to play with mud, water and sand.

The kitchen has been made by local social enterprise RAW, using leftover wood collected from construction sites across the Oxfordshire area such as the Deanfield Row development in Dinton.

RAW is an Oxford-based social enterprise that helps businesses to create life-changing social and environment impact through its waste wood recycling service and by making high quality, sustainable furniture. Supporting those who have faced previous challenges in life, RAW also provides employment, skills and training, with 75% of its workforce having fought, and won, against issues such as addiction, poor mental health and homelessness.

For every order received, the money is invested back into RAW to employ and train more adults and young people in the community.

Annette Gaskell, Sales and Marketing Manager for Deanfield Homes, comments: “We are thrilled to have provided the mud kitchen to the children at Cuddington and Dinton School. It’s always great to be involved with the local community, and seeing the local pupils putting it to good use has been lovely. We can’t wait to hear updates of some of creations that come out of the kitchen”.

Nicola Wilde, headteacher at the school said: “’We are so grateful to Deanfield Homes for the donation of the new mud kitchen. Here at Cuddington and Dinton Church of England Primary School, we recognise the importance of outdoor learning opportunities, and the new kitchen gives our children the scope to combine their imaginations with learning practical skills through play”.

Deanfield Row is an exclusive development of seven properties in total, including five private four-bedroom detached homes. The development highlights the thoughtful design and high-quality build seen in all Deanfield properties.