In June 2022, the Tower of London celebrated the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee by transforming the Tower moat into a field of flowers. 'Superbloom' brought nature to the city, giving people time to slow down, reflect and experience the joy of flowers in bloom.
Local schools were invited to take part by creating their own mini-superbloom displays in community spaces for everyone to enjoy. Each display was shaped around the school’s needs and interests, as well as their available space and capacity.
130 schools took part over four years giving thousands of students from Primary, Secondary and SEND schools the opportunity to experience the benefits of gardening and nature.
To make the gardening project accessible for everyone, we worked with Superbloom and schools to deliver CPD training and garden manuals.
We played a vital role in the project’s success, by providing school staff with in-person training in therapeutic gardening and basic garden skills at each annual Teacher CPD Day at the Tower, as well as a series of online garden surgeries for school staff during the spring each year.
“I have seen students really grow and blossom within this project,”
Martin Keenaghan, Deputy Headteacher at Woolton High School and Super Bloom project lead.
Students blossomed through ‘Superbloom’ at Woolton High School
Woolton High School, a secondary SEND (SEMH) school in Liverpool with 75 pupils, took part in the project for two years.
The children at the school all have a recognised and diagnosed impairments which had to be considered through the gardening process. Such as ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder, and sensory processing differences, regulation challenges, and developmental delays.
Gardening, introduced through the Vocational Learning Programme, grew through the 'Superbloom' project to support learning, wellbeing and personal development across the school. It provided physical activity, sensory engagement, and opportunities for emotional regulation, allowing pupils to learn in ways suited to their needs.
"Gardening has been invaluable for our current and prospective students. Visiting families often marvel at how ‘nice’ or ‘amazing’ the school is when they first visit, and the gardens are a key part of that experience. Through hands-on learning experiences in our vocational curriculum, students have explored important topics like food production, nature protection, careers and wellbeing. It has helped them rebuild resilience, perseverance and focus. The sensory experiences and practical activities have significantly improved their mental and physical wellbeing, as well as their social and emotional skills," explained Martin Keenaghan, Deputy Headteacher at Woolton High School and Super Bloom project lead.
The Impact of 'Superbloom' at Woolton High School
Pupils took part in two weekly 40-minute gardening sessions, grouped by interests and needs: hard gardeners enjoyed physical tasks, easy gardeners focused on plants and care, and wellbeing gardeners engaged through sensory-supportive activities.
There were five main impacts – engagement, health, careers, Ofsted and legacy.
Martin Keenaghan, Deputy Headteacher and project lead, reflects:
“I have been a teacher for 25 years and this project would, if I could, keep me teaching for another 25. Thank you does not do justice to how grateful I will always feel to have been a part of the 'Superbloom' project.”
