Pilgrim Primary Academy and The Salvation Army Unite to Strengthen the Stonehouse Community

Pilgrim Academy Staff and Governors welcomed The Salvation Army Plymouth Barbican team as partners & residents into the school to work alongside our Parent Support Advisor delivering welfare and wellbeing support at school level and offer a wider range of free services that is available more widely available across Plymouth.

The school held a special event on Friday the 19th of September 2025 to celebrate the start of the partnership, inviting numerous other local community outreach providers such as:

• Transforming Plymouth Together,
• the Oasis Project,
• Community Builders,
• Safe Families,
• the Plymouth Community Dental service and
• Employment Plus as well as The Salvation Army team.

The exciting new partnership aims to bring positive change and long-term, sustainable improvement and support to our Pilgrim children, their parents and wider families who live in the Stonehouse Community. The Salvation Army utilise the school as a hub for their Sunday services and provide valuable support to the school on a weekly basis.

As a major international organisation, The Salvation Army are well placed to offer a wide range of valuable family & community services. 

At school, families and their young children (aged 0 to 4 years old) can benefit from their “Baby Basics” collection service and Little Stars a Baby & Toddler group weekly on Thursdays at 10am in the HQ building, Union Street, which operates on a £1 donation.

Adults can access their ‘Listening Ear’ service which provides a friendly, volunteer-led, non-judgmental chat for anyone who would benefit. In addition, the offer extends to services such as  debt management advice, housing support, and a variety of employment services, including help finding work or training, employment support, CV writing and interview preparation, work experience and apprenticeships, IT training, access to online learning, and in-work support.

The Wellbeing & Life Skills’ services also provide Universal Credit and benefits advice, relationships support, money management guidance, housing advice, and signposting to wider local and national services.

All of these services are free to access via Pilgrim Primary Academy.

Pilgrim and The Salvation Army Music Partnership

Pilgrim School Choir and The Salvation Army are also naturally collaborating. Pilgrim pupils will be singing at the Barbican Lights Switch on (15th November) and various Christmas Carol events will run across the city across the festive period.

Rachael Saim, Headteacher at Pilgrim Primary Academy said:

"Pilgrim Primary Academy sits within the heart of the Stonehouse community in the centre of Plymouth. This exciting new partnership with The Salvation Army has been created to offer a wide range of support, signposting and access to free local services for our children and their families. Through partnering with the Salvation Army, we can help create opportunities, provide practical support, and hopefully make a lasting difference for the children and families we serve."

Andrea Roe from the Salvation Army said:

"The Salvation Army has always been committed to walking alongside communities, and our partnership with Pilgrim Primary Academy is a powerful way to reach out to our families in their own community. We want this to be a hub of hope, care, and opportunity for everyone in Stonehouse.”

Local Stonehouse Councillor, Alison Raynsford is in full support of this new initiative.

“This new partnership between Pilgrim Primary and the Salvation Army is a groundbreaking and innovative approach designed to support children and their families in a range of ways. I wholly support them in this endeavour and know that they will make a positive difference to families in my ward.”