A group of headteachers from across Kent have united to form a community donation hub to collect supplies for refugees fleeing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Three HGVs full of donations have already reached Poland where more than are 1.5 million Ukrainians are seeking refuge.

The Kent Association of Headteacher has been working in association with Kent County Council, The Red Cross and Invicta Rotary Club to arrange collections and transportation of the donations.

Dan File, Headteacher at Elham Catholic Primary School, secured two 20ft containers in West Park Farm Industrial Estate in Folkestone.

He also arranged several HGVs to take donations across to Poland, with more than £23,000 already raised through a JustGiving page to cover the fuel costs.

David Whitehead, chief executive of Our Community Multi-Academy Trust said: "We've been absolutely appalled and horrified by what we've seen on the news and one thing that schools do very well is react to a crisis, as we've seen during the pandemic.

"Schools have always been central to collecting for charity, both nationally and locally, for decades."

David Whitehead explains how the collection point in Folkestone was organised

He added: "It seemed natural when this story broke and we could see the invasion in Ukraine.

"We wanted to do something that was going to impact positively on their lives.

"We thought that all schools would want to do something, but if we could bring them all together then we could have a really massive impact on the situation over there."

Mr Whitehead also explained how schools are trying to educate children and young adults on the current conflict whilst encouraging them to be proactive in supporting the donation campaign.

He said: "My own son came back from school, he's nine, and was really upset and anxious about it - he had watched it on Newsround.

"He came home with all sorts of concerns and I talked him through what was happening and gave him a bit of history lesson in terms of what has happened in the past."

Schools have been using educational packages from BBC Newsround and the Department for Education to educate pupils in a sensitive way and this is also being encouraged through the campaign with some children writing letters and cards to be sent in the HGVs.

Some pupils under the multi-academy trust have links to Ukraine, and Mr Whitehead believes that schools are doing everything they can to support these families.

He explained: "We've got Ukrainian families within our schools or those with connections to Ukraine so we're putting in a lot of extra support for those families."

Mr Whitehead added: "In the grand scheme of things it feels like not very much that we can offer but of course we're offering advice, counselling and time off to be in touch with family and deal with things like that.

"Our core value is compassion and there is no more important time to be compassionate than it is now.

"It's resonating with people of all ages and all demographics within our communities.

"The smallest things can make the biggest difference actually and sometimes those who have got the least give the most and that is definitely the case in our appeal across Kent at the moment."

To view the list of schools taking part, click here