CAPTION: Pupils at Woodbury Salterton CE Primary have been presented with a Bronze Award from Christian Aid’s Global Neighbours Scheme for their global citizenship work.
Christian Aid Award Given to Devon CofE School ‘Seeking to Tackle Justice’
From clothes swaps, food boxes and litter picks to encouraging the purchase of Fairtrade goods, pupils and staff at Woodbury Salterton Church of England Primary School have been working hard to take their place as global citizens.
Students collected non-recyclable soft plastics and packed them into plastic bottles to make ‘Eco-bricks’
Woodbury Salterton School has achieved Bronze Award status in Christian Aid’s Global Neighbours scheme in recognition of its wide-ranging steps to love their global neighbour.
The accreditation scheme celebrates schools that are helping pupils learn about global poverty and the Christian responsibility to tackle it, as well as giving them the tools to play a confident part in creating a fairer world.
Executive Headteacher and Woodbury Salterton School’s Global Neighbours lead, Katie Gray said: “We are thrilled to be recognised for the work we have done as a whole school community to raise awareness of the extreme inequalities across our globe and perhaps more importantly, the steps we can take to address these.
“The pupils learn about global issues regularly and gain an understanding of injustice in our world.
“Through our Daily Dashboard pupils are able to consider these issues and then to take part in action and advocacy.
“They researched Eco Bricks as an alternative to sending single use face masks to landfill and then engaged with our MP and a local environmental film maker to share their learning and encourage further action.
“Year 6 pupils shared their learning with the rest of the school about poor sanitation in some parts of the world.
Pupil’s challenged previous attitudes and values which led to acts of justice through changed priorities in buying chocolate, plastic recycling and providing practical support to rehomed refugees
“As a result, we took part in Toilet Twinning and some of our families have twinned their toilets at home too.
“Pupils have been learning about examples of people who faced adversity and overcame this to be courageous advocates for change.
“These stories have challenged the whole school community to think about how each of us can make a difference in our local community and globally.
“We took part in Christian Aid’s scheme because it gives us a practical way of following our school’s core text 1 Peter 4:10: ‘Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace’.
“Our world is increasingly connected, and our hope is for our children to grow as responsible global citizens who care about issues such as the environment and access to healthcare.”
Alison Brown, Global Neighbours Schools Programme Officer at Christian Aid, said, “The Global Neighbours Scheme was launched in partnership with the Church of England’s Education Office with a vision of helping young people understand more about the inequalities in this world and helping them to become courageous advocates for those who have no voice.
“It’s wonderful to see how staff and pupils at Woodbury Salterton have taken this to heart and are seeking to tackle injustice.”
Any primary school in England can join the Global Neighbours scheme. There are three levels of accreditation: bronze, silver and gold.
These are verified by independent assessors, who look for evidence across five areas: school leadership, teaching and learning; collective worship and spiritual development; pupil participation; and community engagement.
Alison Brown said, “Christian Aid is also looking to recruit more volunteer teachers locally to go into schools to help us deliver the scheme. If you have experience of working with children and are excited about inspiring a new generation of agents of change, we would love to hear from you!”
Woodbury Salterton has also received the Carnegie Mental Health award in January – the 5th of the five schools in the area to receive it.
Read more about the award here –
National Mental Health Award Given to Four Church of England Primary Schools in Devon
