A courageous advocate is someone who supports, champions and speaks up for a cause that is important and meaningful to them. Courage is needed to persevere and stand up for something or someone you believe in, to make a difference.
At Darwen St James’ we want to support and encourage our children to become courageous advocates, not just locally but nationally and globally.
At some point in life we will all face challenges and need support to help us overcome these barriers. We teach our children that is important to help others regardless of where they come from or what their challenges are. We teach this in many ways; through our work on values, by links to the Bible, other faiths and world views as well as learning about other courageous advocates. We want our children to have confidence to discuss and debate big ideas, to challenge injustice and engage in activities that can bring about change on some level.
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."
(Proverbs 31: 8-9)
It is important for our children to appreciate their role as part of a community; to take responsibility, to be able to look after themselves and foster an understanding of their importance, impact and influence in the world. Our School Council is one example of how our children have opportunities to implement change and make a real difference to the world around them.
In recent years we have carried out fundraising to raise awareness of issues and support those working for change, including:
Local Food banks
Sports relief
Comic Relief
Children in Need
The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal
Bishop's Harvest Appeal
The Cancer Bank
We aim for our children to develop an excellent grasp on the meaning of belonging to a local and global community and the sense of responsibility that comes with this belonging. We need to show our connection with, and care for, the world in which we all live and care for the people who live in it. we do this by:
Links with local care home and local charities
Support for charities of significance to our community
School Council and Worship Team who seek views of the children, giving a voice to concerns and plans
PTFA who lead community events
School socials support local events and community information sharing
Working collaboratively with Church
This year we are completing a listening exercise with all members of school and community to answer 2 very simple things - what do we like about living here? What gives us grief? This googleform will be collated by the children to see what issues have been identified so that they can take some strides to help alleviate the problem within their local community.
Also this year we have decided that to have a secure understanding of what courageous advocacy is, each year group in school will learn about a courageous advocate from across the globe, both past and present, that have faced injustice and have had to overcome barriers in order to help others for the greater good.
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