A school in Newcastle Diocese has scooped a prestigious award for its initiatives in encouraging children to think of other people around the world.
Felton Church of England Primary School near Morpeth has achieved Bronze Award status in Christian Aid’s Global Neighbours Scheme, an accreditation programme which helps pupils learn about global poverty and the Christian responsibility to tackle it.
The wide-ranging scheme has seen the children reduce single use plastic in school, and learning to grow their own food to reduce food miles, while pupils and staff have been working hard to take their place as global citizens.
Headteacher Emma Lucas 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.”
Emma said the Upper Key Stage pupils at Felton have written to council chiefs about recycling, while also challenging the school as a whole to source refillable glue sticks and handwriting pens.
RE Co-ordinator, Caz Weir said: “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.
“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. The children have especially enjoyed making use of their newly acquired gardening skills to create a compost heap and to grow and sell their own produce to help reduce food miles.”
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 change.
“It’s wonderful to see how staff and pupils at Felton 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.”