Pupils at Rowlands Castle St Johns CE Primary, have been presented with a Bronze Award from Christian Aid’s Global Neighbours Scheme for their global citizenship work! Below is a message from Christian Aid about the school’s achievement:

From their innovative Cut Your Carbon campaign, to their engagement with their local MP and from their Creative for Climate Justice art showcase to their Eco Warriors team, pupils and staff at Rowlands Castle St John’s Primary School have been working hard to take their place as global citizens.

Rowland’s Castle St John’s Church of England Primary School has achieved Bronze Award status in Christian Aid’s Global Neighbours scheme, in recognition of its initiatives to encourage children to think of others throughout the world.

The accreditation programme celebrates schools which 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.

Sarah Potter, Children and Young People’s Officer at Christian Aid, said: “The Global Neighbours accreditation scheme was launched in 2018 as a way of inspiring, engaging and helping young people to understand more about the inequalities in this world. By encouraging them to find their voice and be heard, the scheme equips them to become courageous advocates for change.

“It’s fantastic to see how the whole school community at Rowlands Castle St John’s have taken this to heart and are seeking to tackle injustice.

“Any Primary or Secondary school in England, Scotland and Wales 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.”

Mrs Pavitt and all the staff at Rowlands Castle St John's Primary School are very proud of the hard work and commitment of the children, families and team in school and this award is something we are all delighted to have achieved.

Global Neighbours and courageous advocacy within our school

Within the community our school stands up for what it believes in. Our Christian Values of Courage, Creativity and Respect and British Values (Rule of Law, Tolerance, Democracy, Mutual Respect and Individual Liberty) ensure that opportunities to discuss current world issues, to challenge injustice and to engage in activities that can bring about change, are always present. Such as:

• Remembrance Day 
• Collective Worship planning
• Equality: Black History Month
• 40 Days of Lent
• Politics – showing democracy by voting applying and campaigning for worship and school council
• Eco warriors and help the world club – advocating for world changes that are important to them such as helping local endangered wildlife and recycling
• Refugee Week
• Fairtrade Fortnight
• Earth Day
• Harvest
   

We aim to inspire courageous advocacy and instil our Christian Values in all. To ensure that we and our community work to create change, we have been and are supportive of a range of charities in our local area, nationally and globally. Some of these include:

• Christian Aid – Global Neighbours – working towards Bronze Award
• Christian Aid – Samaritans Purse

• Beacon House Food Bank, Havant
• Children in Need
• Comic Relief
• Sports Relief
• Sunflowers for Ukraine charity  
• Harvest Festival Food Donations.

“Speak up for people who cannot speak for themselves. Protect the rights of all who are helpless” Proverbs 31:8

Global Neighbours and courageous advocacy across the Curriculum

As part of our commitment to ensure that all children are able to develop their critical thinking skills about the world around them and to discover how we can all have an impact on our world, our curriculum ensures that all children have opportunities to think about their role as Global Neighbours across all aspects of the curriculum.

Our children have a good understanding of the meaning of belonging to a local and global community and the sense of responsibility that comes with belonging; therefore, developing their ability to empathise and make small choices and sometimes sacrifices, to benefit others. We are proud that our curriculum and extra-curricular activities actively embrace a responsibility for the world in which we live.  Through our: RE, PSHE, book choices to lead English and science, our children explore how we are responsible for our world and how we can make a difference.

Some books that lead our English learning journey’s:

Year 3: Window – Jeanie Baker.      Year 2: Tidy – Emily Gravett.                 Year 6.