Christian Aid's Global Neighbours Accreditation
Sandal Castle are working towards their Bronze Accreditation of Christian Aid’s Global Neighbour’s Scheme as an acknowledgement and continuation of our children’s existing and wonderful work as leaders for change against social and global injustices. This accreditation will support and recognise the important work we already do as a school in courageous advocacy. We believe one of our fundamental purposes is to support our children in working towards a more just and joyful world for which Christian Aid also works, ‘in the light of the faith we hold’ and this a concept and ‘a world that our children seem so ready to embrace’.
We agree with Christian Aid that ‘schools provide a much-needed safe space in which children can begin to make sense of the world they are encountering’ and that social global citizenship and courageous advocacy:
- broadens the horizons of the mind
- provides real-life contexts for learning and opportunities for pupils to explore topical issues
- cultivates the essential skills and values (from empathy to self-awareness and respect for all people) that prepare pupils for living well with their fellow human beings
- contributes to improved outcomes across the curriculum and in pupils’ personal development, through enhanced skills in critical and creative thinking, reasoning and communication.
We will be working towards our Bronze accreditation because ‘Christian Aid’s Global Neighbours accreditation scheme is first and foremost about children: their needs and aspirations, their character, and their hopes for the world in which they are growing up.’
Through our work already we believe that ‘Courageous Advocacy and Global Citizenship both convey an approach to education that embodies an ethos of action-taking, challenging injustice and becoming agents of change in the transformation of ourselves, our relationships and our communities from the local level to the global.’
We all believe in the important work we do promoting social action as a key fundamental value of our school as it ‘draws on Christian perspectives that contribute to the development of pupils (and staff) as ‘dreamers’, able to employ new energies to change our society, grounded in honesty, hope and love’. Watch this space!
January 2020
So far this academic year we have continued to develop the sustainability of our courageous advocacy projects in school- this is all evidence towards our bronze accreditation and beyond. Sustainability is a key factor in making a true difference. For example, over a year later, we are still collecting and delivering coats and bedding, and food, to Community Action Project on a weekly basis. Reverse Advent collections once again saw huge collections of food for the Food Bank. Our school newspaper continues to showcase the acts of kindness and social action which take place in daily life at school. New projects inspire us but we are loyal to our causes and believe that maintaining our support for our community and beyond is key. Projects and work in class tackle local and global issues in meaningful ways, triangulated with our Collective Worship themes and discussions. Our children are leaders for change, not just participants.