Courageous Advocacy

“Serve one another humbly in love.”

Galatians 5:13b

‘Courageous advocacy’ involves being courageous enough to speak out against injustice. We encourage our pupils to come together to become informed about challenges that people across the world are facing and to tackle issues, support and educate other people, and to improve both their local community as well as helping to address global problems.  We believe that learning and growing in a caring Christian environment will strengthen the values, principles and personal beliefs of our pupils, equipping them for living life in the 21st Century. 

Charles Kingsley’s children live out the school’s Christian values by supporting others through a wide range of charity work which takes place throughout the year, supporting charities such as Hart Foodbank, Spotlight UK, Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal, Children in Need, NSPCC. However, encouraging children to be courageous advocates goes much further than this and requires time to introduce them to the range of issues faced across the world, giving them the opportunities to raise awareness and help find solutions.

Courageous advocacy opportunities within school, whilst being responsive to issues that arise throughout the school year, are broadly mapped against our concept-led curriculum to ensure that children make meaningful links between their learning and social action.  There is a particular focus on courageous advocacy as part of the planned exit task at the end of each half term, this is linked to the specific concept the children have been exploring or unit of work they have been studying, this has included producing posters to inform other pupils about the problem with deforestation of the rainforests, sharing their wisdom of online safety by writing an article for the Parish Magazine about how everyone can keep themselves safe online as well as how we can protect the polar icecaps through fighting climate change.

The whole school community has a solid grasp on what it means to be a part of a local and global ‘family’ and the sense of duty that comes with belonging to this world family, which helps them develop their empathy and willingness to make a small sacrifice for others.

We consider the beauty and fragility of our surroundings, our activities, and the potential effects those actions may have on everyone's wellbeing. The curriculum and the school community at large actively promote responsibility for the environment. Through our Heart of the Community work, we ensure that we continually demonstrate our ties to, care for, and concern for the world in which we all live as well as all living things who inhabit it.

The opportunity to earn a Heart of the Community (HOC) Award is given to every child and often involves the whole of their family getting involved in making a difference and serving their local or wider community.  Through the inspiration created by Mrs Mills (a lollypop lady that served our community for many years) who is remembered and discussed at every HOC award ceremony, Children make a pledge to ‘make a difference’.  Recently one of the Year 6 pupils has been working with the Yateley Rangers on practical solutions for reducing litter in the parks around where she lives.

Do all the good you can.

By all the means you can.

In all the places you can.

At all the times you can.

To all the people you can.

As long as ever you can.

John Wesley