10th February 2023
Turkey and Syria Earthquakes
Youâll have already been sent the free resource from Picture News this week to help discuss the recent devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria with your pupils. There are additional resources about earthquakes and wellbeing advice for children who find the news upsetting from BBC Newsround. Christian Aid have produced a prayer and reflection to share with children and families. And the Red Cross have produced a secondary-phase resource which focuses on how individual and communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from life-changing natural disasters. It also explores the causes of earthquakes. You can also make donations on their page.
CPD Coming up After Half TermâŠ
CPD Sessions recently postponed due to Jen Jenkinsâs ill health will be rescheduled and the new dates published in Headlines. Bookings will be transferred and new zoom links sent out. If you are unable to attend the new date in person we will send you the recording. Accordingly, other planned SIAMS IQ CPD may be swapped out for later sessions but we will advise in due course when Jen is back to work. Thank you for your patience.
Courageous Advocacy â Global Citizenship
Wednesday 08 March – 16.00 to 17.30 – online via Zoom
This session, Led by DBE Officer Joanne Evans and Alison Brown from Christian Aidâs Global Neighbours, will give you tools and resources to explore global citizenship with your pupils to inspire a culture of justice and responsibility and help them become courageous advocates with a spirit of hope and aspiration. Free for DSA Subscribers â book here
School Admissions and Appeals
Friday 17 March â 14.00 to 15.30 – online via Zoom
For Presenting Officers, Governors and Office Administrators
Managing and administering the admissions process is one of the most important roles of a governing body in voluntary aided schools and multi academy trusts. There is a responsibility, tightly governed by legislation, to agree and set appropriate admissions criteria, to then ensure that the criteria are properly and fairly administered, and also to receive any appeals and to respond appropriately. This training session, Led by Admissions and Appeals Officer Joanne Evans, aims to ensure an understanding of the admissions and appeals process, what is lawful and what is not, and delegates should go away feeling more confident in their knowledge and practice. £25 for DSA subscribing schools â find out more and book a place here.
Alive! 2023 Praise Party â Waiting for the Last Few Schools to BookâŠ
If you have not yet signed your school up please get in contact. Thursday 15th June is filling up fast, but there is more availability on Friday 16th. Remember there is up to a £5 per child contribution to coach transport to and from the event. See the (2 min) promotional video to get a taste of what to expect and show parents/governors etc.
Archbishop of York Youth Trust â Free Lent Resources
With 6 weeks of content, Look IN, Look OUT explores how we can Look IN and Look OUT at the world around us. The 6 sessions focus on different aspect of community: family, friends, school, the local community, our country and the world. Look IN, Look OUT challenges pupils to âLook Inâ at themselves and then to âLook OUTâ at their communities, identifying how they can make a difference and improve the lives of others. Each week includes:
- Introductions
- Bible links
- A video
- Questions and Challenges
- A prayer
This resource can be used in the classroom or in collective worship. Challenges can be done individually or as a group or class. Sign up here to download the resources.
Free Spring Resources from LifeSavers at the Just Finance Foundation
LifeSavers have created a series of values-based assemblies for you to use in the lead up to Easter. Divided into four themes, the Assembly resources cover each of their values: Generosity, Justice, Wisdom and Thankfulness. The children will then be challenged by a task, to be completed at home alongside parents/carers, which will deepen understanding within that value. The resources are all free and available from Free Spring Assemblies for Primary Schools â Just Finance Foundation.
CrossTeach â Message from GRAG Member and Governor Mike Young
Many of you will already have seen some of the work that the CrossTeach organisation is undertaking to engage with school children (primary and secondary) to take the good news of Jesus to those children not yet regular attendees at our churches.  From my own experience, we have helped them to present their Christmas, Easter and Transition “experiences” at St. Mary’s Cubbington over the last five years. They are also engaging with schools in Warwickshire to provide regular RE lessons and Lunch Clubs where children are encouraged to ask and debate challenging questions of faith and its role in our 21st century world.  The mission of CrossTeach is to teach about the Christian faith in schools, which they do in partnership with local churches. They are looking for more people to join in this mission, so that they can reach even more pupils.
- To find out more about the work they are doing in Warwickshire this term you can watch a video here.
- To find out more about the organisation and request a visit see their website here.
- Pray for the work and do pass this information onto your clergy or foundation governors. The Warwickshire CrossTeach leaders would be very happy to join services at our local churches to talk about their work and how everyone with a heart for Jesus can be a supporter.
Gospels in Schools from The Bible Society
Take your pupils more deeply into the Gospel stories with this new resource for KS1 and KS2. Forty-two Gospel passages are accompanied by background information and questions that will introduce your pupils to new Bible passages and go deeper into well-known stories. Available in two different Bible translations, the Good News Bible translation (GNB) and the English Standard Version (ESV). Download them from the Bible Society website here.
New to Teaching RE Support from NATRE
NATRE have a wealth of resources and links to support teachers new to the role as Religious Education/ Religion and Worldviews subject leader. New content has been recently added so do take a look on the NATRE website here. If you have primary or secondary ECT of RE or experienced teachers who are new to the teaching of RE, NATRE are offering a series of FREE monthly webinars designed to support and develop subject knowledge skills. It will also provide evidence to meet the ECT standards. Register via the form on the NATRE website here.
All of the webinars run from 16.00 â 17.30
- 13 February 2023: CafĂ© NATRE â Taught session: Focus on Hindu Dharma
- 13 March 2023: CafĂ© NATRE â Subject knowledge Judaism
- 15 May 2023: Taught session – Multi-Disciplinary RE
- 12 June 2023: Taught session – Focus on Sikhi
- 10 July 2023: CafĂ© NATRE – Subject knowledge Christianity
Treasure Champs
Primary Resources from BBC Teach for RE and Collective Worship
BBC Teach have put together a collection of 30 films presenting stories from the popular TV series Treasure Champs. The stories explore universal values and are drawn from a variety of faiths, cultures and world views. Each of the stories is approximately 4 minutes long. You can find them here. On each page you will find a series of questions to share with pupils to help them recall the main events of the story, as well as notes for the teacher offering suggestions for follow-up activities. The films are also suitable for use in collective worship and offer opportunities for discussion, singing, reflection and prayer.
Free Webinar: New RE Songs and Resources from Fischy Music
Using music for RE learning with Stephen Fischbacher and Lat Blaylock. Free webinar on Monday 20th February, 15.30-16.30. Inspire your pupils with eight new Fischy songs and lesson ideas for primary RE. This one hour zoom session will introduce a project we have created to help you use music well in RE. It connects neatly to the new RE Directoryâs concepts and is useful in all primary schools wherever you want to enable spiritual reflection with superb music. The lesson ideas show how to use the songs for great RE. Thanks to the Westhill Trust, you will get free access to these resources. Book your slot here.
Make Kindness the Norm
At the end of Childrenâs Mental Health Week you may want to your pupils to imagine a world where you can succeed by being nice. Where we all pay it forward. Where people look out for each other. It all starts with an act. A random act of kindness.
Random Acts of Kindness Foundation have put together this collection of fun ideas for your classroom along with other school-based activities based on random acts. (Please note this is a US site).
Pupils in Chester Diocese have been on a mission to spread kindness in their local community as part of their KS2 Archbishop of York Young Leader action project. The pupils decided that showing kindness to others and making people smile was very important, especially after the Covid pandemic. They decided to make kindness packages, which included a cake bar, a tea bag and a positive message, and the pupils then personally delivered them to shops and businesses in the local area to make local shoppers and business owners smile. The Kindness packages had a huge impact on the local community, with many local businesses sharing photos and messages of thanks on social media plus numerous emails and thank you cards which were sent to the school from local residents. Find out more about the Young Leaders Award by signing up to the one of the free webinars coming up in February and March.
52 Lives â School of Kindness are inviting children to take part in a half term Kindness Challenge to celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week. Each day, they will be tasked with doing a specific kind activity and writing about how they felt when they did it. Not only will they be helping other people, they will also be helping themselvesâŠbecause when weâre kind it improves our own physical and mental health.
The competition is open to children in the UK in Key Stage 1 and 2. There are prizes for both the winning pupil and their school. Deadline for entry is 4 March 2023. Find out more and download the challenge sheet for pupils here.
Free Resources to Help Support Refugee Pupils
Many UK schools now host refugee students from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Syria and other countries. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) Healing Classrooms programme offers free training sessions and resources to educators and schools supporting refugee and asylum-seeking students in the UK. The programme aims to develop inclusive and nurturing learning spaces where refugee and asylum-seeking students can gain the necessary academic, social and emotional skills to develop their full potential. You can find the resources here.
Helping Young Children to Think About Race â A Free Early Years Resource
Racism can present itself in different ways in a young childâs life. A child may have direct or indirect experiences of racism, but the impact can be felt all the same. This free booklet from the Anna Freud Centre is for early years professionals working with young children aged five and under in an educational setting. It is designed to highlight the various ways that race and racism impact children in the early years. You can download the booklet from the Anna Freud website here.
Five Ways School Leaders Can Support their Staff
Leading, motivating and supporting staff is a tricky proposition in the midst of a national crisis. Teachers and education staff throughout the sector are dealing with a wide range of issues. The excellent Education Support charity has produced a 6-minute video outlining five ways school leaders can support their staff. It demonstrates how to show your team that you are human first, and a line-manager second. Click here to watch the video. Education Support also offer a free helpline so if you need to talk their counsellors are ready to give you immediate, emotional support. Education Support – 08000 562 561. Call us. Weâll listen.