Headlines – 11 March 2022

11th March 2022

Congratulations

Congratulations to Ishan Bains from Abbey CofE Infants who was selected as one of 8 winners of the Royal Mail Stamp competition and he travelled to London yesterday to receive his prize from Prince Charles. The winning eight designs, chosen from more than 600,000 entries, were based on ‘heroes of the pandemic’. Charles welcomed the winners and their parents to a reception at Clarence House where he spoke to each child about their design. The school are extremely proud and hope to see Ishan’s design be made into a real stamp and on sale later this month.

And Congratulations to St Bartholomew’s CofE Academy who celebrated becoming an ICON school at a special service at Coventry Cathedral yesterday.

 

Don’t Forget to Book for the Headteacher Annual Pre-Conference Dinner

We have had confirmation that Revd Kate Bottley is available to attend our Headteacher Annual Residential Conference as an after-dinner speaker on the evening of 30 June before the full day conference on 01 July. In order to know how many places, we will need for the pre-conference dinner, and for overnight accommodation (with breakfast) if you require it, we would be grateful if you could book your places for the evening of Thursday 30 June in the next week so that we can make sure this is all in place at the hotel.

Book your place for the pre-conference dinner on 30 June here.

 

Ukraine Prayers at All Saints CofE Primary, Nuneaton

Sarah Clayton, Administrative Assistant at All Saints CofE Primary, Nuneaton writes: “I would like to take the opportunity to share with you some of the work we have been doing in school since the conflict in Ukraine began. Thank you for the collective worship PowerPoints you shared, these have been used in school and have also been uploaded to our website to share with our families. At last week’s staff meeting, colleagues agreed to make a Ukraine Peace display board, to help us all reflect for hope and peace. The wings of the dove have been created by children writing messages on ‘hands’ to create feathers. We have also created a ‘Peace Book’ this includes more messages written onto ‘hands’ along with prayers and poems. I attach some of the photographs. I am sure you will agree, the display board is very effective, and the prayers offer the children opportunity to express their worries for the suffering in Ukraine.”

 

Upcoming CPD…

SIAMS Shorts – The Statement of Entitlement for RE

  • Tuesday 15.03.22 – 16.00 – 17.00 on Zoom
  • For more information and to book click here

School Admissions and Appeals for VA Schools and Academies

  • Friday 18.03.22 – 140.0 to 15.30 Online via Zoom
  • For Presenting Officers, Governors, Administrators.
  • Cost: ÂŁ20 to invoiced to the school after the event.
  • For more information and to book click here

 

More Resources about Talking to Children About War

 

Free Easter Resources from PopUK

This year, PopUK are releasing their Easter resources completely FREE to help primary school children understand the meaning of Palm Sunday; Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Each resource consists of three songs and accompanying lesson videos. These take children through the timeline of events, helping them see the complete story. Teachers can use the resources for a 30-minute assembly or part of their RE curriculum. Each lesson video is used in sequence to give children the historical context of why the events happened. The tutor teaches each song step-by-step, helping the children learn them quickly. All resources can be accessed by signing up to their FREE song bank here. Do get in touch if you have any questions. www.PopUK.org

 

God and the Big Bang – Half Day Workshop in Your School?

God and Big Bang recently ran a pilot science-faith festival in Ely Diocese, where they visited 9 schools over 4 days, delivering a shorter version of the usual workshop days in each. With this festival model, they are particularly focussing on smaller, rural schools who may usually struggle to access events. They are asking whether groups of schools or MATs would like to take up this opportunity at a cost of £5 per pupil. The half day would include:

  • Two interactive workshops looking at different topics such as evolution, climate change and curiosity, giving students an opportunity to   discover, discuss and debate where science and faith overlap
  • A Q&A session for the students to challenge the workshop leaders with their big questions

They would be looking to work with between 30 and 60 students at each school. They work on a reduced price and minimum numbers for this model based on the fact that the travel costs are reduced working in the same area for a few days, so they are looking for schools that are relatively close together. To find out more about the work of God and the Big Bang go to their website here: https://gatbb.co.uk/  If your consortium, group or MAT would like to take advantage of the half day workshops contact Sarah Moring sarah.moring@durham.ac.uk

 

To Pass on to Some of Your Brilliant Female Senior Leaders –

‘How to Be Braver as a Woman Thinking About Headship’

The decline in applications for headship has been a problem for some time, particularly when it comes to women thinking about taking on the top job in schools. In this post, former headteacher, Sarah Creegan, gives her opinion on why this might be and offers some advice for those contemplating headship to give them a boost of confidence. Read it here.

 

Spring Kindness Calendar from the British Red Cross

Being kind not only supports others it helps us to feel good too. The British Red Cross’s new Spring kindness calendar* (suitable for ages 5-11) will encourage your pupils to do simple kind acts every day to support their wellbeing. The activities in the calendar pack are designed for use both at school and home so that children can include kindness in all aspects of their lives. The pack is now available for you to order as a free colour printed pack and includes the following:

  • A blank calendar poster for your classroom
  • 30 take-home handouts
  • Activity suggestions to encourage kindness and improve wellbeing

When you order your colourful printed pack, you can also find a supportive PowerPoint online, featuring a story of kindness for use in assemblies and lessons. Click here to get the resource.

 

Nine Things You Can Do to Start ‘Poverty Proofing’ Your School

Poverty Proofing the School Day is a project developed by Children North East. The project provides a toolkit to poverty proof the school day, to reduce stigma and remove barriers to learning and to assist schools in exploring the most effective way to spend pupil premium allocation. Looking at the school from the perspective of the poorest student – Here are some top tips to help you start Poverty Proofing your school. For more information about the work of Children North East and their Poverty Proofing project click here.

 

To Remind us That Humans Can and Do Come Together In Times Of Adversity

Watch BeyoncĂŠ’s official United Nations World Humanitarian Day (2012) Performance video for ‘I Was Here’. A beautiful and inspiring performance which could also be used in collective worship for upper KS2 and older children. Click here to play (4 mins)


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