Courageous Advocacy

Courageous advocacy is the act of speaking out against issues of injustice, on behalf of those whose voice is not heard. At Radwinter CofE (VA) Primary School, we aspire for our children to become courageous advocates who confidently express their thoughts, beliefs, and values in alignment with our vision of "Growing and learning together to embrace life in all its fullness."

We encourage them to stand up for what is right, embrace diversity, and champion the needs of others, fostering a spirit of service and respect within our community. By nurturing their self-confidence and empowering them with the skills to communicate effectively, we equip our children to navigate challenges with resilience and compassion. In doing so, they not only advocate for themselves but also become voices for those who may not be heard, embodying our core values of fairness, kindness, and service as they contribute positively to the world around them. Courageous advocacy is about releasing the possibility of the pupils in our school to serve the common good, as is nurtured through our value ‘service’.

As part of developing our children as courageous advocates, we:

Encourage pupils to think widely and deeply about issues so that they have a strong sense of right and wrong and a good moral compass
Empower pupils to understand political processes and their own rights and responsibilities in society so that they know how they can practically make a difference
Encourage pupils to think about creative solutions to problems so that they can be trailblazers in making a change
Equip pupils to identify where power is located and how decisions are made so that they can make impactful change
Enable pupils to express themselves confidently so that they can collaborate with others and have their voice heard

What does courageous advocacy look like at Radwinter?

We have three pupil councils that meet regularly to discuss areas of improvement for their focus lens: Pupil Council, Worship Council, Eco Council
Developing and nurturing the school’s Eco garden
Food waste bins and recycling bins in all classrooms
Pupils bring refillable water bottles to school
Governors and senior leaders considering ethical implications when making financial decisions
Our collective worship closes with a reflective moment where pupils consider the doors that are open to them, which doors they can open themselves and what actions they can take when stepping out into the world to make a difference based on what they have heard. We encourage the children to ‘vow’ or make a ‘personal pledge’ to do something during that week to make a difference to someone’s life.
Collective worship specials focused on specific environmental or world issues
Supporting the local food bank with donations at Harvest and as a ‘reverse’ advent calendar
Having strong links with the local church to raise awareness of local and global issues and how pupils and families can help. The visitor might lead collective worship or services in the church that parents are invited to.
Writing letters to the local MP
Visits from parliament to educate pupils on how the political system works but also how they can make a difference from a young age, including the use of petitions
Different areas of the curriculum focused around poverty, injustice and exploitation of the natural world. For example, in History, pupils study migration through an understanding of the Windrush generation and their experiences. In addition to this, in Geography, pupils learn about global trade and natural resources and the impact these have on people’s lives as well as the environment. In DT, pupils consider the sustainability of their projects and the materials chosen for making. In Art, pupils learn about a wide variety of artists from different cultures and look at their stories and life experiences and how art can be used to express a voice. In RE, pupils engage in a Christian Aid resource ‘Anti-Racist RE’ as one of their half-termly units.
Weekly ‘Vision and Values’ assembly celebrates how pupils have lived out the Christian values or vision in their daily life to encourage pupils to engage in this more and be inspired by each other’s achievements
Music and artefacts from around the world are used as part of lessons and collective worship to encourage appreciation, respect and dignity of other cultures
Sanctuary Space lunch club with the school chaplain to spend time reflecting on personal, local and global issues and considering ways individuals can respond and make a difference
Reflective Soul Spaces in classrooms but also as prayer stations with visual and physical prompts to guide pupils to consider their beliefs and values about different issues

Our school is committed to developing Courageous Advocacy through beginning to engage in the Global Neighbours Accreditation for Primary Schools by Christian Aid. This is an area we are excited to begin developing and exploring further.