Year of Diversity 2023/2024

This year we shall be focussing on celebrating the diversity of our school community. We shall be developing opportunities to celebrate the many cultures that contribute to the richness of school life.

Great Representation Leadership Programme

This year we are fortunate to be part of the HfL Great Representation Programme. This annual leadership programme aims to:

• Encapsulate the key features, structures and practices of schools that have a strong ethos of anti-racism, to better understand how schools become great at inclusion, diversity and equality.
• Explore strategies, review literature and hear from expert speakers on how to achieve great representation of people of colour in the curriculum and the school community
• Share great practice and ensure that schools engaged in exciting race-equality practice are contributing to system leadership in Hertfordshire

We have been inspired by Aisha Thomas founder of Representation Matters.

Aisha challenges us to imagine a world where all races are represented in all aspects of life, where children grow with a sense of value, connection and understanding of difference.

Aisha believes we can all play a role inspiring the next generation. #RepresentationMatters

RJED Strategy

We are also working to create an RJED Policy (Racial Justice Equality and Diversity) as part of the Diocesan initiative. This is a Westminster Education Service initiative with a working party. It began as a working group for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) concerns. Then following the death of George Floyd on 25th May 2020, which sparked a national and international response, it evolved into RJED, so that it was inclusive of all cultures and races, such as Travellers and other minority groups. Implicit in the title is the importance of ‘inclusion’ – we are all equal members of a diverse community, characterised by mutual respect and love.

This Strategy is very much a call for our schools to work towards racial justice because it is relevant in every one of our schools and parishes without exception.

Racism and racial discrimination are a concern for all of our schools because they refuse basic justice and human dignity to all adults and pupils who are made in the image of God. They also assume that all people are not equal before God and are thus not part of God’s family. This contradicts our mission and vision.

One World Week 2023

During one world week each class celebrated the culture of one country. We had a fabulous week singing, dancing, baking and tasting! We were delighted to welcome many parents in to school to share their knowledge and experience of life living in different countries. Ariela’s mum came to talk to us about Pakistan, Gabriella’s mum shared interesting facts about Colombia. Mya’s mum and sister spoke to us about Zimbabwe and Julia and Naomi’s mum cooked a Zambia delicacy over an open fire. Luca’s mum told us about Italy and  Federico’s mum helped us fill delicious cannoli. Mrs Martides and her sister-in-law spoke to our Reception about life in Cyprus.

Representation in literature.

As part of our Year of Diversity we have been reviewing the texts that we have in our class libraries and stories that we use as whole class reading books. We are reflecting on how culturally diverse our books are and are planning opportunities for our children to be able to explore a range of books where different cultures are represented.

Year 6 class have been reading Benjamin Zephaniah’s Windrush Child.

Amber in Year  6 writes… “I think the book describes the Windrush time really clearly. It doesn’t hide the racist comments that were made towards Leonard who was a boy who travelled from Jamaica. It made me feel sad because people from England, where I am from, have said unkind things to someone who was struggling and wanted to feel welcomed. This book is important because it helps people to understand the racism that happened and hopefully move forward to a kinder world.”

Julia in Year 5 writes about the Year 5 trip to the British Museum….

“In the afternoon, we went to the Malorie Blackman exhibition and saw lots of her different books like Pig Heart Boy, Hacker and A Dangerous Game. We learnt about her childhood, and that she wanted to become an author because she didn’t see black people represented in the fiction she read as a child, and wanted to change that. It was inspiring to learn that Malorie Blackman was rejected by publishers over 82 times, but never gave up on her dream of becoming an author.”

Representation in RE

At our KS2 Advent Service we reflected on  Advent traditions from different parts of the world and through this learnt about  love, unity, and the true spirit of the season.

As we lit the Advent candles, we remembered that Jesus came into a world that was diverse and beautiful. He taught us to love one another, no matter our differences, and that’s a message we want to share.

 Dear God,

As we wait for Christmas to appear,

Help us see the beauty in all we hold dear.

In this diverse world, help us to understand,

That love and kindness unite every land.

Amen.

Year 3: Candle of Hope – Philippines

Year 4: Candle of Peace – Sweden

Year 5: Candle of Joy | Ethiopia

Year 6: Candle of Love | Mexico

Racial Justice Sunday 2024

As part of our Year of diversity, our Year 5 class have been finding out more about Saints from around the world. They have been inspired to learn about Blessed Carlo Acutis, St Josephine Bakhita, St Martin de Porres and St Oscar Romero as well as a whole host of other inspirational people. The Year 5 class shared their learning with parishioners and friends by creating a display at the entrance to the church.

Lent 2024

On Ash Wednesday we created a display of Prayers of Hope by representing our Lenten promises on hands of prayer. Every child reflected on how they might grow closer to God through prayer, fasting and almsgiving; the display is a reminder of our commitment during Lent.

We have used images reflecting aspects of Catholic Social teaching to encourage our children to discuss, explain and reflect as they journey through Lent. These images have promoted discussion about race equity and justice as well as encouraging us to revisit our mission prayer: ” We believe that we are all God’s work of art.”

Exploring diversity in  Religious Art

As part of our Year of diversity,  our Year class visited the Methodist Modern Art Collection at the Focolare Centre, Welwyn Garden City. They were inspired by the diverse art work and linking their RE knowledge to the different images seen.

“One of the art world’s unexpected treasures, including some of the most powerful and arresting religious art of the 20th and 21st centuries.”(Tim Marlow, Chief Executive and Director of the Design Museum, London, and former Artistic Director of the Royal Academy)

The Methodist Modern Art Collection (MMAC) was put together in the early 1960s by Dr John Morel Gibbs, a Methodist layman and art collector. It contains paintings, limited edition prints and reliefs by key figures from British 20th century art, such as Edward Burra, Elisabeth Frink, Patrick Heron and Graham Sutherland. In more recent years the Collection has acquired works by artists from around the world, including Jyoti Sahi from India, Sadao Watanabe from Japan and John Muafangejo from Namibia.

You can browse the collection at https://www.methodist.org.uk/our-faith/life-and-faith/the-methodist-modern-art-collection/browse-the-collection/

Nikola in Year 6 says “This is my favourite picture because it is of Jesus coming into Jerusalem on a donkey and everyone is waving flags and I can see the Macedonian flag. This makes me feel happy as I can see my country’s flag.”

Celebrating Pentecost

This term we celebrated our diversity by coming together as a school community and sharing food and music from the different countries represented in our school. Thank you to all the parents who contributed so generously to this event. We all had a great time!

Pentecost Celebration