Courageous Advocacy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Courageous Advocacy

Courageous Advocacy is defined by the Church of England as “the act of speaking out against an issue of injustice, often on behalf of those whose voice is not heard.”

At Wootton Wawen, we encourage and support our children to become courageous advocates who believe that they can become ‘agents of change’ to strive towards a fairer and more joyous world. This enables our school community to develop a greater awareness of the challenges others face in life and how they, as individuals, can support causes and make a difference in our school community, local community and further afield.

Encouraging and supporting our children to become ‘courageous advocates’ means they champion causes and issues which are special and meaningful to them. These may be global issues or matters far more personal and closer to home. We believe this develops resilience, teamwork, courage, independence, along with an understanding of the wider world and how they can help to make it a better place.

Our Courageous Advocacy Worship inspires our children through learning about a range of famous Courageous Advocates, such as Greta Thunberg, Marcus Rashford and Rosa Parks. As a whole-school, we discuss how we can use and apply the values embodied by these advocates in our own lives, both inside and outside of school. The Courageous Advocacy Trophy is awarded fortnightly to a pupil who has stood out for independently demonstrating their commitment to championing these values.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every child in our school is a Courageous Advocate for the common good locally, nationally and globally. We fundraise for a range of charities, stand up for what we believe in and challenge injustice to bring about change. We take time to reflect upon and appreciate how lucky we are to be part of such a nurturing school environment, surrounded by supportive peers and staff, which allows us to feel inspired and achieve our potential.

 

Courageous Advocacy at Wootton Wawen

Wootton Wawen C of E Primary School is a strong Christian community where all unite and flourish. Our family is guided by God’s teachings of love, courage, hope and service, enabling everyone to thrive as happy and fulfilled individuals. Ignited by God’s Spirit, our children shine as a light in the world and recognise there are integral parts of a larger body created in God’s image.

 

 

 

 

All acts of courageous advocacy at Wootton Wawen are driven by our school’s Christian vision. Children act together with a purpose that people may live happily together in unity. Our Christian vision encompasses God’s vision that everyone should live well together. Courage is one of our core Christian values and is at the heart of all actions and decision making by children and adults. Another core Christian value is service. We actively promote the value of serving God and by doing that, serving others in the school, local and global communities.

 

In Collective Worship, RE lessons and other times of reflection and prayer, biblical references are explored to deepen children’s understanding and enable them to live out our Christian vision and values to serve others and enable themselves and others to flourish. Children learn how Jesus demonstrated values of courage, hope, service and love, and are inspired to follow His example. Children and adults learn about the life of Jesus and God’s vision for the world and reflect on the message of the Bible in the context of their own character and actions.

 

Jesus spoke up for people who were disadvantaged, disempowered and ignored by their communities. Children are encouraged to reflect on Jesus’ actions and teachings to inform their own values, judgements and courageous choices. Other learning experiences, including PSHE lessons and learning about British Values, enable children to grow in character and independence, develop their sense of respect and justice, and grow in courage “to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves” (Proverbs 31:8).

 

The Church of England also promotes the Christian values of wisdom, community and dignity as key values associated with courageous advocacy. For more insight into the theology behind courageous advocacy - refer to section 1 in the Church of England document, ‘Courageous Advocacy’.

180521-courageous-advocacy-final.pdf (churchofengland.org)

 

At Wootton Wawen, aspirational teaching encourages and challenges children to be their best selves, to take pride in their work, and to be positive members of the school and wider communities. Lessons and experiences across the curriculum, opens the children’s eyes to an understanding of the world, their place in it and how they can act to make positive changes for their local and global communities. Children learn about their own and other communities and world events and issues. They learn about people in history and present day who have shown courage and compassion whilst acting courageously to make the world a better place. This offers children hope and the tenacity to succeed in their endeavours.

 

 

Courageous Advocacy in action

 

Supporting various charities locally, nationally and globally is an integral part of life at Wootton Wawen. Staff, pupils and parents regularly support and organise fundraising events, with children even suggesting and organising events of their own.

Courageous Advocacy in our school should:

• Encourage children to think widely and deeply about issues (asking ‘why?’)
• Empower children to understand political processes and their own rights and responsibilities in society.
• Encourage children to think of creative solutions to problems (asking ‘2hat can be done about it?’)
• Equip children with the tools to identify where power is located and how decision are made.
• Enable children to express themselves confidently and articulately to decision-makers and others.

The Church of England sets out an example plan of steps that may be pursued by pupils as they plan and take action:

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• Step 1: Identify a problem or issue you care about
• Step 2: Investigate as much as you can so you understand: consider all views
• Step 3: Work out what could be done to change or improve it
• Step 4: Identify the people with influence to make those changes
• Step 5: Consider whose help you might use to make your voice more persuasive
• Step 6: Persuade those with power to make changes to do something about it

 

 

Examples of Courageous Advocacy at Wootton Wawen include:

 

• Collecting items to be put into hampers by St. Peter’s Church at Harvest time. These hampers are then raffled off at their HARVEST Supper, with the food being donated to those in need an money being raised for various charities.

 

 

 

• MacMillan Coffee Morning is supported by the whole school each year, with our Year 6 Leaders taking a significant role in collecting donations.
• On the back of MacMillan, three children then decided to set up their own fundraising activity out of school, making crafts and selling them. They then donated the proceeds to MacMillan.

 

 

• Our fortnightly Courageous Advocacy Worship has inspired children to be a champion for the values embodied by those we have learned about. For example, whilst learning about Greta Thunberg, one child decided to go and plan some trees on her farm with her father in a bid to support the fight to save our planet. Other children went on a litter pick around school at breaktimes, collecting and dropped rubbish and putting it in the bin.

 

• We raise money for Children in Need every year.
• We champion Anti-Bullying Week by undertaking a range of activities and wearing odd socks to embody the message “it’s okay to be different.”

 

• The choir sing Christmas carols at the local nursing home, Cedar Lodge, to entertain and lift the spirits of the elderly residents. The children have input into the songs we perform and select ones which they feel will be enjoyed by the audience.