Since September, we have been dedicated to enhancing our curriculum to foster our children’s understanding and appreciation of diversity. A key component of this initiative is the Anti-Racist Education Programme (AREP). We have collaborated with an external consultant who has been training our staff and engaging with the children to gather their views, opinions, and understanding in this area.

All classes from Years 1-6 will participate in AREP before Easter, and we are thrilled to report that the classes who have already taken part have greatly enjoyed and benefited from their learning experiences. You can read more about AREP here.

Following a recent visit from our consultant, we were delighted to receive the following feedback:

“Thank you for your enthusiasm and ability to reflect and think about how to change things in this Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Agenda. It is a journey and has been a real pleasure working with you.”

The children have also experienced assemblies recently to develop their understanding of Protected Characteristics and British Values. Below you will see how we have explained them to your children. Why not ask your children about them?

 

PROTECTED CHARACTERISTICS

Protected characteristics are about understanding and respecting different kinds of people. Imagine our school is like a big, colourful garden with many different flowers. Each flower is different and special in its own way and together that’s what makes our garden beautiful. Protected characteristics help us remember that like the flowers in the garden everyone is different and special too. These differences can be things like age, being a boy or girl, skin colour, having a disability, what religion someone follows, who they love, if someone changes from being a boy to a girl or a girl to a boy, being married, or having a baby. It’s important to be kind and respectful to everyone, no matter how different they might be.

BRITISH VALUES

British values are like the rules of a game that help us all play nicely together. They guide how we should behave to make sure everyone feels safe and happy. Think of them as the golden rules for being a good friend and a good citizen. These values include things like democracy (everyone having a say), the rule of law (following rules), individual liberty (being free to make choices), mutual respect (being kind to each other), and tolerance (accepting people who are different from us). By following these values, we can all get along and make our school a great place to be.