Agents of Change and Courageous Advocacy

Agents of Change – ‘Helping Lights Shine for All’ Luke 11:33

At St Luke’s CE Academy, we encourage all of our staff and children Local Academy Council to be agents of change. We provide children with the inspiration and tools to inform positive change in themselves, their community, and the planet in order to develop confidence in their own impact as they grow.

Our children are able to autonomously work on projects or use the support of their friends, family, or school. And at the heart of each project is the child’s personal beliefs and passions.

Here at St Luke’s thousands of projects have been completed by individual children and whole classes. They have received letters from Local MPs, The Queen, our Prime Minister and they have featured in the local news. Children have purchased trees for the Rainforest, created poetry about refugees, stories and art about the environment, delivered packages of hope in the community, said a kind thing to a neighbour and they do not plan on stopping there.

Our school places a strong emphasis on nurturing our pupils to become courageous advocates, not only within our school and local community but also on a national and global scale. We believe that at some point in life, we all face challenges and require support to overcome these barriers. Therefore, we teach our children the importance of helping others, regardless of their background, origin, or the challenges they may face.

Guided by our Christian vision, Helping Lights shine for all (Luke 11.33) the entire school community is inspired to engage in social action and become advocates for change in their local, national, and global communities. Each year our Year 6 children leave a charity legacy by putting forward local, national and global charity projects that mean something to them for the rest of the school to democratically vote upon.

Our entire curriculum is based around the ‘rights of a child’. We believe that our children learning and understanding that every child is entitled to water, shelter and a safe environment, food and medicine, leadership and voice and travel and education is vitally important. They are also learning about injustice and how to overcome barriers meaning that our children develop a strong foundation in understanding the essence of courageous advocacy.

We believe in releasing the potential in each individual, for the benefit of other in an ever changing world. To reinforce these gospel values, we undertake various fundraising activities through the work of our charity workers to support important causes. Some examples include contributing to the local food bank, participating in The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, feed the hungry, the Railway children, cystic Fibrosis, the Ukraine appeal and many more.

Our children demonstrate an exceptional grasp of what it means to belong to both a local and global community, recognising the associated sense of responsibility. Through empathy and small sacrifices, they actively contribute to benefiting others. Our school community and curriculum reflect a genuine commitment to our world and it inhabitants, considering its beauty, fragility, and the impact of our actions on the well-being of everyone. We diligently demonstrate our connections to and care for the world we inhabit, as well as the people who share it:

We support local, national and international charities that hold significance for our children.
The School Council seeks the input of pupils to determine which causes we should support.
Our learning forums enable whole school voice to gain maximum impact
Our worship educates and encourages our children to live life in all its fullness
Our strong PSA organizes community events, such as fireworks, circus, Christmas fairs and more.
Our Eco council promote a genuine compassion for the world in which we live in.
Our children are committed and passionate in fulfilling their role as people of Christ.

Courageous Advocacy in our Curriculum

To whom this may concern,

We would like you to consider a solution to a problem which is currently putting the communities’ lives at risk. We believe this problem has been occurring for far too long, and it is time to act. Many lives are at risk due to this oppressing issue.

Tragically, a few years ago, a child was hit by a speeding car while walking to school. Situations like these can lead to severe injuries and tragic events. With every passing day where we have no safe way to cross the road, we are at risk of situations like this happening again. We want to be proactive, not reactive. The solution to this would be – a pelican crossing.

Ever since we lost our lollipop man, Malcolm, we have been campaigning to make this road safer. We have been fighting this fight for years and we are determined to find a safe resolution for all involved.

We strongly believe a PELICAN crossing would be a great way to protect the wider community from the A53. All day everyday we sit inside our classroom hearing the immense volume of traffic speeding past. We asked members of our community to sign our petition for a pelican crossing. At this moment of time, we have got nearly 600 signatures. This shows it is not just our school that is passionate about it, it is the wider community. In addition to this, we have been working with the local PCSO’s as part of a Junior Cadet programme in school and they have said that they fully support this and they will do everything they can to help us achieve our goal.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to our arguments. We hope we can move forward and keep our community safe.

Yours sincerely

St. Luke’s House Captains