Courageous Advocacy

Courageous advocacy at Barrowford St Thomas

God's desire for all to flourish (John 10:10)

God's instruction that the orphan, the widow, the fatherless and the foreigner be cared for (Leviticus, Deuteronomy)

Jesus' care for those on the fringes of society

Speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves (Proverbs 31:8)

Jesus' stories about care for others (Good Samaritan)

‘I came to give life, Life in its fullness.’ John 10.10

‘Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire’. Catherine of Siena

The distinct aims and Christian virtues of Barrowford St Thomas underpin every aspect of school life.

We embrace the Church of England’s vision for education, one that is, ‘deeply Christian, serving the common good’, encompasses the whole of humanity and its context advocating for the widening of horizons and the promotion of human wellbeing for all.

‘We are only persons with each other: our humanity is “co-humanity”, inextricably involved with others, utterly relational, both in our humanity and our shared life on a finite planet. If those others are of ultimate worth, then we are each called to responsibility towards them and to contribute responsibly to our communities.’ Church of England Vision for Education, 2016

Barrowford St Thomas is dedicated to fostering a love of learning and an enthusiasm for joining in with all aspects of school and community life. We are committed to giving all pupils equal opportunities and discrimination is not tolerated. Our aims, virtues, vison and curriculum encourages greater involvement in environmental issues and an understanding of complex interdependencies in the global community.

In the past we have supported a range of charities: local, national and international as a whole school. This is linked to our school vision, understanding that all people should feel accepted, loved, valued, respected and secure. As our children develop their understanding of Christianity they realise that to be a Christian is to care for others and to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Some of the charities we have supported are:

PSC support (Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis) – our children supported this national  charity as a beloved member of staff has had a liver transplant and is supported by this charity. Our children wanted this member of staff to know that she is loved, valued and respected. 

Pendle Dogs in Need: Our children selected this charity from a range of local charities. This was a true reflection of speaking up for those who could not speak for themselves. 

Fairtrade Celebration working in conjunction with our local Co-op – a governor and parent who works with the Coop, talked to our children about Fair Trade and the children were encouraged to buy fair trade in the shops.

The Bethany Project, Tanzania: We were visited by the Bethany Project choir who sang incredibly beautifully and shared their stories. We raised money for the Bethany Project and donated resources. 

The Food Bank and Women's refuge in Nelson: Through our link with St Thomas church, our Harvest gifts are collected and donated to the above local charities. 

Children in Need and Comic Relief – Whole school fund raising projects to help children in our country and around the world who are less fortunate than ourselves.

The school encourages the pupils have a global understanding and embrace the opportunity to inform and educate the school and wider community in taking positive actions for social injustice, human rights, diversity and the sustainability of our world.

2021 - 22 

Last year, instead of supporting a charity as a whole school, each class supported their own charity throughout the year, with links to our curriculum and the 'courageous advocate' they were studying in class. EYFS supported a charity with links to their class; KS1 supported a local charity; our lower juniors supported a national charity and our upper juniors supported an international charity. 

RECEPTION: A charity supporting children with muscular dystrophy

CLASS 2:   Local charity: The local foodbank 

CLASS 3:   National charity: Refugee Action (with links to the novel, 'The boy at the back of the class')

CLASS 4:   International charity: Cool Earth (protecting the rainforest)

Each class decided how to raise money. Last year, Class 4 raised over £700 with a sponsored silence! The children in Class 4 then decided that they wanted to split the money between their chosen charity, the Rainforest Trust and UNICEF due to the tragic and worsening situation in Ukraine.

See link to Class 4's sponsored silence playtime

2022 - 23 

This year, each class is supporting the following charities

RECEPTION: Cash for kids

CLASS 2:   Ronald McDonald house charity

CLASS 3:   National Red Cross

CLASS 4:   Water Aid

This year we raised the following amounts:

CL 1 =  £  46.59 Cash 4 kids

CL 2 =  £730.66 Ronald McDonald House

CL 3 =  £278.50 Red Cross Ukraine Appeal

Work of the school council 2022 - 23

This year, our school council are leading on a project to improve life in Barrowford. By gathering ideas from the children of Barrowford St Thomas, they will be selecting a project that will improve life for people in Barrowford. 

See school council page for further information (here)

Courageous Advocates

To have a secure understanding of what courageous advocacy is, each class in the school studied a courageous advocate from across the globe, that have faced injustice and have had to overcome barriers in order to help others for the greater good.

Cycle A

RECEPTION: Paralympians 

CLASS 2:   Marcus Rashford  

CLASS 3:   Malala Yousafzai

CLASS 4:   Greta Thunberg

Revd Julie and Revd David lead our worship with the whole school on Wednesday and during the spring 2022 term, they focused on courageous advocates.

In the spring term 2022, the school council have started a project focusing on what is good and not good about their local area. All classes have been involved and next term and next year the children themselves will decide on how they can help the people of Barrowford. This will be a joint project, linking with other school councils in our Church Pendle School Cluster.

We are courageous advocates. We are committed to developing citizenship in preparation for life within the local, national and global communities and engage in social action for change.

We believe we should do all the good we can to make a difference to others.

Young Leaders

We have signed up to the Archbishop of York Youth Trust Young Leaders Award which we will introduce from autumn 2022 in our KS1 class led by our PSHE lead and KS1 teacher, Mrs White. Our school will be joining many others across England who are involved in changing their communities for the better. We are confident that our Award will have a positive impact on our young leaders as well as on the life of our school and our local community of Barrowford.