From our Inspection report Jan 2009.

“What the school should do to improve further…...

Embed the well devised programme for enhancing community cohesion, ensuring that pupils have further opportunities to take responsibilities in the school and to visit and participate in the wider Bristol community.”

In a week (Oct 2009) when issues around ‘community  have been very much in the news (Panorama in Southmead and BBC Question Time) the responsibility of schools perhaps comes into sharper focus.

See here our Community Cohesion & Equality Action Plan for 2009-10   (For those wondering what OfSTED expect, see questions on page 4!)

What underpins Community Cohesion?

How can children be engaged in understanding this?

As a school we have been looking at Human Rights as a starting point to  get children to think more deeply about what we all share and have in common and what underlies respect for our differences.

Univeral Delcaration of Human Rights (edited + David Tennant )

Univeral Delcaration of Human Rights (simplified full)

Link to Amnesty International

For example, in one class (yr 6) when looking at ‘the right to ask protection from another country’, some children had seen the closure of the refugee centre in Calais on Newsround; an interesting  discussion followed!

In a year 3 class, looking at the ‘right to be protected by the law’, responses to ‘Where do laws come from?’, included; the Queen, the government and God.

Encouraging children to think and share ideas!

Rights, Rules and Communities!

From Newsletter Nov 13 2009

A parent commented after half term, ‘It was wonderful that my child came back from the Mosque knowing the 5    pillars of Islam but I was surprised that they didn’t know the 10 commandments!’.

We had already planned a focus this term on Rules, starting with the 10 Commandments! Tracie Jenkins, from the Church, led an assembly on Moses  and in follow up assemblies (and  work in class) all children have had their own copy of the Commandments (child-friendly version), and have been discussing and thinking about them.