What is Courageous advocacy?

Hope and aspiration for all – every child of God matters everywhere

‘What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God’ (Micah 6:8)

Our theologically-rooted Christian vision guides us in everything that we do at Hucknall National Primary School. Every day we grow together in learning, love and faith and we do this to enable all of our pupils to flourish and to live 'life in all its fullness' (John 10:10).  Our vision was developed around a sense of justice and equality for all based upon the foundations of the school, the context of our school and the teachings of the Bible. 

We can’t have a vision about injustice and inequality for our children in Hucknall and enabling them to flourish, without getting our pupils to think about injustice and inequality in the world and standing up for people so that everyone in the world can flourish. Our school vision drives our Staff to stand up for equality of education and opportunity for all of our pupils and families, but who will our pupils stand up for? How can we work so that everyone in the world can ‘live life in all its fullness’.

This goes beyond charity.

Courageous advocacy is the act of speaking up and advocating for a cause or issue that one believes in, even in the face of opposition or backlash. It requires a level of courage and conviction, as one is taking a stand and potentially putting oneself at risk in order to make a positive impact. Courageous advocates are willing to take a stand and speak out against injustice, even if it means facing personal or professional consequences. They are driven by a strong sense of purpose and a belief that their actions can make a difference.

Courageous advocacy is about creating the confidence that we can make a real change in the face of some of the seemingly insurmountable giants the world faces.

The Church of England sets out a vision for education that is ‘Deeply Christian, Serving the Common Good’. Education should enable pupils and adults to flourish, ensuring that it is about the whole person. Character development and a concern for those ‘beyond the school gates’ go hand in hand with academic development.

If the purpose of education is the promotion of life in all its fullness and human flourishing, then this must, by necessity, involve developing young people who can learn to flourish in every aspect of their lives - young people who can work for the flourishing of others and for the planet we share.

 Character development is about much more than learning about Christian (or universal human) values in isolation. If it is to be meaningful, character education must lead to pupils and adults living out the virtues they encounter and learning to take their place as active global citizens in our world. Education must move beyond pupils simply being passive recipients of knowledge and skills to pupils becoming courageous advocates for change.

The vision of human flourishing should not be restricted to the pupils and adults within the walls of the school but must extend far beyond. We want those in our schools to look beyond themselves and seek to bring hope. We aspire that they should be a blessing to their communities as well as their global neighbours, with whom we are interdependent. It is about recognising that we are all members of local and national communities as well as the global family to which we all belong.

In living this vision into being, we join in with God’s redemptive work in the world. In educating for wisdom, hope, community and dignity, we help to build God’s kingdom here on earth and work to bring about a fairer and more joyful world; a world that moves ever closer to fulfilling God’s heart for human flourishing.

We want our pupils to become ‘agents of change’.

Theologically rooted vision for hope and aspiration:

What would Jesus do?

From early in the Hebrew scriptures, God’s vision for his people is evident. Embedded in the instructions God gave to his people in Leviticus and Deuteronomy is God’s heart that all, including the disadvantaged, should have the opportunity to flourish. God’s care for the weak and the vulnerable is clear in his instructions that the orphan, the widow, the fatherless and the foreigner should not be mistreated or taken advantage of but should, in fact, be cared for.

The call of God’s prophets echoes this vision as God’s people are called to repentance and a recalibration of their treatment of the poor and vulnerable. God longs for a world where ‘justice rolls like a river’ (Amos 5:24) and that is what we too are called towards.

This justice thread continues to weave its tapestry through the New Testament as Jesus ushers in God’s kingdom. Jesus welcomed the outsider and spoke up for those who were marginalised and ignored. Again and again, we read of life-changing encounters for individuals on the fringes of society when they met with Jesus: those with disabilities, leprosy sufferers, the Samaritan woman whose behaviour meant she visited the well to draw water when others were not around, dishonest tax collectors seen as traitors to the Romans. These marginalised neighbours were the very people Jesus invited to dinner.

According to the Bible, all people are created in God’s image, all are brothers and sisters in Christ: all people, in all our human commonality and diversity. Jesus told us that he ‘came that we may have life, and have it to the full’ – a message for all people, everywhere.

Many theologians, especially from the majority world, have identified Jesus’ ‘bias to the poor’. Jesus said ‘God sent me to bring good news to the poor’. He chose to associate especially with those most excluded and oppressed. He placed upon his followers a command to support the hungry, thirsty, naked, the prisoner and the stranger – the poorest and most excluded of the world. Jesus identified himself with the poorest, saying that at the time of judgment, God would say ‘whatever you did for the least of my brothers, you did for me’.

Jesus made it clear that riches can prevent people from following a Christian path. He taught his followers that it is ‘harder for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle’. When asked by a rich young man what he must do to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus told him ‘Go and sell all that you own, give it to the poor, then come, follow me’.

Jesus taught his followers a way of non-violence: ‘Love your enemies’. He taught them to refuse to see the perpetrator of violence as outside the embrace of God’s love.

Jesus called on his disciples to ‘live in the world but not of the world’ – to hold other priorities than those of the world, and to challenge the values of the world where they conflict with the values he taught.

Christmas Tree Festival 2023

Once again we supported the Hucknall Christmas Tree Festival.  The annual event helps to raise huge sums of money for local charities and the local community.

Following on from the recent conflict in Gaza, as a school we decided to spread the message of #PeaceNotWar. We spent the day reflecting on how we can spread peace and how fortunate we are. In EYFS they learned about how they could spread peace and explored the meaning behind the word peace. In Year 1 they created a heart paper chain with messages of peace on. In Year 2 they discussed what makes a peaceful school and what we can do to help with this. In Year 3 they looked at different peace symbols and created acrostic poems . In Year 4 they learned about peaceful protests and the story of Mama Zepreta. In Year 5 they reflected on current conflicts and how charities can help those in crisis. In Year 6 they learned about a boy who lives in Palestine and how conflict has impacted his life then make peace kites. 

Children in Need 2023

This year the members of parliament organised the fundraising activities in order to support children in need. They decided to take part in Joe Wicks’ ‘Bearpee’ challenge. They challenged year group to complete 1000 burpees during the week leading up to Children in Need, finishing with a non-uniform day on Friday 17th November. The children were really successful and completed the challenge with ease and huge smiles whilst also raising money for others. Together we raised £689.05. Thank you to all our families who help support us raise this amount. 

Anti-Bullying Week 2023

We Just Made A Noise for Anti-Bullying week and came in wearing odd socks to show our support for this.  The children understood a great deal about how to recognise bullying in its different forms.  They found out one of the main things you can do is to make some noise when bullying happens, - either to the bully, the victim or someone in authority to stop it.

September 2023 - Harvest

This year we have donated our Harvest Festival produce to the Food Bank in Hucknall once again.  Our local firefighters were kind enough to come and collect it for us and deliver it to the Food Bank.  Our year one children helped to load it into the Fire Vehicle as part one of their Spiritual Experiences.  Thanks everyone for all the donations - we are really making a difference to our local community.

Children In Need 2022

This year the Members of Parliament organised a non-uniform day as well as a sponsered run around the school grounds. 

The day was a huge success, the children all loved it and we raised a lot of money to support a great charity. 

Thank you to everyone who supported us. 

Together we raised £933.16! 

November 2021 -  Children in Need

Pupils came into school wearing odd socks and yellow clothes to help raise money for Children in Need. This year pupils donated money to the charity by buying Children in Need merchandise as well as making a donation to be able to wear non-uniform for the day. In total, we donated £417!

October 2021 -  Under One Roof

As part of our Harvest Festival, pupils learned the importance of sharing food with those who do not have access to basic provisions. Usually, we would ask for a food donation. However, due to Covid-19 and to make sure everyone stayed safe, we held a fundraising event for Under One Roof - a local not for profit organisation that provides low cost office space and meeting rooms primarily to charitable and voluntary organisations. In total, £170 was raised.

December 2020 - PASIC

PASIC is a local charity close to our hearts at National. It aims to improve the quality of life for children and young people with cancer by providing emotional, social and practical support for families. To raise money for this important charity, the choir chose to sing carols after school for a week. In total, the children raised £330!   

December 2020 - The Rotary Club, Hucknall 

To support this local charity, who work tirelessly to make a lasting difference in the local community, we held a Christmas Jumper Day. We loved seeing all the different designs and raised £200!

November 2020 - Nottingham Hospitals Charity and Anti-Bullying Alliance

We held a non-uniform day to raise money for the Neonatal Unit at Nottingham University Hospitals. In the past, this charity has helped a number of our families and so we wanted to do our bit to support them. In total, £143.75 was raised.

Following our Anti-Bullying week and Celebrating Differences project, staff and pupils felt it was important to raise money to support a charity which helps to stop bullying and create safer environments in which children and young people can live, grow, play and learn. In total, £143.75 was raised.

October 2020 -  Under One Roof

As part of our Harvest Festival, pupils learned the importance of sharing food with those who do not have access to basic provisions. Usually, we would ask for a food donation. However, due to Covid-19 and to make sure everyone stayed safe, we held a fundraising event for Under One Roof - a not for profit organisation that provides low cost office space and meeting rooms primarily to charitable and voluntary organisations. In total, £366.50 was raised.

Other charitable events at Hucknall National C of E Primary (2019 - 20):

March 2020: Sports Relief  £332.05

January 2020: Heart Link (Christmas Appeal)  £500

November 2019: BBC Children in Need  £389.30