Welcome from the Principal
Courageous Advocacy
Netherhall St James Infant & Nursery CE (VC)
“Love your neighbour as yourself” Mark 12: 29-31
We are courageous advocates for the common good, locally, nationally and globally. We recognise that life is full of ups and downs and that at times all people will face challenges that they need help and support in overcoming. We believe that people are worth spending time with, that people need time to grow and need loving attention. The Bible says that every person has a unique task to do, with God, and for God, whether they know it or not. We hold and courageously advocate the conviction that there is something mysterious, and potentially wonderful, in everybody.
We support a range of charities in our local area, nationally and globally. The staff work alongside parents, pupils and St. James’s Church to identify worthy causes to support.
Our Christian values ensure that opportunities to discuss the big issues, to challenge injustice and to engage in activities that can bring about change are always present.
In recent years we have carried out a range of different fund raising to support many good causes, some of which include:
- Christian African Relief Trust
- Kirkwood Hospice
- Local Welcome Centre
- Comic Relief
- Children in Need
- The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal
- Yellow Day – Raising Awareness of Young people’s mental health
Our children have a good grasp on the meaning of belonging to a local and global community and the sense of responsibility that comes with belonging. Thereby developing their ability to empathise and make a small sacrifice to benefit others. Together we consider the beauty and fragility of our environment, the actions we take, and the impact these actions may have on the well-being of everyone. Our school community and curriculum actively embraces a responsibility for the world in which we live. We are diligent to show our connection with, and care for, the world in which we all live and care for the people who live in it:
Charities of significance to our children (Kirkwood Hospice and Brain Tumour Research both of which have supported pupils, friends and family of our school)
Exploring ways in which to support people and nature in our community.
Earth Agents!
This year we challenged our pupils to think about the problems caused by paper production and plastics in our environment. Mrs Berry led an assembly to explore the negative effects these materials have on our planet and all who live on it. She also helped us to see how, as a school, we contribute to this waste.
As always, the children were eager to make a difference. Mrs Berry introduced the idea of becoming an ‘Agent of Change’, encouraging pupils to take small steps that have a big impact. In their classes, the children discussed practical ways they could reduce, reuse and recycle paper and plastic within school.
We then came together again in assembly to share ideas and agree on the actions we would take as a school community. Together, we decided that moving forward we would:
- Always try and reuse paper before throwing away
- Set up paper recycling bins in every classroom
- Change our dessert dishes at lunch from throw away plastic ones to reusable ones.
Over seeing these changes will be our amazing ‘Earth Agents’ Pupils chosen from KS1 who have a passion for being planet protectors. They will meet every half term to monitor how things are going and drive forward any new ideas! They can be identified round school by their special Earth badge. They even have special stickers they can give out to any of their peers that they see reusing and recycling!
Click on the link below to see our Agents of Change power point.
Click on the link to read the beautiful story of the Beautiful Oops which was used in classes to encourage the children to reuse paper.