Social Justice and Courageous Advocacy

Our Christian vision calls every member of our school family to become a shining light by showing God’s love, bringing hope and helping others to flourish. We want children to understand that their voices, choices and actions can make a meaningful difference.

Courageous advocacy begins with noticing: recognising when people need support, when something is unfair or when our world needs greater care. Children then learn how to respond with compassion, courage and practical action. This work is rooted in the teachings of Jesus and runs through collective worship, Religious Education, the wider curriculum and the everyday life of our school.

Courageous Advocacy Across the Curriculum

Every year group undertakes a courageous advocacy project. These projects enable children to explore an issue, understand why it matters and take purposeful action.

Across the school, projects include:

• caring for God’s creation by growing food and planting flowers that support bees;
• protecting birds and their habitats by making bird boxes and feeders;
• improving our local environment through community litter picking;
• reducing our carbon footprint through recycling and responsible use of energy;
• building connections with children in another country and exploring shared global concerns;
• respecting and serving older members of the community;
• supporting local food banks and responding to food poverty;
• developing friendships with children who have different needs and experiences.

We are also developing a school garden where children will grow vegetables and learn about sustainability, stewardship and where food comes from. Recent funding will help us turn this into a lasting space for learning and action, giving pupils responsibility for caring for both people and the natural world.

Faith Group and Pupil Voice

Our Faith Group gives children an active role in shaping the Christian and spiritual life of the school. Members write and lead prayers, reflect on collective worship and share ideas about how worship can remain engaging and meaningful. Their views help us understand how worship influences children’s thinking and actions.

Our School Council provides a voice for pupils across the school. Children discuss issues that matter to them, suggest improvements and learn how respectful participation can bring about change.

Pupils in Year 6 take on additional positions of responsibility as librarians, playground monitors and hall monitors. Through these roles, they serve younger children, contribute to the smooth running of the school and develop the confidence to lead with kindness and humility.

Meaningful Community Partnerships

Our partnership with Greenvale School, a local school for children with special educational needs, is especially important to us. Year 6 pupils spend time learning and working alongside Greenvale pupils, building genuine friendships through shared activities and experiences. This helps children move beyond assumptions about disability. They learn to communicate thoughtfully, recognise the gifts of others and understand inclusion through real relationships.

Year 5 work closely with St Christopher’s Hospice. Through this partnership, pupils learn about the hospice’s role within our community and how it supports individuals and families. The project creates space for children to explore empathy, service, loss and hope with sensitivity. Most importantly, children discover that they can contribute to their community and bring encouragement to people at difficult moments in their lives.

These sustained partnerships allow courageous advocacy to grow from relationships rather than one-off events. Children learn that serving others begins with listening, understanding and recognising the dignity of every person.

Challenge, Character and Hope

Our wider opportunities also help children develop courage, resilience and trust in others. Year 5 learn to sail on the River Thames with The AHOY Centre, working together and overcoming challenges in an unfamiliar environment.

Year 6 attend a residential at Carroty Wood, part of Rock UK Christian Adventure Centres. Away from home, pupils face new challenges, support one another and reflect on the values that guide their choices. The experience helps them grow in independence and confidence as they prepare for secondary school.

Through pupil leadership, advocacy projects and sustained community partnerships, our children learn that courageous advocacy involves more than raising money. It means understanding an issue, building relationships and using our gifts to serve others. In doing so, children discover that they are never too young to become shining lights and help bring about positive change.

Cultural Studies

Cultural Studies is a distinctive and important part of our curriculum at St John Baptist. It reflects the rich cultural heritage of our school community and ensures that children encounter a world that is broader, more diverse and more interconnected than any single subject can fully reveal.

Each year group undertakes focused studies of countries and cultures that connect meaningfully with its wider curriculum. These include places as varied as Ghana, Poland, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, India, Iraq, Vietnam, Sierra Leone, Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago. Connections are deliberately made with children’s learning in history, geography, religious education, reading and Understanding the World.

Children explore each culture through several connected dimensions:

• location, landscape and climate;
• significant people, events and historical developments;
• traditional and contemporary stories;
• festivals and celebrations;
• art, craft and design;
• music, instruments and dance.

This approach allows children to build a rich and rounded understanding of a place rather than encountering cultures through isolated festivals, famous individuals or stereotypes. Pupils explore how geography, history, migration, belief and creativity have influenced people’s lives, while recognising that every country contains many identities, traditions and experiences.

Cultural Studies also creates opportunities for children, families and staff to share knowledge connected with their own heritage. Children see their identities reflected with dignity in the curriculum while also developing curiosity about lives and experiences beyond their own.

The studies are enriched through stories, music, art, dance, artefacts, performances and links with the wider curriculum. Children do not simply learn facts about a country: they encounter its voices, creativity and cultural contributions.

Through Cultural Studies, we seek to:

• strengthen every child’s sense of identity and belonging;
• celebrate the diversity represented within our school;
• broaden children’s knowledge of the world;
• challenge stereotypes and incomplete narratives;
• recognise the impact of migration, exchange and shared history;
• develop respect, empathy and genuine interest in others.

Cultural Studies embodies our belief that every person and community has a story worth knowing. It enables children to see diversity as a source of knowledge and strength and helps them become confident, respectful and culturally aware shining lights.