Bishop Graham has welcomed a new globaljustice scheme launched this January by Christian Aid in partnership with theChurch of England which aims to empower a new generation of children to speakout against poverty and injustice.
The scheme, GlobalNeighbours, is designed to supportprimary schools work with pupils on global citizenship and aims to developtheir understanding of global poverty and justice, the Christian call to tackleinjustice and their own ability to bring about change as confident agents ofchange.
Schools are now being encouraged to register for the scheme and takeadvantage of the free resources on the Global Neighbours webpage with ideas on how toincorporate global justice learning into the curriculum, worship and schoollife throughout the school year.
Accreditation will come at three levels - bronze, silver and gold - whichwill be verified by the Church of England Education Office which will look forevidence across the five areas of learning, spirituality and worship, pupilparticipation, community engagement and school leadership.
Bishop Graham said: This partnership with Christian Aid provides anexciting new opportunity for us to work together to deliver an education thatis deeply Christian and serving the common good.
Children are keenly aware of deeply troubling issues in the world todayand using Christian Aids extensive experience of tackling poverty and thesystems that cause it, Global Neighbours will help children not only recogniseinjustice but also understand the Christian mandate to act on it.
My hope, and that of the Church of Englands Education Office, is thatthis scheme will empower pupils to be confident agents of change and providethem with real opportunities to transform lives and communities.
It is tremendously exciting to see how schools have already embraced theopportunities in the pilot phase and how it has helped nurture pupilsspiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
I will be encouraging parishes to work with schools to help make themost of the opportunities Global Neighbours brings to create a new generationof informed and courageous advocates tackling the many issues our world faces.
Christian Aid Regional Coordinator for Herefordshire and Worcestershire, EmmaRockey, said: We are delighted to have the support of Bishop Graham and lookforward to working alongside parishes and schools. Many schools are alreadyengaging with issues of injustice and poverty and our vision is that thisscheme will affirm and recognise what they currently do and provide impetus totake that engagement to a new level.
We are now actively recruiting volunteer Christian Aid teachers to helpstaff deliver the scheme and would love to hear from anyone with experience ofworking in education who has a passion for communicating issues and helpingpupils find their voice.
Any primary school can now register for the scheme without any cost orobligation and download the free handbook from the website Anyone interested in finding out more about thevolunteer Christian Aid Teacher role can visit www.christianaid.org.uk/volunteering/become-christian-aid-teacher or contact theBirmingham office on 01212 314706.
