Courageous Advocacy
At Aston Rowant CofE Primary School, courageous advocacy is not an add on - it is central to who we are, what we believe, and how we live out our Christian vision each day.
Our vision is to be “a community of courageous life-long learners, who are rooted in God, live out our Christian values and enjoy life in all its fullness.”
Being a courageous advocate means:
- Standing up for truth and justice
- Acting with compassion, even when it may be difficult
- Speaking up for the voiceless, following Proverbs 31:8-9
- Using our gifts and talents to help others
- Recognising injustice and taking responsible action
The Church of England reminds us that courageous advocacy involves putting others' needs first, offering our skills and actions “in the face of adversity,” trusting God to use even small acts of kindness to achieve great things.
In life we can all face challenges and may need support to help us overcome these barriers. It is also important to recognise attitudes, cultures or situations that may need to change. We teach our children that it is important to help others when we can no matter who they are, where they come from or what challenges they may face.
We use our values to teach and encourage one another to be courageous advocates through:
Gratitude- we advocate for others as we are grateful for the blessings we have ourselves have received from God
Resilience - our aim is to see wrongs righted, knowing that this is not always easy or a quick fix, but being determined to try
Outreach - we advocate for others both in school and also by reaching out to our wider communities
Wonder – our right to speak freely and to care for others is a wonder that we don’t take for granted
Trust - we trust our understanding of right and wrong to see injustice where it exists
Harmony - by our advocacy we bring hope to others which is inter woven in our school culture
In school we are developing the children’s understanding of the meaning of belonging to a local and global community and therefore the sense of responsibility that comes with belonging. This in turn is developing their ability to empathise and make a small sacrifice to benefit others. Together we consider the environment, local community and the wider world and understand the actions we take, and the impact these actions may have on the well-being of everyone. Our school community and curriculum actively embrace a responsibility for the world in which we live. We are working hard to show our connection with, and care for, the world in which we all live and care for the people who live in it.
We do not complete projects to ‘tick the box’ but to form a regular pattern of service, empathy and responsibility. Our courageous advocacy is seen in whole-school fundraising, class-led projects, individual initiatives, global partnerships, community work and environmental stewardship.
Please see our separate subpages which show the special pupil-led initiatives that reflect courageous advocacy in action and demonstrate that our children become proactive agents of change - not passive recipients of education.