The Global Neighbours accreditation scheme is Christian Aid’s way of supporting, recognising and celebrating all that primary schools in England are doing to provide such an education. It has been developed by Christian Aid in partnership with the Church of England Education Office. 

Benefits of the scheme include:

• broadening the horizons of the mind
• providing real-life contexts for learning and opportunities for pupils to explore topical issues
• cultivating the essential skills and values (from empathy to self-awareness and respect for all people) that prepare pupils for living well with their fellow human beings
• contributing to improved outcomes across the curriculum and in pupils’ personal development, through enhanced skills in critical and creative thinking, reasoning and communication.

Hethersett VC Primary School is currently working towards this accreditation.  For more information please contact the School Office.

Earth Day 2022 - Invest In Our Planet

To celebrate Earth Day, all pupils (and their classroom adults!) have made a "Pledge to the Earth", a step that we are committing to towards looking after our planet. Our individual pledges were put together to create our school pledge trees, as you can see in the pictures below.

Day of Welcome

On Friday 17th June, Hethersett VC Primary School took part in "A Day of Welcome", joining the community of schools committed to creating a culture of welcome and inclusion for refugees and people seeking asylum. In collective worship and class-based activities, pupils grew in awareness of the asylum system, as well as growing in knowledge, compassion and respect for those that seek asylum. As part of this event, families were invited to contribute to our fundraising event to support the local initiative 'Welcome Wheels', raising money for refurbished bicycles and equipment for refugees and asylum seekers in the local area.

Here is some of the pupils' heart-warming work:

Supporting local and national charities

Led by our school council representatives, pupils across the school have been working hard to support local and national charities. Here are some of their achievements so far:

• Donating more than 170 tins to The Salvation Army's Christmas "Toys and Tins Appeal", which supports vulnerable families across Norfolk with food hampers and parcels. 

• Raising £258 for Children in Need.

• Raising £241 for Comic Relief.

Christian Aid Week 2022

For Christian Aid Week 2022, everyone in the school has been learning about Christian Aid and their work to support people living in poverty and tackling injustice. On Friday 13th May, school council started off our learning with a whole-school, child-led assembly. Following this, all pupils are having the chance to explore this topic further. Here is what we will be getting up to:

Reception-Year 1: pupils are learning about what poverty is, and the difference between a "want" and a "need".  

Years 2-4: pupils are learning about how our lives are connected with others all around the world, focusing on the Christian Aid resource: Shared Planet. 

Years 5-6: pupils have been learning about the climate crisis and climate justice. They have been responding to what they have learnt by taking part in the Christian Aid Letters for Creation initiative. 

Here is some of the fantastic work that has been created across the school:

Examples of 'courageous advocacy' in action across our school

Year 3 have been responding to what they learnt on Earth Day, and how our actions can help look after the environment. Here is some of their fantastic work, well done Year 3!

Inspired by their learning about rainforests, Year 4 wrote persuasive letters to discourage deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest:

Following their previous year's learning about deforestation, a Year 5 class chose a group goal of reducing paper wastage in school. They wrote to every class in the school with ideas of how to use less paper, as well as making sure that every class uses whole pages to minimise wasted space, changing the way exercise books were used in school. Here is an example of one of their letters:

School Values 

Our school values (respect, responsibility, truthfulness, friendship, creativity and compassion) underpin the life of learners at Hethersett VC Primary School. These values allow pupils to develop behaviours and attitudes for global citizenship. 

School Eco Code

Pupils across the school were invited to create an Eco Code for Hethersett VC Primary School. Here are the finalists: