In year 5, we have started reading our new class novel, The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q Rauf.

One of the main characters is a boy called Ahmet who is a refugee. To give us a better understanding of Ahmet as a character and what he may have experienced prior to arriving in our story, we have been learning about what it means to “seek refuge” and to be a “refugee”.

We have learnt lots about it today and how this links to our human rights and how refugee charities and support groups are ensuring every refugee’s basic human rights are met and supported.

We went on the coach to our local swimming pool for swimming lessons which we really enjoyed. We had the chance to splash eachother, blow bubbles and relax by floating on the pool noodles.

We played with rubber ducks and balanced them on our heads as we kicked our legs to swim across the pool . What fun!

In Reception this week we have been learning all about China and Chinese New Year. We have been learning about people who live here in the UK and how they celebrate Chinese New Year. We have thought about what they do and how it is different or the same as how we celebrate Chinese New Year and how we can be respectful of these differences.

Children have the right to get information from the internet, radio, television, books and other sources. Adults ensure that the sources they are using are safe. We have been learning about animals in year one and our senses, we have used the whiteboard, iPads, books and television programmes to help us to find information to support our learning.

This week in Year 2, we linked our English learning to children’s rights from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. While exploring The Three Little Pigs, the children were given the chance to vote on which characters and materials we could change in our story. This supported Article 12, which says children have the right to share their views and have them listened to.
The children explained their ideas, listened respectfully to others and accepted the outcome of the vote, showing great responsibility. This also linked to Article 13, the right to express ideas, and Article 28, the right to education, as the children were actively involved in their learning. Year 2 showed that when children’s rights are respected, learning is engaging, fair and fun.

We have had a discussion about our rights and how they are valid for everyone. Rights are not just for children, they are also for adults, staff, parents and everyone in and out of our school. The adults in our school support the children in understanding their rights.

In Reception we have been learning about our right to rest and play. We are so fortunate to have a wonderful outdoor area to rest and play in as well as our classrooms. We enjoy playing and resting together and even though we can be independent and choose our own snack time and what we eat, recently for our harvest topic we have read the story of stone soup, so we decided to make our very own vegetable soup to share. We rested together for a break and shared the soup, dipping our toast in to try it. We enjoyed working as a team to cook the soup and sharing it together.

Article 24 (health and health services)
Every child has the right to the best
possible health. Governments must
provide good quality health care, clean
water, nutritious food, and a clean
environment and education on health
and well-being so that children can stay
healthy. Richer countries must help poorer
countries achieve this.

This week Year 2 have been thinking about Harvest. Harvest is celebrated to give thanks for the crops, which have been safely harvested. Christians thank God for the food during the harvest festival. They believe God made the world and everything in it and so thank God for the variety of food and everything that helps the food to grow. 

This term in PSHE, Year 5 have been learning all about our rights as children through the UNICEF Convention on the Rights of the Child. We’ve found out what it means to have rights and why they are so important for every child in the world.

We’ve talked about how our rights help us feel safe, respected and listened to, and how they give us the chance to grow, learn and be the best we can be. We know that we all have a voice and we can use it to make our school an even better place for everyone.

Learning about our rights has made us think more carefully about our choices and how we treat others. We’re proud to be rights-respecting and we are always looking for ways to use what we’ve learned in our everyday school life.

As part of our religious and world views learning we discussed the different groups that we belong to. Lots of us spoke about different sporting groups such as football and rugby clubs and some of us are also members of groups such as Squirrels and Brownies. We thought about what we might wear to show we are part of these groups and that we belong