Courageous Advocacy
Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves
Proverbs 31:8
At St Margaret's we define the term 'courageous advocacy' as speaking out against an issue of injustice, on behalf of those whose voice is not heard. We use courage when speaking out at any level, therefore we are becoming a courageous advocate for change. To achieve this, our involvement in an issue must go beyond just being informed about it, to saying and doing.
Our Christian vision is rooted in being loving to one another, this is at the heart of all we do; we aim to inspire and instil Christian values to our whole school community. We educate for courageous advocacy in a way that has an ethos of action-taking, challenging injustice and transforming ourselves to become agents of change, within our local communities and on a global level. We understand that life can be challenging at times for anyone, we encourage pupils to recognise that, support others and stand up for what they believe. We also encourage children to pray for our community.
Courageous advocacy at our school empowers pupils:
- To ask why questions - encouraging pupils to think widely and deeply about why issues happen;
- To ask what can be done - encouraging pupils to think of creative ways they can help;
- To understand their own rights and responsibilities in society;
- To identify where power is located and how decisions are made;
- To express themselves confidently and articulately as decision-makers.
As a school, we are proud to support a range of charities, giving pupils a chance to encounter a wide range of issues. Among them are:
- The Trussell Trust (food bank)
- Housing Justice
- Children in Need
- Save the Children
- Woolwich Service Users Project (homeless support)
- The Royal British Legion
This year we are planning fundraising events:
- Harvest festival food bank collection
- Sponsored events and movie nights
- Pupil led collective worship on issues they want to address
