Minutes of Cov Peace & Justice Forum 30-11-16
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Event Details
16:15, 30 November 2016
Richard Crossman 123
Richard Crossman Building, Jordan Well – Coventry
Attendees
Alun Evans
Andy Duncan
Ann Farr
Carol Rank
Dimitri Kafizas
Emma Griffiths
Mehru Fitter
Paul McGowan
Philip Brown
Rhys Davies
Rosalinda Birdinia
Apologies
Alex Albans
Balbir Sohal
Introductions
PB recorded the discussion for the purpose of taking minutes and perhaps podcasting.
Each attendee introduced themselves.
Contents of this page
Alun Evans
PhD Student, Centre for Global Engagement, Coventry University
Research project looking at relationship between funders and practitioners of peace education projects. Would like to find volunteers willing to be interviewed.
Andy Duncan
Freelance
Ann Farr
Retired teacher.
Long-term involvement in peace and justice issues.
Member of Coventry Justice and Peace Group
(http://coventrycityofpeace.uk/cov-justice-and-peace-group/)
Member of Pax Christi Executive Committee and International Board
Volunteer with CAFOD and other organisations.
Carol Rank
Retired lecturer in peace and conflict studies at Coventry University.
Member of Lord Mayor’s Committee for Peace & Reconciliation.
Research fellow at Centre for Trust Peace and Social Relations, Coventry University
Dimitri Kafizas
Advice Team Casework Supervisor and other roles at Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre
Works with schools & other youth services to raise awareness on issues such as peace & justice.
Emma Griffiths
Associate Director of Reconciliation, Coventry Cathedral
Involved in educational projects such as International Cross of Nails Schools Network
http://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/ccn2/icons/
Peace-building curriculum currently being trialled
Member of Coventry and Warwickshire Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE)
Mehru Fitter
Secretary of Positive Images Festival which takes place in June
http://www.positiveimagesfestival.co.uk/
Member of Coventry Multi-faith forum
coventrymultifaithforum.org
Paul McGowan
Member of Coventry Justice and Peace Group
(http://coventrycityofpeace.uk/cov-justice-and-peace-group/)
Member of Pax Christi Executive Committee
Co-ordinating campaign to persuade members of West Midlands Councils to remove investments in the arms trade.
Philip Brown
Secretary United Nations Association Coventry Branch
Member of Lord Mayor’s Committee for Peace & Reconciliation
http://coventrycityofpeace.uk/lord-mayors-committee/
Member of Coventry Association for International Friendship (CAIF)
Publisher at Penny Press Ltd http://pennypress.co.uk
Author of History of the Universe http://historyoftheuniverse.com/
Author of Time Crystal http://timecrystal.co.uk/
Editor of http://UNACov.uk
Editor of http://CoventryCityOfPeace.uk
Organiser of Coventry Peace Day 2016 http://covpeaceday.uk
Sponsor of United Nations Association Coventry Branch
Rhys Davies
History teacher, Faculty Leader of Humanities and Peace and Justice Coordinator at Cardinal Newman School
http://www.cardinalnewman.coventry.sch.uk/
Rosalinda Birdinia
First Year student of International Relations at Coventry University.
Success stories
Cardinal Newman School
RD has worked with Antony Owen, peace poet
https://antonyowenpoetry.wordpress.com/
RD has worked with Normandy veterans of WW2. They want to pass on the baton of peace to the next generation and RD wants all schools to share this task.
Cardinal Newman is a national Beacon School of Peace
http://coventrycityofpeace.uk/peace-orchard/
Global Citizenship Day
(Note the official title of this day is probably Earth Day April 22)
RD said Cardinal Newman has run short workshops on this day led by people from different communities on topics as dance, clothes, language etc. The students rotated through these workshops and it was a great success.
Pax Christi
AF said there is a school in Leamington which is a Pax Christi school which has a culture of peace.
Addressing School Environment
She said that all head teachers to whom she has pitched the idea of Cross of Nails has warmly welcomed it. It’s not necessarily about delivering it through the curriculum but about the values of the school. She talks to them about empowering children to be agents of change and exploring where bridges need to be built, perhaps within the school, perhaps with the local community.
She said teachers want their school to be more than just about getting good academic grades. If senior teachers become enthused with the idea it is infectious and affects many areas of school life.
EG thinks this has more potential than an outsider simply going in to deliver a topic within a single lesson.
Obstacles to overcome
Teachers are under pressure to achieve good results in exams and Ofsted inspections and they therefore focus on the areas which are examined or inspected.
Justice and international relations are included in Citizenship on the National Curriculum but this area is not assessed by Ofsted, so it is seldom addressed in the classroom.
AF said teachers need to be aware of the issues of peace and justice. They need to know how to introduce it into the curriculum and the classroom.
RD said there are teacher co-ordinator’s meetings in most subjects, but not in peace or justice.
CR asked, now that Citizenship has been dropped by most schools (see below) how much time do teachers have to introduce peace & justice issues?
Themes
Curriculum Links
Peace and justice can be introduced into several existing curricula.
British Values
http://www.doingsmsc.org.uk/british-values/
As of November 2014, schools must now promote British values.
Advice from the DfE is to do so through SMSC, though Ofsted will assess it through the curriculum too.
Ofsted will inspect these ‘fundamental British values’:
- democracy
- the rule of law
- individual liberty and mutual respect
- tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
All of which fall within the citizenship curriculum.
Child Development
AF said teaching about peace and justice is connected with many aspects of child-development. It’s about the culture of non-violence. She cited the culture of peace in a Pax Christi school in Leamington which is looking at how non-violence can be integrated into all teaching and social areas, for example into anti-bullying programmes. There is an opportunity for offering some support for this integration, but this group needs to recognise these opportunities. She also cited the welcoming of refugees as another example of issues related to peace and justice. She said these topics are important because they influence how children made decisions and how they treat others.
Citizenship in the National Curriculum
It relates to peace and justice in several ways, for example:
All pupils should develop a sound knowledge and understanding of the role of law and the justice system in our society and how laws are shaped and enforced;
Teaching should develop pupils’ understanding of democracy, government and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
Pupils should be taught about:
- local, regional and international governance and the United Kingdom’s relations with the rest of Europe, the Commonwealth, the United Nations and the wider world;
- human rights and international law;
- diverse national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the United Kingdom and the need for mutual respect and understanding;
- the different ways in which a citizen can contribute to the improvement of his or her community, to include the opportunity to participate actively in community volunteering, as well as other forms of responsible activity.
Citizenship: Is it still taught?
PB asked whether Citizenship is still taught.
EG said it varied widely from school to school. A lot of things which are peace-related and/or justice-related already happen in schools. She said that some schools which previously taught Citizenship still use those materials and ideas. Those schools which had a history of teaching it (and other citizenship topics) tend to continue.
The consensus which emerged during the meeting was that Citizenship is generally not taught explicitly in most schools.
In some cases it has been replaced either by PSHE or SMSC.
Finding out what schools are teaching
PB asked how we could find out which schools are teaching RE.
EG suggested asking Coventry and Warwickshire Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE). Schools have to tell them annually what they are doing with respect to RE.
PB suggested we also try to find out what aspects of peace and justice all schools are teaching.
History Teaching
RD said there are opportunities to raise issues of peace and justices when teaching the history of the World War 2, for example. Peace studies are on the school curriculum in Hiroshima and RD would like to see it taught in Coventry too.
National Curriculum Overview
The English National Curriculum was mentioned several times.
https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum/overview
The ‘basic’ school curriculum includes the ‘national curriculum’, as well as religious education and sex education.
The national curriculum is a set of subjects and standards used by primary and secondary schools so children learn the same things. It covers what subjects are taught and the standards children should reach in each subject.
It should be noticed that other types of school like academies and private schools don’t have to follow the national curriculum. Academies must teach a broad and balanced curriculum including English, maths and science. They must also teach religious education.
Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE)
It was stated during the meeting that PSHE was taught in some form in some schools.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-social-health-and-economic-education-pshe
Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education is an important and necessary part of all pupils’ education. All schools should teach PSHE, drawing on good practice, and this expectation is outlined in the introduction to the proposed new national curriculum.
PSHE is a non-statutory subject. To allow teachers the flexibility to deliver high-quality PSHE we consider it unnecessary to provide new standardised frameworks or programmes of study. PSHE can encompass many areas of study. Teachers are best placed to understand the needs of their pupils and do not need additional central prescription.
Prevent
As of 1 July 2015, schools have a legal duty to prevent pupils from becoming radicalised, which has implications for SMSC.
In secondary schools, the UK Department for Education recommends using the citizenship curriculum for this.
PSHE Association
https://www.pshe-association.org.uk/
The Department for Education provide grant funding to the PSHE Association to work with schools to advise them in developing their own PSHE curriculums and improve the quality of teaching. The association focuses on signposting schools to high-quality resources and in expanding their Chartered Teacher of PSHE programme. DfE have also asked the association to promote the teaching of consent as part of sex and relationship education (SRE), in line with the statutory guidance for that subject.
Religious Education (RE)
EG said RE has to be taught in all schools.
https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum/other-compulsory-subjects says:
Schools have to teach RE but parents can withdraw their children for all or part of the lessons. Pupils can choose to withdraw themselves once they’re 18.
Local councils are responsible for deciding the RE syllabus, but faith schools and academies can set their own.
EG said it must be taught to at least GCSE level, and conflict (and religious attitudes to it) are part of the GCSE syllabus. The AQA examination board have cited Coventry Cathedral as an exemplar of religious responses to conflict.
PB asked if all schools were fulfilling this legal obligation to teach RE.
EG said no, but those which to teach it are offering it as a GCSE.
Religious Education Council
http://religiouseducationcouncil.org.uk/
Advocates RE and promotes high standards, influences government and public opinion about RE. They want every young person to experience a personally inspiring and academically rigorous education in religious and non-religious worldviews.
SMSC
http://www.doingsmsc.org.uk/ and http://www.doingsmsc.org.uk/citizenship/
SMSC stands for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
All schools in England must show how well their pupils develop in SMSC.
Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE)
The document
http://democraticservices.coventry.gov.uk/documents/s18278/Appointment%20to%20Coventry says that:
The purpose of the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education is to advise the Local Authority on matters concerning religious education in community schools and the religious education provision to be made in accordance with an Agreed Syllabus. These matters may include methods of teaching, training for teachers; and, choice of materials and resources.
The Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE) was established under the Education Reform Act 1988 and comprises four Groups:
- A Church of England group (Group 1);
- A group representing other Christian denominations and other Faiths which
reflect the principal religious traditions in the area (Group 2);
- A group representing teachers (Group 3); and,
- A group representing the City Council (Group 4)
The City Council is responsible for appointing members to the 4 statutory Groups which comprise SACRE.
In 2014 the responsible person was:
Dave Wallis, Senior School Support Services Officer
People Directorate
024 7683 1506
In 2014 SACRE consisted of:
Chair of SACRE (Appointed by the LA)
David Stanier
Group 1 Church of England, 5 members
Canon Margaret Sedgwick
Emma Griffiths
Reverend Paul Messam
Chris Mellers
Reverend Nicholas Scott
Group 2 (Other Christian denominations and other Faiths, minimum of 12, maximum 14 members)
Jonathan Passman (Jewish)
Ajahn Manapo (Buddhist)
Helen Maoudis (Greek Orthodox)
Balwant Singh (Sikh)
Nasreen Akhlaq (Muslim)
Harish Dhokia (Hindu)
Claire Rutter (Catholic)
Pauline Luckett (Free Chruch)
Ram Krishan (Hindu)
Bimla Paul (Sikh)
Group 3 (Associations representing teachers, 5 members)
Steve Spriggs ATL
Lesley Cavill NASUWT
Angela Dawes NAHT
Pam McKiernan NUT
Carol Buchanan ASCL
Group 4 (Local Authority, 5 members)
Cllr Joe Clifford
Christian Cliffe
Reverend Terry Colling
Manjit Kaur – Vice Chair
Gyll Brown
Co-opted Members (appointed by other SACRE members)
Ms J Everington (University of Warwick)
Lizzie McWhirter (Diocesan Board of Education)
Sandra Durkin (Humanist)
Tarina Slater
Dilwyn Hunt (National RE Adviser)
Sex and relationship education
Sex and relationship education (SRE) is an important part of PSHE education and is statutory in maintained secondary schools.
When any school provides SRE they must have regard to the Secretary of State’s guidance ; this is a statutory duty. Academies do not have to provide SRE but must also have regard to Secretary of State’s guidance when they do.
This subject has peace and justice implications.
Mapping of Current Activity
EG suggested we do a mapping exercise of peace and justice work in schools.
Provisional Aims of Mapping:
- Find out what schools are already doing related to peace and justice for example in Citizenship, History, Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE)
- List Coventry schools belonging to projects such as International Cross of Nails Schools, Pax Christi, Peaceful Schools Program etc.
- Identify where peace and justice fit within the National Curriculum
Mapping Action – All
If you wish to take part in the mapping exercise please tick option 3-3 on the survey http://coventrycityofpeace.uk/cspjf-survey/.
Actions – PB
PB to ask Coventry and Warwickshire Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) which Coventry schools are teaching RE.
Communication with Schools
This seems to be a problem.
AF said that schools are “horrendously difficult” to work in and communicate with.
PB has been told that Friday envelopes are still sent to Coventry schools but this has not been verified and even if they are sent out they might not be effective.
This forum needs to find effective ways of communicating with schools.
RD suggesting using social media to communicate with people and show what schools are doing.
RD said that notices about the inaugural meeting of the Peace & Justice Forum had been sent out to all teachers but none had come.
AF said that teachers are too busy to come to a meeting like this whose outcome is uncertain.
Communications Action – All
If you can help communicating with schools, please tick option 3-2 on the survey http://coventrycityofpeace.uk/cspjf-survey/.
Catalogue of Materials & Resources
MF thinks we need a catalogue of currently available material which teachers could use and inform schools about it.
Below we list some of the resources mentioned at the meeting, plus some others which have been identified subsequently, which could be added to such a catalogue.
RD thinks the catalogue should include on-line resources and local human resources, for example a list of those who can come into a school to run a workshop on a peace/justice related issue.
Action – All
Please tick option 3-4 on the survey http://coventrycityofpeace.uk/cspjf-survey/ if you can contribute more ideas for resources.
Balbir Sohal
She works as a consultant and as an educator with Anne Frank Trust UK.
CR says she knows a lot of schools which have done peace/justice-related projects.
She is also a member of the Lord Mayor’s Peace & Reconciliation Committee.
balbirsohalconsultancy@gmail.com
Beacon Peaceful School Awards
Run by Peaceful Schools Movement (see elsewhere in these minutes)
http://www.peacefulschools.org.uk/school-awards/beacon-peaceful-schools
Campaign for Nuclear Disarment (CND)
AF said they produce educational materials.
Coventry-generated Materials
AF said that in the past Coventry had a high reputation for producing peace education materials, some of which she wrote and still has. Examples are the lessons to be learned from the bombing of Coventry and Dresden. Other materials were related to CAFOD campaigns, slavery for example.
CR asked whether it would be worth revisiting these materials.
AF said the thinks there are a lot of new materials available now. (See Online Resources below for some of them.)
Coventry Annual Peace Festival
Annual event 1 – 14 November.
Organised by Lee House of Coventry City Council with help from David Pails.
City Council paid £250 towards costs of each festival event organised in 2016.
PM thinks it is a pity that schools do not take much part in it. He thinks the money would be an incentive to take part if they only knew about it.
Coventry University Research Group
AE said that Coventry University has a research group which is a mixture of staff and PhD students who are interested in peace education.
Coventry Multi-faith Forum
http://coventrymultifaithforum.org (Not currently working)
MF is a member of this.
Housmans Peace Resource Project
This includes Housmans World Peace Database http://www.housmans.info/wpd/
The World Peace Database contains contact details for more than 3000 national and international organisations around the world. Information available includes the organisation’s name and postal address, together with any or all of the following: telephone number, fax number, e-mail address, and website address. In most cases there is also an indication of the nature of the organisation and its areas of concern; many entries also have notes giving additional information.
The database includes peace-related organisations, covering especially grassroots groups and campaigns which work for peace and reconciliation and against the causes of war; it includes some major organisations in related fields such as environmental and human rights campaigning.
The database contains 6 entries for Coventry:
- Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations
- Community of the Cross of Nails
- Cord
- Coventry Peace House
- Medical and Scientific Aid for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
- RISING Global Peace Forum
International Observances
UN observed days related to peace or justice are shown at:
http://coventrycityofpeace.uk/international-observances/
A list of all United Nations observances including days, weeks, years and decades observed by the at:
http://www.un.org/en/sections/observances/united-nations-observances/
Wikipedia List includes other days as well as the above. But note that even their list is not complete. For example it does not include Hiroshima & Nagasaki Commemoration Day (6 August):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_international_observances
Lord Mayor’s Committee for Peace & Reconciliation
CR and PB sit on this.
They organise several events including the Lord Mayor’s Peace Lecture during the Peace Festival.
CR said that in the past people have remarked that we need a Lord Mayor’s Peace Committee for young people. Some people have been pushing the youth voice idea. Some young people have been invited to the meeting. Nothing positive resulted from this.
PB will mention the existence of the Schools Peace & Justice Forum to the Lord Mayor’s Committee and see if they want to co-operate.
MA Peace and Conflict Studies, Coventry University
This was not mentioned but might provide useful contacts at Coventry University.
Normandy Day UK
http://www.normandy-day.co.uk/
Normandy Day UK is a Coventry based peace education charity. We aim to “advance the education of the public about the impact of war and the sacrifices made by all service people, in particular those made at the landings in Normandy on 6th June 1944.”
We work with schools, veterans, Armed Forces charities and people from around the world now living in the UK to raise awareness of the impact of conflict and bring generations and cultures together in the cause of peace. We do this through school and community-based based events, educational trips and resources.
In 2014 the charity was nominated for a Coventry Community Cohesion Award and achieved runner-up in the community and voluntary sector category for our inter-generational work on our ‘Ingredients of Peace’ film.
Peace and Diversity
RD said he wants to work on Peace and Diversity to make refugees and migrants feel welcome in the city.
Peace Partners
CR previous worked with Balbir Sohal on this project.
Peace Education Network
CR mentioned this. Its members produce peace education materials.
http://peace-education.org.uk/
The produce the Teach Peace Pack which can be downloaded free:
http://peace-education.org.uk/teach-peace
Peace Jam
RD said Barrs Hill is a Peace Jam School.
This is something a school can celebrate.
Peaceful Schools Movement
These were not mentioned during the meeting but could be useful resources.
http://www.peacefulschools.org.uk/
The Peaceful Schools Movement in the UK is steered by the Peaceful Schools Strategy Group. We have developed the concept of a ‘Peaceful School’ which has four, inter-related levels of peace:
- Inner peace for the individual pupil/student and members of staff;
- Peaceful relationships and constructive resolution of conflicts;
- Peaceful school ethos and environment (indoors and outdoors);
- Peace-making within the wider community/world.
We support and work in partnership with schools and many peace-promoting organisations including ‘Peace One Day’, Values-Based Education/Living Values, the Peace Mala Project, the Peace Education Network, the Peer Mediation Network, Peacemakers (WMQPEP), Mind with Heart, A Quiet Place and many others.
Positive Images
http://www.positiveimagesfestival.co.uk/
Positive Images was founded to celebrate the amazing heritage of and cultural traditions of the city’s mainstream and minority communities and now also embraces diversity in all its forms.
In 2016 it was held from 11 to 30 June, with more events before and after it.
Dates for 2017 will be 10 – 30 June 2017, but there will also be pre-festival and post-festival events. For example National Big Lunch is on Sunday 4 June, La Fete de la Musique falls on 21 June.
RD said he wants to encourage people who are organising events to involve young people wherever possible. He would like to work on a Peace and Diversity project to make refugees and migrants feel welcome in the city. He plans to make this part of the Positive Images festival.
(Not clear from recording if this is correct!)
Positive Images planning meetings are held 12.30pm – 2.00pm in the main meeting room of the Central Library on first Wednesday of every month from September to May. All are welcome to attend.
Pru Porretta and Godiva Sisters
Pru supports peace activities in many ways.
RISING Global Peace Festival
Will be at start of September 2017.
RD has suggested the idea of a Rising event for young people to Ciaran Norris.
School of Sanctuary
RD mentioned Murielle Galvani has succeeded in creating Coventry’s first school of sanctuary:
https://cityofsanctuary.org/2013/10/11/coventrys-first-school-of-sanctuary/
Schools of Peace
EG said there are International Cross of Nails Schools in Coventry which have badged themselves as Schools of Peace. There are also Pax Christi schools too.
Sent to Coventry Project
(This is one of RD’s projects not mentioned during the meeting)
http://coventrycityofpeace.uk/sent-to-coventry/
Together In Action (TIA)
MF attended an event during Interfaith Week organised by Together In Action (TIA) talking about hate-crime. It was full of young people from Coventry University, Coventry City College and Eden Girl’s School.
Deepak Naik runs Together in Action. His email is tia-eu@outlook.com
Workshops/Assemblies
RD invited people from different communities to run workshops during Global Citizenship Day.
AF has participated in assemblies and run workshops in primary, secondary and 6th forms
Just Schools
CR mentioned Belinda Hopkins and her work on Just Schools eg her book “Just Schools: A Whole School Approach to Restorative Justice” published 2003.
Action on Catalogue – PB + All
PB has already stated to create the catalogue on the CoventryCityOfPeace.uk website.
The resources listed above will be included in this after suitable editing.
If you wish to contribute to this catalogue please tick option 3-4 on the survey http://coventrycityofpeace.uk/cspjf-survey/.
Action on Lord Mayor’s Committee – PB
PB will mention the existence of the Schools Peace & Justice Forum to Lord Mayor’s Committee and suggest that it be adopted as the Lord Mayor’s Youth Forum for Peace & Justice.
Action on Coventry Multi-faith Forum – PB or MF
PB is trying to contact them to tell them what we are doing.
Their website is not working so he has asked MF to facilitate this.
Together In Action – PB
PB to contact Deepak Naik and discuss how we can work together.
Action – All
All are welcome to attend planning meetings for Positive Images festival, held 12.30pm – 2.00pm on first Wednesday of every month from September to May in the main meeting room of the Central Library.
Co-ordination and Planning
Co-ordination across schools
RD said there are teacher co-ordinator’s meetings in most subjects, but not in peace or justice. He wants peace education to be embedded in and co-ordinated across schools.
This could link to the Giving Children a Voice theme.
It could also link to the Heritage Lottery Young Roots application. See the Conference Sandwich entry.
DK said lots of things are already going in the city and people have goodwill and are committed and prepared to put in the time and effort. It’s just about this Forum co-ordinating things better and communicating better with each other.
City Council and Schools
PM asked whether Coventry City Council still has and relationship with schools.
EG said there was still a small schools team. They co-ordinate reports to SACRE.
She mentioned somebody called Lucy.
PB did research after the meeting and found the following:
The Executive Director with responsibility for education is
Gail Quinton, Executive Director of People, is responsible for a wide range of services including adults’ and children’s social care, education, libraries and public health.
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/6/council_structure/25/our_strategic_management_board
Below her is a Director of Education as shown on this chart from March 2016:
However PB has been unable to identify this person.
The Council has an Education and Children’s Services Scrutiny Board consisting of city councillors and co-opted members:
http://democraticservices.coventry.gov.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=569
The support officer is
Michelle Rose, 024 7683 3111, michelle.rose@coventry.gov.uk
The city offers various services to schools:
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/139/services_for_schools/1726/services_to_schools
The City Council Data Team provides data services for schools:
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/datateam
and ICT services at http://www.coventry.gov.uk/schoolsict
There are two Admissions and Benefits teams:
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/148/school_admissions/2311/school_performance
The city website lists schools and their contact details:
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/directory/10/schools_and_their_contact_details
The city decides school term dates and lists them at:
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/termdates
Holiday activities are listed on the Family Information Directory what’s on section:
https://cid.coventry.gov.uk/kb5/coventry/directory/whats_on.page
The Family Information Service also maintains a comprehensive directory on behalf of the Local Authority of up-to-date information on local organisations who can offer general help and advice, support services, as well as local leisure activities and facilities.
The city supports those with special educational needs and disabilities
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/homepage/900/special_educational_needs_support_services
The Human Resources Service provides support to Head teachers and School Governors on complex and difficult staffing matters.
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/humanresourcesservices
The city provides school crossing patrols
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/61/schools_and_schooling/550/school_crossing_patrols
Action – PB
PB will find what relations the city has with schools
Action – EG
Send contact details for Lucy to PB
Multi Academy Trusts
EG said co-ordination happens within these clusters of schools.
The Diocese of Coventry Multi Academy Trust aims to facilitate inspirational teaching and learning and to build a better future for everyone within the academies and their local communities.
Coventry Multi Academy Trust
The Diocese of Coventry Multi Academy Trust
The Benn Education Centre
Claremont Road
Rugby CV21 3LU
Tel: 01788 422900
Email: info@covmat.org
City Communications Team
They provide advice and support on media relations, marketing, publications, social media and e-communications across the Council.
Most services are free to LEA schools (although there will be a charge for complex design services). They negotiate fees and charges to Academies for their services
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/communications
They also offer a range of information for schools:
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/directory/47/services_for_schools/category/144
For example they have a Performing Arts Service
PB wonders why they don’t have a Peace & Justice team….
Planning
DK thinks we need to plan ahead. Co-ordinating people takes time.
Action – All
If you wish to take part in co-ordination and/or planning please tick option 3-1 on the survey http://coventrycityofpeace.uk/cspjf-survey/.
Giving Children a Voice
Student Knowledge, Attitudes and Engagement
RD said children often do not know what it means for Coventry to be a city of peace and reconciliation.
DK wants to know what young people themselves think about peace.
DK said some time ago he ran a forum at Sidney Stringer School during Refugee Week attended by a wide range of Coventry groups and schools. They did an exercise around persecution, fear, justice and peace in which the work came from the young people themselves. It gave them a voice and allowed them to give their opinions. This could be followed up and repeated.
It should involve fun.
For example a youth band could play.
RD said that although these sporadic things may happen there is no way to co-ordinate them or create longer-term programmes.
Youth Rising
RD has suggested the idea of Rising event for young people to Ciaran Norris.
EG said it will be at start of September 2017, which is the start of the school year so getting young people involved might be difficult.
RD said it would not be possible for schools to be involved during the first weeks of term. He said that in 2016 they were able to send pupils to RISING, but only 6th formers. He thinks that students should be leading on planning whatever is done. He has already done this sort of consultation when Cardinal Newman ran a Global Citizenship event.
EG said Rising 2017 would be Thursday – Saturday.
EG said that if pupils had already engaged in something as satellites in June (eg for Positive Images) then they could send young ambassadors to a Youth Rising and engage with the speakers.
Ciaran has told EG that he is planning a twin-track RISING, with both adult and youth events at same time.
Youth-Led Event
DK suggested that young people themselves could be involved in making decisions about what sort of events they want us to run. They could take ownership and leadership instead of it being top-down. He said young people are brilliant ambassadors. He suggested some sort of launch procession from the city centre to Hillfields and back again. Young people need to be part of the creative process.
Fun
DK insisted that events which involve young people must have an element of fun.
Engaging Young Pupil
DK suggested we go into schools at the planning stage to talk about our plans and stimulate their imaginations to get involved and come up with creative ideas.
PB suggested we could use social media to contact young people, tell them what we are doing and engage them.
Coventry Youth Council
DK suggested we contact them. They are passionate about the kind of issues we are talking about.
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/1/council_and_democracy/536/coventry_youth_council
We are a group of local young people aged between 11-21 who want to have a say in the decisions that are made in the city. We work with lots of different organisations, including Grapevine, Live UnLtd, Police, UKYP and the Council.
If you want to be part of a team that run campaigns for young people and can make a difference – get in touch with Peter Longden by email Peter.longden@coventry.gov.uk or phone 024 7683 1414.
Existing Hooks
DK suggested that instead of it being a forced to fit into the National Curriculum event could be based upon existing days or activities such as Refugee Week, Peace Day, Anti-bullying week (http://www.antibullyingweek.co.uk/) ,City of Culture 2021 etc.
Conference Sandwich
AD is working with one of his clients on an application for a Heritage Lottery Young Roots of up to £50k to celebrate the stories of refugees and the contribution they bring to Coventry. This will also broaden young people’s horizons about people from different cultures. But it would not all focus explicitly on peace and justice, although they are the desired objectives.
The planned format is a “conference sandwich”: a conference of schools at the beginning and end with a series of events between them where refugees and migrants can tell their stories and artists interpret these stories into works of art of various sorts. It could last perhaps 18 months in total.
AD did a survey of secondary schools about 1 year ago and got about 6 primary and 6 secondary schools who would be interested in taking part in the project. He is talking to school children to find out what information they would like from refugees and migrants.
AD would like members of this Forum to check the bid to make sure it aligns with other activities.
Meeting with Ciaran Norris
If you are interested in attending a Forum member meeting with Ciaran, please complete question 3-7 on the survey http://coventrycityofpeace.uk/cspjf-survey/
Action – PB to talk to Coventry Youth Council
PB has written to Peter Longden to see if he can attend a meeting of the Council and explain our ideas and gauge whether they would be interested in taking part.
The Way Forward
Start with a special day or event
AF said that, although she agreed surveys and finance and research are necessary, it can take a long time to achieve anything. She recommends using special days which could be Coventry-based such as Positive Images or a national or international day such as International Peace Day, then involving people who are already committed and inviting them to take part. This is easier to achieve and would not require large amounts of money.
She suggested finding a special day in Spring.
(PB has found peace or justice related International Days which are included in these minutes.)
AF also said that if several schools could be persuaded to take part it might result in a 6th form conference.
RD said that International Peace Day (21 September) is not ideal because it is too close to the start of term when teachers are analysing exam data and starting their teaching.
He said that Positive Images would be a good occasion to engage schools.
RD also thinks that something to do with welcoming refugees into the city would be appropriate and would allow us to gather evidence of our effectiveness when looking for future funding. He also suggesting using social media to communicate with people and show what schools are doing.
DK said the Refugee and Migrant Centre try to find schools to partner with them every year during World Refugee Day (20 June) and find it difficult.
June
DK pointed out that Positive Images will be 10 – 30 June 2017 and World Refugee Day will be 20 June. This would give us 7 months to plan something.
Talk to RISING Global Forum Staff
CR suggested members of this Forum talk to Ciaran about Youth-related activities at the next RISING Forum.
If you are interested in attending this meeting, please complete question 3-7 on the survey http://coventrycityofpeace.uk/cspjf-survey/
AD said that, if they manage to get Lottery funding, he thinks the project would be part of RISING. See the Conference Sandwich entry.
November
DK suggested we also aim at co-ordinating school-based events during the Peace Festival in November. This would give us 2 periods of activity each year.
School Celebration of Activities
EG suggested this forum provide an occasion when schools can publicise and celebrate the events they have already done or will soon be doing which promote peace and justice. If schools have not done anything before we could help them by pointing them to the elements in our catalogue of materials which they could use to create an event.
PB suggests that this could be Monday 20 February which is World Day of Social Justice (http://www.un.org/en/events/socialjusticeday/ )
CR mentioned that Balbir Sohal CR knows a lot of schools which have done peace/justice-related projects.
PB asked when would be a good time of years for schools to do this.
AF said the date might be different for different schools. People are the key to achieving this. It’s not a good idea to try to restrict people to a particular date.
PB suggested photos/videos of the celebrations might be made. Or the output could be a page on the CoventryCityOfPeace website. It is a publicity opportunity.
AF said this would then encourage others to do something.
Link Schools with Coventry University
RD said that the outcomes of these schools celebrations could be used at the Youth RISING event. He could work on this as a project.
He suggested that staff or PhD students from Coventry University who are interested in peace education could work with individual schools and link them into RISING.
Schools could come to Youth RISING and show what their schools have done. This would celebrate what Coventry is all about.
PB Children could lead some of the Youth RISING events. They could also encourage their parents to come along.
AF thought this would make RISING more relevant to the citizens of Coventry.
Action – All
Please complete questions 1 (perhaps 2) and 3 on the survey http://coventrycityofpeace.uk/cspjf-survey/ to specify your preferences on our targets.
Action – PB
Contact Balbir Sohal and invite her to join the forum.
Finance
Heritage Lottery Young Roots
AD is working with one of his clients on an application for this grant. See Conference Sandwich entry.
This could link to the Giving Children a Voice theme and to the Co-ordination theme.
Funding in Kind
DK said that there is a lot of funding in kind and “it’s amazing what you can pull out of an empty Christmas cracker!”
Arts Council Funding
EG said that the Arts Council can provide funding for relevant projects, such as those which the Belgrade and the Herbert deliver.
Coventry Association for International Friendship (CAIF)
PB mentioned that this group has money in the bank. He is on their committee.
Coventry Peace Foundation
PB said he thought it would be a good idea to establish a Coventry-based charity to support peace activities.
Action – All
If you are interested in starting a city-wide charitable foundation then please tick question 3-8 on the survey http://coventrycityofpeace.uk/cspjf-survey/
Next Meeting
No date was fixed.
DK said we need to “keep the momentum”.
Once some of the actions have been completed, PB+RD will organise another meeting.
Communication
The group will communicate via email.
Action on Minutes – PB
PB will go through the recording and make detailed notes which he will then circulate.
Action – PB+RD
Set date, time & venue for next meeting.
Action – All
Please complete question 4 on the survey http://coventrycityofpeace.uk/cspjf-survey/ to specify your preferred day and time.
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