Above: Students from the linked schools participate in activities together

Clayton C of E Primary School and Clayton Village Primary School are located in Clayton Village in Bradford. The schools are situated within walking distance of each other and the children and families share many local amenities. Both schools are mixed in population and are experiencing changes in their population.

Linking two schools so close together is proving to be a beneficial way to make connections between the two schools, creating one community in Clayton Village with shared interests and common goals.

These two schools worked on the model of linking with another school. Their focus groups were their school councils, working across the age groups from Year 2 up to Year 6. Their project focused on exploring the Global Dimension.

This year the project began by exploring issues of identity and diversity within their own schools. They then sent identity boxes to each other as a way of introducing themselves to their link school. To follow this up the teachers explored the received identity boxes and looked at common interests and differences between the two groups.

Over the year the schools have had a number of meetings to explore the rich diversity of their shared community. They have worked with Gail Smith from Leeds Development Education Centre to look at issues of human rights within their immediate shared community and globally. This raised discussion about refugees and the children engaged in workshops to investigate stories, facts and myths about refugees and asylum seekers. The children have become ambassadors for their school and have shared their learning with their class members through activities and newsletters.

The year ended with a drama performance directed by Luke Broughton called 'A Diary of a Refugee' based on the story of Gervelie a refugee girl from the Congo. This took place for parents at Theatre in the Mill during WDWTWA week and the turnout was overwhelming. Parents from the two schools came together as a community to celebrate the success of their children and enjoyed a relaxed evening with refreshments.

The schools have already begun making plans for next year and plan to run the performance again in the new academic year for the children at both schools. Both schools intend to further embed the Global Dimension within their curriculum and aim to achieve the Yorkshire and Humber Global Schools Award. They also plan on setting up a second link between the two schools to run in parallel with the school council link. This group of children will be a press group responsible for a shared community newsletter.

Quotes from parents included:

“I am amazed at the confidence of my daughter in the performance and in chatting with the Clayton C of E children. She is usually so shy!” Mum

“I think the project is a fantastic idea, particularly as our schools are so close together. The children really have become one group.” Dad

“The performance was really moving. It is great our children are coming together to learn about issues that affect our community and the world.” Mum

“To be honest I thought this was wasting my son’s time and I didn’t get why he had to work with the other school. We chose to send him to this school for a reason. But I can’t believe how much he knew about refugees and also how well he had got on with the boys he met. “ Mum

 Quotes from children included:

“Teamwork is very helpful and I’ve learned to work as a team with children from Clayton Village.”  Year 5 boy, Clayton C of E Primary

“The children from CE were really funny! I didn’t think they would be but they were!” Year 4 girl, Clayton Village

“I’ve met lots of new friends from Clayton Village but also it was good to work with different year groups in my own school. They are all cooler than I thought.” Year 6 boy, Clayton C of E Primary

Written by: The Schools Linking Network