|
By Hannah Goff
BBC News education reporter
Every morning the children of Oxley Park Primary join together to
perform their own version of Maori dance the Haka.
Unlike its most famous proponents, the All Blacks, the youngsters
are not going to war with another rugby team.
Instead they use a particular combination of speech and movement to
prepare their brains for the challenges of another day of learning.
But like the Maoris before them, the pupils also use the dance and
the words of the song to express their passion, vigour and identity
not as members of a race but as Oxley Parkers.
'Sense of belonging'
"As we are a new school in a new community in Milton Keynes,
fostering a sense of belonging is even more important," says head
teacher Cathy Higgins.
"Children arrive every day - so a pupil that's been here a few weeks
is classed as an older pupil," she explains.
"We have a variety of children with different backgrounds.
"There are children who come from a large number of different
schools, different education authorities, different areas and
different countries.
"There are children from Africa, China, America and Canada whose
parents have come to Milton Keynes for work. They have experiences
of very different education systems.
"So there is a real need to establish a sense of belonging very
quickly."
The melting pot that is Oxley Park is not so different from other
areas of Britain that have seen high levels of immigration.
This 280-strong school welcomes all newcomers, celebrating their
diversity along the way.
And there is no sense that by doing this the inherent nature of the
school will be squashed or compromised by "outsiders" - as opponents
of multiculturalism suggest.
School song
This sense of inclusion is well expressed in the words of one of the
school's songs: "I am special, you are special, we are special can't
you see."
"This," says Mrs Higgins, "is really all about saying it doesn't
matter if you are fat or thin, tall or short, black or white, we are
all different and we are all special."
The posters and photographs that dot the school's walls, show black
and white faces along with children with disabilities.
But they don't look staged like so many public service information
leaflets do - they reflect what is happening in the classroom.
There are also drawings, cultural trinkets and religious statues
from countries all around the world in special displays.
Links with South Africa
Especially prominent are colourful items from South Africa with
which the school has a particular tie following a visit there by the
head-teacher and her deputy in June 2006.
Mrs Higgins and her deputy worked with teachers at farm schools in
the impoverished but beautiful Kwena Basin in Mpumalanga province.
They brought with them football kits, pencils and hair ornaments
bought with money raised by the Oxley Park pupils for their South
African peers.
"Things our children would put in a bin were a treasure for these
children," says Mrs Higgins.
The following month, nine student teachers came back to Oxley Park
to work at the school.
They stayed with pupils and were welcomed into their family and
community for the duration of their stay.
Georgia, 11, remembers her special guests: "They were very, very
nice and became some of my best friends.
"They told me about what language they spoke and what money they
used and what it was like to live there."
Seven-year-old Amy remembers being taught a special dance.
"I didn't exactly get the hang of it but it was good," she says.
While Sam, eight, remembers how the student teacher who stayed in
his house helped him make a lion costume for a school event.
Angela Bailey, who teaches nine and 10-year-olds at Oxley Park,
says: "My class were very interested in the background history of
South Africa particularly.
"They learned quite a lot about the apartheid system and they have
quite a strong sense of justice."
Life in the community
But it's not all about black and white. The youngsters are
encouraged to stand up for their local community as well.
Mrs Bailey tells how the pupils have been encouraged to conserve
water and how many are writing to the local council to urge them to
hurry up and put cycle lanes in place so they can cycle to school.
Practical lessons grounded in the community are all part of showing
the children that with rights come responsibility.
Making the youngsters aware of the role they can play in their local
community fosters good citizenship, says Mrs Higgins.
She adds: "It's the golden thread that runs through what we do.
"It's not a curricular subject but it happens in every area. This is
just something that we do - full stop.
"The children have a commitment to do these things and it goes
beyond learning."
"And the hope is that as they grow up they become active members of
society and active citizens as well."
Right Click
on the hyperlink. Select Save Target As. Specify where you
would like to store the file on your hard drive.
DOWNLOAD PDF
36KB
Portable Document Format
Return to Top |
