In early January, we held Think Equal Week, which echoed our pastoral care focus of the term from the Westbourne Way of 'Be Respectful'. The week was designed to engage the children in understanding and appreciating our diverse world.
"We wanted the week to be thought-provoking and inspire our children to think a little deeper and more empathetically about the challenges faced by many people both within our community and beyond. I hope that these opportunities will have supported the children in realising they can help shape the world we live in, making it a better, wiser and broader place to be."
Mrs Pollock, Head of Pastoral Care
Accept, Listen and Learn
Alison Wright, from Accept, Listen and Learn, hosted five workshops in Years 1 -5 and talked to the children about how being different does not mean you want to be treated “differently”.
She explained that sometimes people stare and point at her but what is best is when someone gives her a big smile. As Alison showed the children how she can write her name and draw with her feet she said: “There are always ways of doing things and most problems can be overcome. My arms did not grow as long as yours but it hasn’t stopped me achieving. I played table tennis, netball and did show jumping at school and went to the Paralympic Games. I have children, I still love sport, I have two dogs and I drive.”
"What did we learn this morning," Alison asked the pupils in Year 4: “Be thankful for who you are,” said one boy. “There’s no such thing as can’t,” said another. “It’s so impressive you can make your bed with your feet!” said another.
Steve Miles with his canine partner
Steve Miles dropped in to speak to our Year 6 pupils with his black Labrador and Canine Partner, Octavia. Steve, who is Mrs Pollock’s Dad and Evie’s Grandad, talked about how Octavia is a wonderful dog who keeps him company every day as he now has to spend a lot of his time in a wheelchair.
Steve, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1991, said: “She is a very good friend to me and a very good friend to us, and she gives me a great deal of confidence in myself and keeps me upbeat. We have made some good friends together out on our walks.”
The children asked Steve lots of different questions about Octavia, her training and how she looks after Steve, as well as how he manages his daily life and the challenges he faces using a wheelchair – especially car journeys.
Just like us
Pupils in Year 7 and 8 met young people from Just Like Us, the LGBTQ+ young people’s charity, over Zoom. They talked about breaking down stereotypes and were introduced to some explanations of key terms and concepts.
First girls with Mrs Armitage and Equal Opportunities
Mrs Armitage, our history teacher and former pupil, talked to Prep School pupils about being one of the first girls to join Westbourne House when the school became co-educational in 1992.
Robyn Aubury, HR, talked to the older pupils about equal opportunities recruitment in the workplace.
Chickens in assembly? Pillow fights?
Mr Cousens's assembly was the perfect way to launch Think Equal Week. In assembly, Mr Cousens introduced the children into three different sports from around the world and demonstrated that differences are to be celebrated. We found out about chess boxing (Ukraine), chicken racing (India) and extreme ironing (UK) and, much to the children's delight, the three sports were recreated, albeit with a few minor alterations!
