In common with many schools across the UK, there has been an outpouring of support from the staff and families at Redcliffe Gardens School for the victims of the Ukraine disaster. Redcliffe is working with St Luke’s Church – which houses the nursery and pre-prep in its modern, purpose-built undercroft – to raise much-needed funds to send to help the families left destitute by the war. Redcliffe parents are busy planning the school’s Easter disco and all proceeds from tickets sales, refreshments and glow sticks will go to the appeal!
Redcliffe is already very involved with the Refugee Response programme run by the church which supports refugees and asylum seekers from Yemen, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and now, Ukraine. On Monday evenings, Head, Mr Dunhill, has been teaching English to the refugees which is critical to help them settle and make their home in the UK. In March, students from the school, along with Mr Dunhill and Deputy Head Mrs Glencross, were lucky enough to be part of the welcoming party for His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, who came to learn first hand about the important work the church is doing to help the refugees. Next term Redcliffe will be linking up with Godolphin and Latymer, from the same foundation family, to plan some more fundraising activities together.
But the school’s response to the Ukraine crisis does not begin and end with donations and collections for the victims of the disaster. Redcliffe has also focused on supporting its own pupils in dealing with the worry and anxiety that can result from the relentless devastating news headlines. One of the benefits of being such a close-knit community is that if a child is feeling overwhelmed and worried by what is happening in the wider world, teachers can quickly step in to provide them with individual coping strategies.
Mr Dunhill shared with Kensington Mums just how Redcliffe is helping to support its pupils along with a few top tips for parents:
- Children write down their worries and share them anonymously in a Worry Bucket. This helps them share the burden of their worries and teachers can then deal with recurring themes and problems with their classes.
- In their PSHCEE lessons, students have been exploring the Health and Wellbeing topic, ‘Think Positive’. These classes discussed different ways of dealing with unhelpful thoughts and learnt about Guatemalan Worry Dolls.
- It’s very easy to feel helpless in these situations. Children are encouraged to celebrate their smaller achievements at school (not just the big wins!) and we have Weekly Awards for things like having a ‘can-do’ attitude, working hard on handwriting, having a good sense of humour, and progressing in swimming.
- Making time for laughter is very important: we know that laughter reduces cortisol levels, the body’s main stress hormone, and boosts feelings of happiness. We encourage our children to have fun and to share funny stories. Our recent assembly featuring ‘honking geese’ had us all rolling around in stitches!
- Making time for children to get creative and use their imagination helps them to escape everyday problems. Singing, dancing, art, crafts, cooking, music, play acting, and creative writing are all activities we allow plenty of time for in our school day and are great activities to be done at home too.
- Outdoor activities, sports, walking and talking, just ‘being’ in the great outdoors allows us to escape from the news and focus totally on something very positive. Redcliffe has a fantastic weekly programme of sports on offer and lovely outdoor play areas for children to let off steam and relax. We recommend that parents have outdoor family time with their children as much as possible – especially now that the days are getting longer and sunnier!
- Sleep is vitally important and we really encourage our parents and children to switch off their screens and devices in the evening and to read stories before bedtime to help them relax and avoid anxiety.
- Eating well is also an important part of student wellbeing and Redcliffe has recently joined up with Chartwells and revamped its lunchtime menus to offer healthy but delicious lunches, with plenty of choice, five days a week.
- Choosing appropriate language and context is crucial when speaking to younger children about bigger picture world problems to avoid them becoming frightened and overwhelmed. Giving children a practical, achievable purpose – such as collecting donations and fundraising – is a good way of helping them deal with the situation positively.
- Exposure to age-appropriate news sources is important. The six-o’clock news can include very frightening images whereas Newsround and publications like First News and The Week Junior are specially targeted at younger audiences.
- Taking time to really listen to children’s concerns is essential and often involves an element of ‘reading between the lines’ and repeating back to them what they are saying and letting them know that it is OK to be worried.
- Spending time with pets and animals can be a huge comfort to young children, whether they are your own or belong to friends or family. There are several farms within an easy reach of London that make great days out.
- As a school in a multi-cultural city that celebrates our diversity it is important that we emphasise that this is not a conflict that has been initiated by the Russian people; many Russian people are putting themselves in danger by speaking out against the war.
The relationship between the school and parents is even more important during these difficult times and my door is always open for parents to talk to me about any worries they have about how their children and coping with the current situation in Ukraine.
Head: Mr Ben Dunhill
Redcliffe Gardens School
47 Redcliffe Gardens
London SW10 9JH
T: 020 7352 9247
E: office@redcliffeschool.com
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