Something to reflect on.... |
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While you wonder what to do - Sit down and sing a song
Dear colleagues
Above are ‘Wise Words from The Best Bear in all The World’ - usually known as Winnie-The-Pooh.
Sometimes stereotyping fits. Yours truly is and has been true to his heritage in the singing department : solo and choir singer in school at university and beyond; at international rugby stadia; as leader of family and friends Zoom sing-a-longs during Covid Lockdown; initiator of Christmas day sing-a-long games wherever I happen to be on December 25th; worship leader at Kigali Cathedral and open air worship leader with interactive songs for several hundred children in Rwanda (in a field with no speakers!); and shameless impromptu piano accompanist and song starter in pubs, and more…………
At a recent planning day with colleagues, we enjoyed conversations and reminisced over lunch, reflecting on one of our group’s trip the evening before to a large theatre as part of the hugely popular national tour of a single-handed Primary School teacher’s ‘Assembly Bangers’ event. If you aren’t familiar, picture several hundred adults spending a few hours in a theatre with official take-away ‘programmes’ (aka song sheets) of all those memorable classics they sang ten, twenty plus years ago in school assembly, or in our case, school worship.
Yes, a lot of nostalgia, but the joy, tears, laughter and willingness to jump at ‘any requests’ and when the words of ‘Shine Jesus Shine, fill this land with The Father’s glory’ and other deeply meaningful words evoked something special. At your school worship, you are planting seeds for people who may come to faith or seek another enquiry into the meaning of faith, many years after they leave you and may not be worshipping at a church. You are also helping those who may not be active Christian worshippers after school, form a personal understanding of faith, coming from the words that are embedded in those songs. Thank you! Time in God’s sphere is so different to ours, and your part in His mission is valued.
Two years ago I curated a three-day residential conference with ‘focused visits’ for thirty-five Christian leaders from Stockholm Diocese. After a moving Evensong at Winchester Cathedral, I took them to one of my favourite eateries for their farewell dinner and speeches – The Wykeham Arms (in this case, appropriately named after a famous Bishop!). ‘The Wykie’ has recently had national focus with its Head Chef being featured on BBC MasterChef : The Professionals.
Many of the group were, in Swedish Christian terms, stereotypically singers - eleven were professional singers! The visitors expected me to say a prayer of thanks before we ate, but I asked the venue Manager if it would be ok for the 35 Swedish visitors to sing grace before their meal. Sure! What followed was a grace that is Stockholm-typical – six minutes of hugely moving Swedish choral harmony. At the end of a four-part harmony and key-change crescendo of ‘Amens’ by the 36 of us singing, the pub and restaurant rose to their feet in lengthy applause. Our dinner was delayed as so many people came over to chat and ask some amazing faith-related questions. I was relieved that most Swedes speak English impeccably and could engage given the interest!
So – you might want to embrace Winnie The Pooh’s wise words above when you are feeling good, feeling worried, on your own, or in a group – and ‘sit down and sing a song’ – which may be the case, but I think ‘stand and sing a song’ is equally appropriate. You may be aware that October this year marks the hundredth anniversary of the publication of A.A.Milne’s original Winnie The Pooh book. We are currently finalising a set of Worship resources, Reflections, Discussion prompts and W-t-P Prayer Spaces to develop, initiate and enhance conversations and thoughts about faith through the lens of W-t-P and his friends – oh, and of course, some are related to singing and songs! All for free and ready-made for schools, parishes, and church groups of all ages, from the cradle onwards. Watch this space!
You’ll know that our scriptures are full of references to singing, so if you are a person of faith, do please ‘Give praise to The Lord, proclaim His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts’(Psalm 105 verse 2); and ‘Sing to Him a new song; play skilfully, and shout for joy’(Psalm 33 verse 3). If you are seeking, learning or interested in Christian faith, perhaps chat to a colleague, neighbour or friend about the effect of singing and the power of songs in their faith – or just enjoy a night out on the national Assembly Bangers Tour (or even host your own Assembly Bangers session?!)
Thank you for all you sing, do and are in your places of presence and service.
Jeff
Jeff
Director of Education |
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Book recommendation: Migrations: Open Hearts, Open Borders |
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A really beautiful book. From all over the world, picture book illustrators sent original images and personal messages in postcard form for Migrations, an exhibition. This book comprises over 50 of the cards, including from famous illustrators like Axel Scheffler (of The Gruffalo fame).It carries a powerful message about human migration, showing how cultures, ideas and aspirations flow despite borders, barriers and bans. |
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Bags of Hope Book recommendation: The Dreaming Giant, inspired by Kandinsky |
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Inspired by Kandinsky's 1940 painting, Sky Blue, this delightful children's book by authors Veronique Massenot and illustrator Peggy Nille, delves into the kaleidoscopic mind of a sleeping giant. Veronique Massenot and Peggy Nille interpret Kandinsky's abstract characters as the somnolent visions of a giant who stumbles into a village of microscopic townspeople. Though the villagers initially fear the enormous stranger, they soon discover a gentle soul through his beautiful dreams. With its brightly coloured palette and playful drawings, this wonderfully imaginative book echoes Kandinsky's lively style. As young readers explore the wonders of the miniature villagers' world and the colossal giant's imagination, they will be inspired to find their own way around Kandinsky's enigmatic masterpiece. The book speaks to readers on a number of levels…. |
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Wickham Primary embrace Bags of Hope - Walk to purchase Paddington backpacks |
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We enjoyed visiting Wickham Primary recently to talk to Year 6 pupils as they engaged in our ‘Suitcase’ activity. This ‘imagine’ scenario, followed by a ‘now remove’ experience, helps children try to understand what millions of displaced children are facing in real life. Pupils responded as they drew and wrote on suitcase templates with comments like : Courage is a full-time job – all the time, no matter what, even if it’s difficult (Alex); It’s good to learn about this because you never know what people have been through and if you just judge them you can make their lives harder (Tina); Just remember, everyone deserves justice and grace, no matter their background (Henry); We’ve been learning about refugees because there’s always something you can do to help (Phoebe); If you are rude to someone, it can really affect their self-confidence, because they’ve already been through a lot (Georgie); Everyone needs to be treated equally (Finley); I enjoyed learning about this because it gives you a better understanding of what people have been through or may go through (Clara). View photos here.
Year six pupils will be going on a residential next month, and during this they will be enjoying a sponsored walk with the money raised being used to purchase lots of Paddington backpacks that will be given to refugees and displaced children by the Diocesan Team. Well done Year 6 Wickham – we will share the photos for all to see! |
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Moordown St John Primary, Bournemouth : Bags of Hope |
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Younger pupils are busy writing welcome cards to Paddington, a refugee, who now sits on the school worship table; others are preparing their Paddington Backpacks for the Bournemouth Year 6 Leavers’ Day at Christchurch Priory. As well as deepening their understanding of displaced people and refugees while reading the powerful book ‘My name is not refugee’, the school has been reflecting on the Jewish festival of Passover thinking about the families who were in exile in Egypt. This helped children’s understanding of empathy and welcome. The school’s weekly prayers for the week are guided by the Bible verse from Leviticus 19 vs 33: “Do not be unkind to any foreign people who come to live in your land. Instead, treat them as well as you treat your own people and love them as much as you love yourself. Remember, you were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” Revd Renate Tulloh led worship when the children learned about a Polish refugee called Sophie Schwarzwald, and how the astronaut Mark Polansky took Sophie’s bear to space in 2006 on the ‘Discovery’ mission. |
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Epiphany, St Lawrence and St Mary’s Bentworth: film |
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Bring joy and warmth to your day – please take 3 mins to watch, enjoy and be touched by this video of children speaking as they created their luggage labels when we visited recently as part of our Bags of Hope project. The video ends with some poignant prayers written and read by the children. Thank you children for the messages and how you are embracing your learning. |
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FREE Online ‘Difference’ training by the National Team Wednesday 3 June |
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Thank you for making a difference. We have at least 19 schools now delivering the CofE Difference Course across key stages, following the impactful in-person training we recently hosted at our Winchester Office from the National Team. This amounts to several hundreds of children already, who are given tools and perspectives to impact on their communities and how they behave as individuals in our challenging times.
Thank you for considering the way this can shift the current ‘othering’ and negative discourse that appears daily in our media. We can move this number of several hundreds to potentially 38,000 pupils and students across our 150 CofE Diocesan Schools in both Winchester & Portsmouth Dioceses. You can be part of this movement and social transformation! Please join.
As many couldn’t attend the in-person training, we have secured training online. This automatically gives access to all the excellent online Difference course resources. Headteachers who attended our in-person training are encouraged to offer this training to their staff; all Headteachers are encouraged to join along with key teachers, governors and ex-officio clergy, Children and Youth Leaders and Youth Pastors in our parish churches can also join. If you’ve missed my previous emails and messages in our Fortnightly Bulletin, you can get an overview of Difference here.
I’d be grateful of you will enthuse and encourage people to join the training on Wednesday 3 June, 3:30-5:30pm – do share this email widely. Please email Sam.powell@portsmouth.anglican.org for a Teams link for the Training session and access to the course materials that will significantly impact your school. |
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Thy Kingdom Come 2026 : our Prayer Spaces at Winchester Cathedral |
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Last weekend was the start of the international ‘Thy Kingdom Come’(TKC) global ecumenical prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray from Ascension to Pentecost 11 days, for more people to come to know Jesus. Since it began in May 2016, God has grown TKC from a dream of possibility into a movement which unites millions of Christians in prayer, in nearly 90% of countries worldwide, across 85 different denominations and traditions. Hundreds of people were at the Cathedral last Saturday, and part of their visit and worship was to experience many of the Prayer Spaces that we have created – and are used by our schools. If you’re interested in setting up your own Prayer Spaces Day or week – do get in touch! Lots of our schools routinely run Prayer Spaces days or weeks. |
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Cheeky Pandas Pentacost Resource |
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A new Pentecost episode telling the story of when God sent the Holy Spirit. In partnership with the award-winning 'The Jesus Storybook Bible' and special guest reader JB Gill, the Cheeky Pandas bring the story of Pentecost to life in a fun and accessible way for children. Alongside the episode, the Cheeky Pandas team have created a resource pack filled with fun and creative activities for both younger and older children. Access the videos (including BSL version) and free resources using this link: Pentecost - Cheeky Pandas |
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The Archbishops’ Young Leaders Award is a way for children and young people to become courageous, compassionate leaders who are empowered to make a difference within their communities and beyond. Rooted in the Church of England Vision for Education, the programme develops leadership, character, pupil voice, and meaningful social action through engaging and accessible resources for pupils from KS1 through to Post-16.
There are some upcoming webinars which are an opportunity to explore the resources, hear about the impact in schools, and ask any questions about implementation.
Primary Webinars:17th June 2026 - 3:45pm; 1st July 2026 - 3:45pm; 13th August - 1:15pm
Secondary Webinars: 24th June 2026 - 3:45pm; 2nd July 2026 - 3:45pm; 12th August - 1:15pm
Further details and booking information and online booking can be found here. |
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Books to open up conversations about race |
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Our ‘All are welcome’ project and the many resources we’ve created on Racial Justice are being used across our dioceses and beyond. We remain committed to this important work and are always happy to advise any schools or parishes and offer support in this important area of Christian presence and ministry. We have countless book recommendations, but we have a handout here featuring some you might want to consider for churches, school libraries, classrooms and as presents for children in your families. |
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Christianity as a Global World Faith: Ryde 6th July, Alresford 10th July |
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Global Christianity is a big focus in SIAMS at the moment, and many schools have this as a development point after their inspection. The Church of England Education Office has created a new set of resources, CGWF, to be used alongside the Creation, Incarnation and Salvation units in Understanding Christianity. The materials also help schools engage with equity, diversity and racial justice and if you’re a school that has signed up for the Difference Course, the two resources were written by the same team and work really well together. Seven schools have trialled the resources in our two dioceses this year and now we are keen to roll out the programme more widely. We will be running two training days in July, either at Oakfield CofE Primary School in Ryde on Monday 6th July, or at Old Alresford Place on Friday 10th. There will be two follow-up half days in the Autumn and Spring terms. We’re asking RE leads and also headteachers or a member of SLT to attend, as the resources are meant to impact the whole school and be much more than just a few RE materials. Please contact Jane.Kelly@portsmouth.anglican.org for further details. |
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These will be taking place in June this term, at a number of locations across the two dioceses. Please see here for further details. This term’s meetings will include some work moderation and a discussion of the new Statement of Entitlement for RE, especially the emphasis on local context and ways to draw on your local area to enrich your RE offer. |
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Installation at Cathedrals: Guidance and Details – Bags of Hope project 2026 |
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Our annual Installations at the Cathedrals are a talking piece with international reach. Every year we hit the national press which is such a joy in sharing the message and values we are promoting. This year’s Installation will have lots of Paddington Bear Backpacks and Paddington Bear soft toys placed with specific coloured luggage labels from our pupils flowing from them. It will be an interactive Installation, with visitors able to pick up your children’s labels and click on a QR code that takes them to aspects of the project you can link. The installation will be truly interactive on another level with visitors adding luggage labels to it every day.
Please read the Guidance Leaflet that you can access here. We’ll be collecting your luggage labels week commencing 1st June, so you’ll need to have completed them and delivered them to the school closest to you on our list by June 1st. We need to create the installation before the Year 6 pupils come to the Cathedrals. You’re also invited to contribute a Paddington Soft Toy and / or Backpack that will be part of the installation and will subsequently be gifted to a displaced child or young person. We invite you to add an A4 luggage label with a photo of your school, website link, interesting information etc. if you are donating a bag and/or a Paddington Soft Toy. Details are in the leaflet. It would be great if Churches were able to support this project. Thank you. |
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The list of schools likely to be inspected in the next academic year (2026 – 27) has now been published on the National Society website and can be downloaded here.
These are schools that were last inspected eight years ago (2018 – 19) or five years ago (2021 – 22). The dual cycle is because the SIAMS team is still catching up following the pause to inspections during the pandemic. Please get in touch with members of the Diocesan Education Team if there is any way that we can support you with your SIAMS preparation. |
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Portsmouth Diocese is running some training on how to run a prayer space on Saturday 6th June. This is being led by the National Prayer Spaces in Schools team and will take place at St Luke’s Church Southsea from 9:30 to 11:30, and then again at Newport Parish Centre from 2:30 to 4:30. You can find more information and sign up on the Diocesan website: Diocese of Portsmouth - Events |
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Free Global Citizenship Teaching Resources |
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Thoughtbox Education have created a set of teaching resources on topics based on Personal Journeys, Social Journeys, and Earth Journeys, which would be excellent for any schools working towards the Global Neighbours award, or wanting to empower their pupils to become agents of change. The UKS2 resources on refugees link really well to this year’s diocesan project, Bags of Hope, looking at issues such as the labels we give people, media literacy and the power of passports. Other units of work cover topics such as water, habitats, global cultures and developing awe and wonder. The Learning for Life resources can all be downloaded from the Thoughtbox website here. As their literature says, ‘Flourishing is not an add-on, it’s the point.’ |
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Copyright © 2025 Diocese of Winchester, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this message because you are: a Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher, RE Lead, Chair, Foundation or Ex Officio Governor, Children and Youth Worker, or have requested to join our mailing list in the Diocese of Winchester or the Diocese of Portsmouth.
Our resources and further information are available at:
https://winchester.anglican.org/education-schools/resources-for-schools/
https://www.portsmouth.anglican.org/education/resources/ |
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