Weekly Newsletter

23rd of September 2026

Something to reflect on....

Dear colleagues

As we approach Black History Month there’ll be lots of resources and TV programmes that I hope you find interesting, challenging, insightful and inspirational. I’m grateful to Malorie Blackman for a poem that is deep and positive.

The Skin I’m In

Check out this skin

The skin I’m in,

It flecks of gold

Its many hues.

Check out the skin

This skin I’m in,

It’s dark and rich

So old, it’s news

For every scar,

For each new fear,

I take my hopes

And hold them near.

Clear.

Dear.

For every lash

For each hard frown,

I may stumble

But never stay down

Check out the skin

The skin I’m in,

Within it there’s nothing

I can’t do.

Check out this skin

This skin I’m in,

It’s made of stars,

Dreams old and new.

For every slight

For each fresh scorn

A child in this beloved skin

Is born.

For every shock

For each ignore,

I grow stronger

Than before.

So in this skin

The skin I’m in,

I may lose

But you won’t win.

There is one thing

I know for sure,

I couldn’t love my skin

Any more.

Check out the luscious,

Beautiful,

Wonderful,

Amazing,

Gorgeous,

Skin I own.

It brings me Joy,

Life,

Heart,

and Home.

Thank you for your commitment and care for the communities where you serve and for the you that’s you, in the skin you’re in.

Jeff

Jeff Williams

Director of Education

Book Recommendation: Bright Stars of Black British History by J.T. Williams

Fourteen individuals from The Arts, Sport, Politics, Medicine and more are featured, with examples from The Tudors, Elizabethans to Georgians, Victorians and modern periods. Each section is introduced with an overview and context of the period being featured. The people are inspirational, courageous, resilient, talented and have all left a lasting mark on our collective history.

Book recommendation : Joyful Joyful

The title captures the content of this wonderful book! 43 gifted writers offer poems, stories, poems and much more. They remind us that from around the world the power of joy, love, community and kindness are all powerful and important. This anthology hums with hope and virtually whistles words that will make you smile. The foreword suggests that the reader should “think of it as a portable flash mob of happiness, as page by page, your heart lifts and you are joyful, joyful too”

Walk along Bournemouth Seafront with Jeff, the Team and Bishop Geoff Sat 26th Sept 10am

We sent a ‘Save the Date’ back in July and wanted to remind you that you are invited and most welcome to join us on 26th Sept. You’ll have seen that in the 2026/27 Project overview I mentioned some walks that I’m organising throughout the year. If you haven’t read the 2-side summary of the project, you can find it here.

The launch walk will be an easy starter – it’s fully accessible and flat. We will start at Hengistbury Head carpark and walk to Bournemouth Pier at 10am on Saturday 26th September. This is just under 5 miles – so it offers a full 10 mile walk for those interested in walking ‘there-and-back’, or key stops along the way where people can turn around to make the walk shorter / to suit their needs. There are toilets and cafes en route. It’s a great way to have good conversation, meet people and share ideas.

This will be for adults (and dogs!) – who can clearly bring their own children; but it’s not an invite for schools to bring classes of children, where there’d be a need for a higher level of supervision and risk assessments. It will though offer those who come the option of trying it then organising their own visit with a class/es if inspired. I’m delighted that Bishop Geoff will be joining us for this walk.

There will be a range of other walks throughout the year, including countryside / urban / hill and at least one part of the St James Camino, ending at St Swithun’s Shrine at our Cathedral. These walks will therefore cover different terrain, different levels of ability and different distances, so I hope you are able to join us at one or all of them.

Black History Month

October is Black History Month, and this year’s theme is ‘Honouring our Communities.’ This is a selection of the many resources available to help you celebrate Black history in your school. Ideally this is something you will be working on throughout the school year, not just for one month!

Penguin Lit in Colour

This website is full of resources to help schools teach books written by people of colour, from My Skin, Your Skin to John Agard’s poetry book Laughter is an Egg and City of Stolen Magic, a fantasy novel set in India during the Raj.

Literary Resources

CLPE has downloadable teaching packs on books by Black writers such as We’re Going to Find the Monster and Nikhil and Jay save the Day. They also have a Black History booklist, a Windrush booklist and a John Agard / Grace Nicholls Caribbean booklist.

The Sanctuary Foundation

To celebrate Black History Month, The Sanctuary Foundation is running free Collective worships for primary and secondary schools on 7th October, and a webinar for teachers on 29th September, on how to go beyond Black History Month to embed an anti-racist culture in your school.

Diocesan Resources

Winchester Diocese and Portsmouth Diocese websites contain a range of materials to help you focus on racial justice in your schools and churches. These include Diocesan projects such as All are Welcome, which contains class reflections, RE and art activities based on books by GMH Authors.

British Icons Project

Norwich Diocese has created a resource for schools to help pupils explore the lives of famous Black British figures from the worlds of science, sport, entertainment and politics. The materials include detailed lesson plans on topics such as the Windrush and the Notting Hill Carnival.

The Trinity Collective Worship

St Albans Diocese has created a school CW resource exploring representations of the Trinity in different cultures, and the idea that we are all made in the image of God, whatever our race or culture.

The Difference Course

Many schools across the two dioceses are now using The Difference Course, a six-week programme to help pupils be curious about other people, be present in our relationships with others, and reimagine a world where we celebrate our differences. course was originally designed for churches, but now there are versions available for primary and secondary schools. It is free to run, but you have to register and attend online training to access the resources.

Teachers Experiences

You may be interested in this article by Josiah Isles, about his experience of navigating the UK School system as a Black teacher, or I heard what you said, by Jeffrey Boakye, about being the only Black boy in his schools and later, the only Black teacher.

Winnie the Pooh is a hundred this year!

The Queen, Julia Donaldson and others playing pooh sticks in Ashdown Forest earlier this year.

The first Pooh stories were published on October 14th 1926 and there have been celebrations throughout the year to mark this centenary. From 12th to 17th October, the BBC will be celebrating Winnie the Pooh 100, with readings from the books and a new drama. The diocesan education team has produced a series of reflections, linking quotes from Winnie the Pooh to Christian values. These can be used flexibly, either as the basis of collective worship, a class reflection, prayer space resources, or as posters to display around the school. The teacher notes and resources can all be downloaded from our diocesan websites at:

Winchester - https://winchesterdiocese.org/education-schools/resources-for-schools/guided-reflections/

Portsmouth - https://www.portsmouth.anglican.org/education/resources/collectiveworshipres/

Clergy and parishes may find these useful in using for All Age Worship, children’s groups or circulating to families. They are high-quality and beautifully presented – enjoy; and may they assist in deepening our understanding of our shared Biblical values.

Portsmouth Cathedral – boys & girls opportunities

If you know someone who would like to become a chorister, Portsmouth Cathedral are holding taster sessions on Monday 12th October (boys) and Thursday 15th October (girls) but can arrange other times if needed. If you’d like more details, please contact the Master of Choristers, Dr David Price at music@portsmouthcathedral.org.uk or by registering here Choir - Taster Session Registration

In the last two years, the cathedral choristers experience has included BBC broadcasts, two album recordings and the chance to sing to The King and The Queen for DDay80.

Benedict's Law - live assembly for children and staff

Related to Benedict's Law, join Picture News on Monday 28th September, 2.15-2.45pm for a 30-minute live assembly exploring allergies and how we can help everyone feel safe and included at school.
Clare Bristow, from the Sadie Bristow Foundation will explain what an allergy is, introduce the new allergy-safety requirements known as Benedict’s Law and share simple actions children can take, including listening to others and telling an adult if someone feels unwell. This sensitive, age-appropriate assembly will help pupils understand why allergy awareness matters and how the whole school community can work together to care for and include children with allergies. Suitable for: KS1, KS2 and all school staff. All schools will receive a certificate for all attendees. You can join the session here.

Bishop Philip Grilled by Baaa-bara Sheep

This summer, Bishop Philip met with the Praizin’ Hands Puppet Group and was asked some serious questions by Baaa-bara Sheep, like whether he always wanted to be a bishop, and whether he prefers roller-skates or pogo-sticks! Do share the video with your schools and youth groups!

Core Training Offer

If schools would like to book in any training for this academic year, please contact Sue Bowen sue.bowen@portsmouth.anglican.org or Hannah Inglis hannah.inglis@portsmouth.anglican.org. Many autumn term dates are now booked up, but we still have availability for the spring and summer terms. Our core training offer covers:

Vision and Values Review (full day INSET)
Collective Worship
SIAMS Preparation
Spirituality

Do contact us to discuss your training needs.

Diocesan Project 2026-2027: Camino

We wrote to you in June with a two-page summary of our Project – you can access it here. We will be sharing our Project Booklet just before half-term. Specific details about our Installation will be sent after Christmas, but there’s a brief outline of it here.

The SIAMS Annual Report was published last week. You can access the report here. We were delighted to see a specific reference to Bransgore Primary School and the parish on page 23.There are recommendations for schools and I’d encourage you to discuss these with your senior team, governors and RE Lead. Jane Kelly, Sue Bowen and Hannah Inglis are available to support you and offer any advice and information – do get in touch.

Bags of thanks!!!

Thank you so much for your engagement with the Bags of Hope project and also for your donations of 107 Paddington Soft Toys and 86 Backpacks – which will be distributed to a number of organisations and charities this month, who will give them to displaced children. On their behalf, we thank you – sincerely. We have sorted the luggage labels and will be offering these to churches to use during next year’s Refugee Week to initiate conversations, reflections and for the labels that have prayers on them, to use during worship.You can view our Celebration Booklet which highlights ways that many of our schools used the project in creative ways. Do sit back and enjoy! You can view the booklet here.

Church Year Calendars 2026-27: Collective Worship Resource

Our Church Year Calendars provide key dates and information for Christian festivals, Saints Days and other important days in the Anglican Church Year. The termly calendars are a useful starting point for planning, so please share with your Collective Worship leaders. Calendars for 2026-27 are now available on our Portsmouth and Winchester Education Team websites.

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Our resources and further information are available at:

https://winchesterdiocese.org/education-schools/resources-for-schools/

https://www.portsmouth.anglican.org/education/resources/