As part of our Personal Development opportunities at Lady Bay Primary School, we are partnered with 3 charities. We work closely with The Guide Dogs, Footprints and The School for Hope in Guatemala. Please see below why they are so important to us and our children:
Our Partner Charities
Footprints is a local charity which transforms the lives of children living with mobility and communication difficulties across the East Midlands. Their focus is to support babies and children to develop the skills they need to thrive and achieve their potential.
Their work is inspired by the principles and practices of Conductive Education, a holistic Education approach developed to help children with disabilities consciously learn the life skills that come more naturally to others. Their work encourages the development of physical, communication, social, sensory, self-help and thinking skills. These include: sitting, standing, touching, listening, looking, eating and playing.
Footprints is really important to us. It supports children who attend our school and we felt that it was really important that we gave them that support back too. This also encourages the children supported by Footprints to have a further sense of belonging at Lady Bay.
Making this link with Footprints has reinforced the importance of Equality and Diversity and reinforces the Protected Characteristic of Disability.
We have had the pleasure of inviting Terry (and his Guide Dog Charlie) into school for over 10 years. Terry delivers termly assemblies to the children about his life living with a disability, how his Guide Dog supports him on a daily basis and most importantly, how to treat people who are blind in society. Terry is a close friend to the school and his work breaking down barriers for our children is much appreciated.
This reinforces to the children about the importance of character and resilience, it promotes equality and diversity and gives them the information they need to be active citizens outside of school.
As part of our Spanish curriculum, we look at where Spanish is spoken around the world and explore different cultures. We felt that partnering with the School of Hope was essential for the children to understand the differences between school life in other countries. This encourages our children to be active citizens, promotes equality and builds their cultural capital.
We send letters to our friends at the School of Hope and invite the team from Education for the Children to speak to the children. We hold a Spanish Cafe every year and the money raised pays to send a child to school every year.
Driven by a commitment to equal opportunities, the Education for the Children Foundation has worked with young people and families from the Jocotenango area in Guatemala since 2003 to access quality education, nutritious food, healthcare and social support. Through a highly individualised holistic approach they strive to empower young people with the skills and confidence to be successful in their chosen careers.
The charity set up The School of Hope (La Esperanza) in 2005, a school which currently teaches 463 students from Prepa at 4 years old through to 9th grade where they graduate ready for high-school or employment at around 14 years old.
Lady Bay School shares the charities vision that every child should have a right to education. Our aim is to help support The School of Hope through fundraising, whilst also giving children at both schools the opportunity to share their cultures, language and learning through virtual meetings, emails and letters.
More information about Education for the Children can be found on their website
In July 2021, we raised over £1000 for the School for Hope through our ‘Guatemala’ day. Musicians from the Birmingham Conservatoire led a Marimba extravaganza for each year group. The children also had a wonderful time singing along to the Spanish guitar, played by Ricky Martinez from Mas Y Mas. Children also attended workshops led by charity workers from Education for the Children.
Tokyo Challenge
One of biggest acheivements in raising money for Footprints, was when staff and children raised an incredible £3650 for Footprints by walking and running 7665 miles in 4 weeks. Our aim was to reach Tokyo, but we completely smashed that target.
It was lovely to welcome some of the Footprints staff who thanked the children in assembly and presented certificates. Our children also heard how the money would be used to support children and their families.
You will no doubt be aware that Terry has been visiting the school for over 10 years and when he is in, he talks to the children about the protected characteristic of disability. Terry gave the children an update on what he had been doing. He talked to the children about work and what adaptations employers should make when employing someone who is partially sighted or blind. He spoke to the children about some of the companies he had visited and what support he had given them to make their workplaces (including some football stadiums) more blind friendly.
We took part in a blind challenge to raise money for the Guide Dogs. The children were blindfolded and, with the support of their friends, tried to complete a marathon. In total, all the children combined across the school travelled 44,475 metres. We raised £1378 for the Guide Dogs. An amazing effort from everyone at Lady Bay.
We welcomed Holly and Boo from the charity to talk to the children. The children were shown on the world map where Guatemala is and what experiences the children have at their school. They told the children how the money we raise supports children in Guatemala. Every year, we have our Spanish Day and all profits from the day go to the School for Hope.
What a fantastic day! Thank you to all the children and staff who wore bright colours today. It was such a lovely day. Some of the Spanish art work today has been incredible. The children all visited the Spanish Café in the afternoon. They all put their Spanish skills to the test when ordering something from the café. The year 6 children were all brilliant and it gave them an opportunity to practice their conversation skills. We were also treated to a lovely after school session with the Spanish guitarist and the cocktail bar. It was a lovely way to end a fantastic week. Thank you to all those who donated money so the children could buy something at the café and for those who bought drinks at the cocktail bar. We raised £1064 for he School of Hope.
