Two weeks ago, the whole of Fairlands took part in a collaborative afternoon of art and games, to promote our message of No Outsiders. Each year group were given a large piece of hessian fabric to decorate with pictures and an allocated word. All children across the school had the opportunity to put their mark on the piece of artwork as part of our lovely, inclusive Fairlands community. 

Last week, Fairlands had a visit from a representative from WheelPower - a charity which provides opportunities for disabled people to get into sport and lead active lives. Chris Rattenbury, a former powerlifter who has represented Britain at a number of international events throughout his career, came and spoke to the children in assemblies about a range of wheelchair sports and about his experiences particiating in paralympic events and wheelchair sports. The children asked lots of interesting questions and really enjoyed the stories told by Chris.

This week we were visited by Gemma and Max Keir from The Abilities in Me charity foundation. Gemma is a local author who writes picture books to help children understand theirs and others' differences, conditions and diagnoses. Gemma and Max delivered two workshop assemblies to all the upper site children which discussed ability vs disability, and talked about acceptance, understanding and kindness as being at the core of inclusivity. The children got to see some of the books, hear a story and ask the author some questions. It was a fantastic visit and helped us to see that we are all superheroes each with our own super abilities!

If you would like to find out more about them, head over to their website www.theabilitiesinme.com

Before the Easter break, we held our first Parent Forum to discuss equality, diversity and inclusion at Fairlands, with a particular focus on views about racial equity and racism.  It was a heartfelt and open discussion that raised many points to be considered.  Thank you to the parents who were able to attend and share their views.  Everything that was discussed has gone towards the actions that we are now taking to support our whole school community in this area.

We are not stopping there, though.  We would like to give everyone the chance to share their views and so we have planned further sessions where we would like to invite you to come and discuss equality at Fairlands.  The details have already been sent out, but here is a reminder of the invite to attend:

All the sessions will be with Mrs Herron and Miss Brooker, and will take place in the upper hall at 2pm.

The original letter that was sent, containing further details and infornation,  is also attached to this blog.

We look forward to seeing you at one of the discussion sessions.