Mr Rayer's Words Summer 7
Welcome back to the second half of the Summer term (even with the rain on Tuesday) as always we have had a busy week.
Following the exams the boys have returned to a full academic timetable that will run until activity week. Please help us by ensuring they are organised and ready to work.
It was good to see that the Year 10 boys were active over half term working towards their Duke of Edinburgh awards. Well done to all the competitors who competed at the ISA London West Athletics meeting, a long day with scores of good results.
A big thank you to the Year 7 boys who were guides for the Open day last Tuesday, all our visitors were impressed by your confident and polite manner.
It has also been a time when as a school we have reflected upon and reacted to the terrorist attacks that the country has been subjected to in Manchester and London. We have joined with millions across the country in observing a minute silence to remember those that have died or have been seriously injured. To support those very public demonstrations of remembrance and respect we have taken time, in assemblies, tutor groups and classes, to reassure and to explain. We have used the advice given by the NSPCC and the PSHE Association to guide us in how to manage those discussions and given that sadly we have now had to do this on two occasions I thought it would be useful for us to share those guidelines with you. Tutors and teachers were asked to:
- clarify the facts: what has happened? What is happening now? How do we know?
- recognise that terrorist attacks can result in a range of strong feelings, from curiosity and excitement to personal anxiety and fears
- listen carefully to any fears and worries and offer reassurance and comfort, avoid complicated explanations that may leave children feeling frightened or confused
- allow children to talk about their feelings and encourage questions and answer them honestly
- remind them that such things are in actuality rare and that we live in a safe and well protected society
- help children separate the facts from speculation and rumour. Ask them whether the facts could support different interpretations
- discuss that the aftermath of such events can bring out positive and negative responses in human beings and that we should enhance the first and challenge the second
- ensure that children should not be placed in a position of defending their community or faith and that there is a danger of ‘generalising’ the actions of a few to a larger group or community
- children should understand that the number of people supporting a rumour does not affect the likelihood of its being true
Obviously this advice and guidance was adapted as appropriate to the age of the children that the tutor or teacher was working with.
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