Using their voices to create genuine change

What is the Send My Friend to School campaign?

Hello, we’re Jess and Emma, two of the Send My Friend to School campaign champions, a group of 13- to 15-year-olds across the UK who are campaigning for global education.

Send My Friend to School brings together young people, charities and teachers to demand educational justice for all children across the world. Each year, around 250,000 young people like us come together to take part in their schools.

This year’s Send My Friend to School campaign is called Let My Friends Learn, and we are campaigning for the right of all children to access a quality and inclusive education in emergencies.

Did you know there are 222 million children who have their learning interrupted by emergencies annually? Conflict, climate change, food crises, forced displacement and the aftermath of Covid-19 are all obstructing children’s education. We believe this is unjust and know well that a lack of education can reduce the quality of children’s lives, both now and in the future.

As campaign champions, we attend training sessions, deliver our understanding of the campaign to other schools and organisations, go to local primary schools, and run workshops about the necessities of a quality education, as well as meeting with

MPs to persuade them to take action in our fight for educational equity.

Why should you get involved?

We strongly believe that, as young people, it is important to use our voices to speak up for the education of our friends across the globe. We want others to feel the passion that we do regarding educational equity, and influence others to join the fight for others’ rights.

The schools campaign pack gives students and teachers everything they need to run the project in their classrooms. The campaign pack is free, vivid and accessible for all age groups and abilities. Students learn about the issues and solutions around education in emergencies and will be inspired to use their voices to create genuine change by giving them the tools to democratically influence their MPs.

So, what are you calling for?

As campaign champions, we are calling for the Government to: n PREPARE We are asking the UK Government to invest in preparedness. For example, by looking at trends in data and investing in anticipatory action. Further, the UK Government should ensure that measures are put in place so that we are ready to act quickly when sudden or slow-onset emergencies happen. n PROTECT It is important that every child’s right to education is protected, and this is a question of equity. This means making sure we protect the children who are the most likely to be affected by emergencies. n INVEST We are asking the UK Government to invest in education in emergencies by supporting areas that are most affected, as well as investing in preparedness and higher quality evidence bases. n ACT We need to hold the Government to account to make sure it fulfils its promises and ensures that no child is denied the right to an education because of emergencies. We need our leaders to speak out and support other countries – as they should not have to face these challenges alone. n Find out more at sendmyfriend.org n Download a free campaign pack at act.sendmyfriend.org/campaignpack2023

The threats that children already face will be greater during emergencies, particularly for those who are most marginalised, such as girls or children with disabilities. Protection also means prioritising education, psycho-social support and safeguarding during a humanitarian response.

We are also asking the UK Government to return the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget to 0.7 per cent. This has been reduced to 0.5 per cent, which is not only an infraction of the law, but is morally wrong.

The emotional rollercoaster of reading

IN Deer Class, we talk about books and reading a lot. Actually, pretty much all the time. It basically underpins our whole classroom community and ethos.

Much of it is spontaneous and informal. It might be a child who is desperate to let their peers know about a new book they’re enjoying, a pupil from another class popping in for a recommendation or perhaps just a chat about a favourite graphic novel on the way to the dining hall.

Occasionally, I’ll try and guide it and display some reading-related questions around the classroom for the children to discuss. When we recently we did this, pupils selected four questions from our reading question bank; we have over 60, with new ones being added as we think of them. The questions were: n What is your first memory of reading? n When did a book make you emotional? n Who do you talk to about books you read? n Have you ever been wrong about a book?

These questions led to some fantastic discussion, particularly the first two. Their first reading memories reinforced how important the role of school is in nurturing readers. Lots of them mentioned teachers reading them stories and nursery rhymes in early years, the joy of sharing books with friends and the moment when they moved to being a ‘free reader’ after completing a reading scheme.

Once I’d given examples of when books had made me emotional (which included the ending of Then by Morris Gleitzman, the reunion in The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo and the return of a favourite character in The Outlaw Varjak

Paw by SF Said), my class really opened up and started to talk about the times when a book had impacted on them. Many went for stories we’d read together. What’s that in Dog Years? by Ben Davis was mentioned numerous times, which I’d expected because there had been a river of tears when we finished it.

Another common theme was when a character was being treated unfairly or bullied at school, which are experiences they could empathise with. There were also several examples of positive emotions, of when a book had given someone uncontrollable giggles or when a favourite character had arrived at the last moment to save the day.

There was some interesting debate about whether a book could even be classed as good if it didn’t make you emotional. Some pupils were of the view that occasionally you just needed something fun to read and that not every book had to be filled with traumatic episodes. Some argued that there was no point in reading a book which didn’t make you feel anything. Some thought it depended on how they were feeling that day.

The children were given time to note down their thoughts on sticky notes, display them near the questions (pictured above) and read what each other had written. They then talked in small groups, before we shared our final thoughts as a class and chose the next set of questions. They want to theme the next discussion around reading outside school, which will be fascinating. It’s obviously the area that schools can ultimately influence the least, but knowing about their reading lives at home can significantly impact on our practice.

Time is always the limiting factor but book talk, both spontaneous and planned, is so important. The benefits are huge: it increases their knowledge of books, it allows them a chance to reflect upon their reading identities, it helps them articulate their thoughts and it creates a safe classroom environment where differing opinions are always welcomed. Once book talk becomes part of the classroom ethos, it is almost an expectation from the children. @jonnybid

Know any good educational websites and apps?

Let us know if you’d like to review them –email us at educate@neu.org.uk