Over the summer we saw some horrendous acts of violence and riots across the country which deeply troubled the Lincoln Diocese Board of Education. Our aim, along with all our schools is to provide an inclusive environment where all are welcomed, loved and given the opportunity to flourish. Our vision states we want to see the flourishing of all, that we aspire to strengthen our communities and we want to empower all in our Church School family to love one another other with humility, justice and kindness all rooted in Christian love.  At this time, we want to re-emphasise that this vision is for all and we would want to see all communities live by this.  What we have seen in the nation does not represent us, we state there is no room for racism or division, no room for violence or treating people differently because of their race or religion. We know that the Church of England schools in the Diocese of Lincoln will continue, inspired by their own visions to teach inclusivity, love, hope and peace throughout the coming years.

This article by schools week is very helpful ‘After the riots the role of schools in healing our communities’ -  https://schoolsweek.co.uk/after-the-riots-the-role-of-schools-in-healing-our-communities/

The Archbishop of Canterbury wrote an article in the Guardian where he asks the question: ‘How, then, do we begin to find a way forward, to dismantle these divisive and violent forces and instead purpose the path towards peace?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/11/hate-violence-uk-far-right-groups-christian

The CofE Foundation for Educational Leadership has produced some collective worship resources - https://www.cefel.org.uk/CollectiveWorship/

Vast array of resources to support schools to promote equality and to understand and tackle racism - https://www.bameednetwork.com/resources-database/ 

Some further resources - 

• There will be an online worship from the team on the 19^th Sept (as we did last year, introducing the new vision) based around the LDBE vision.  The focus will be C.A.R.E and will look at how we care for all. There will be separate secondary and primary worships - more details to follow
• Shortly we will send a Collective Worship from Picture News, while this is for primary schools the themes can be adapted
• Picture News are holding their Back to School Live Assembly … Celebrating Our Differences and Overcoming Adversity.  You can register here https://picture-news-online.co.uk/event-registration-form/?event_name=Celebrating%20our%20Differences%20and%20Overcoming%20Adversity%20-%20Sept%202024&var_id=139 (this is for primary schools
• Linked to our vision we have some Collective Worship that you may find helpful.  There are ones for secondary and primary. We would recommend the worship on Empowered for primary and secondary respectively. However, the whole series of Collective Worship will be applicable https://www.lincolndiocesaneducation.com/page/?title=Vision+Collective+Worship&pid=168
• In February as part of racial justice Sunday we created a recorded collective worship to use in schools. You can access the primary one here https://youtu.be/irjruzuBbPc and the secondary here https://youtu.be/Y0_JIYOeLGo
• A collective worship from a community group called Headteacher chat which talks about Healing and Hope. https://headteacherchat.com/resources/assembly-healing-hope-after-the-riots
• There are some prayers on the Lincoln Diocese Website https://www.lincoln.anglican.org/news/prayers-at-a-time-of-national-unrest/
• Prayers from the Church of England’s Racial Justice Unit  https://difference.rln.global/app/uploads/2024/08/Prayers-for-Peace-during-Civil-Unrest-and-Racial-Tension.pdf
• Churches Together Statement https://cte.org.uk/cte-presidents-statement-on-violent-disorder/
• Social story to explain the violent riots in the the UK – leaders and teachers will need to decide on a case-by-case basis whether it is appropriate to use with individual pupils - Easy News: Violent riots in the UK - United Response