As part of their continued work round Unicef Rights Respecting, Grange Academy Special School, which was presented the prestigious Rights Respecting Gold Award last year, has linked with an international school, Rhema International Academy, Sogakope in the Volta Region of Ghana.
Grange families and staff worked together to collect a variety of educational resources, story books, DVDS, stationery and lunch boxes for under privileged pupils in Ghana.
Catherine Assink, head teacher of Grange was very keen to develop Grange pupils’ understanding of different cultures and for pupils at Grange to understand the differences and similarities between two very different cultures.
“Our pupils had a great time exploring and learning about Ghanaian culture. They researched, fund raised and even tried typical Ghanaian food. Our pupils often have little exposure to different cultures, so for them to find about the world and see what life is like across the continents has been excellent.”
“We have worked very hard at understanding how children have rights and we have embedded this in our school’s ethos and values. We want our pupils to be well informed global citizens and to understand their rights and those of others. Linking with a school in Ghana has allowed us to develop this understanding even more.”
“Moving forward I would love to be able to set up an exchange programme for staff to do some teaching in Ghana and visa versa. I have such fantastic staff at Grange and to be able to set up a programme where talented teachers can disseminate outstanding SEND teaching practice would be amazing!”
Pupils were also responsible for making video clips of a typical day in an English school, whilst their friends in Ghana did the same and they were able to compare what their lives are like.
One Grange pupils said that “I was really excited to see what life was like for children in Ghana. I was a little surprised how little toys and resources they had compared to us. I was happy to see that the books and DVDs we sent over would be used to help them learn.”
One of the teachers at Rhema School said: “This happens to be one of the best moments as we received an avalanche of donations from Grange Academy, Kempston, UK. We have been overwhelmed with such kindness that is going to boost the learning environment, processes, and educational culture of our students.
“Thanks to Catherine Assink Headteacher and Grange Academy. As we exist to exchange learning cultures between different learning environments, we are hopeful this is going a long way to impact knowledge, excite students to focus on their education, and add best teaching practices. We are so thankful to GRANGE ACADEMY. Your support is heartfelt.”
