Bristol Climate Strike – 24th September 2021
Dear Parents/Carers,
As you may be aware, there is another planned climate strike on the morning of 24th September, this coming Friday. I wanted to reiterate to you our Academy’s position on the climate strikes and to offer you some of the insights afforded to me as Principal, in order that you can make decisions with your child that prioritise their safety and well-being, should you wish for them to be involved. As with previous events:
- Any student wishing to attend a climate strike (or any other action/event out of school) should have written consent from a parent/carer to do so.
- The Academy will choose to allow students to leave with this permission, but will not count this as attendance at school (i.e. students will have this as an absence). It is important for students to learn that such action does come at a cost – in this case missing out on learning and perhaps on rewards associated with attendance – and that as such they, and their families, must consider this to be a serious and significant issue.
It is important to note that for schools to authorise an absence for a child to attend the event would require schools to take a level of responsibility for student safety at such an event that is beyond their capability, given the nature of a protest event. Hence absence will not be authorised. For parents/carers, who take responsibility for their child’s safety during an unauthorised absence, the following questions may aid preparation:
Questions for Parents/Carers to consider:
- Is your child mature and responsible enough to manage attendance at the event, including a range of possible unforeseen circumstances? How might you help them to understand the potential risks and opportunities through thorough discussion in advance of the event?
- How will your child make decisions on the day about who to trust and whose advice to take?
- How will your child remain in contact with you and with others? What is the back up plan should this communication method fail? In the advent of a loss of technology, does your child have a sound and safe plan?
- How will your child travel to and from the event? Do they know how to manage in the event that the travel infrastructure fails or changes? Do they and you have a back up plan?
- How will your child engage with social media? Are they able to ensure they are safe online as well as in person?
- Will you or another responsible adult accompany your child in order to facilitate their safe navigation of the event?
As an academy, we are of course mindful of the current climate change debate and that it is mostly a live and healthy topic of conversation amongst our student body. We would therefore encourage all families to promote positive discussion and debate. We will continue also to adopt locally-led appropriate initiatives (assemblies, projects, group activities, etc) which ensure that pupils are aware of the international focus on this agenda and help to inform and educate our pupils on climate change and the environment.
Please be assured that our first priority for your child is that they remain safe – it is in this spirit that I have chosen to share with you the two communications below, and to offer some thinking and discussion points for you and your child ahead of Friday, in order to support your decision making.
Yours sincerely
Mr S O’Callaghan | Academy Principal
