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Anti-Prejudice Week: Celebrating Identity and Empowering Upstanders

At St Stephen's, the principles of identity, respect, and inclusion are not confined to a single week; they are woven throughout our curriculum all year long. To ensure every child develops into a confident, kind, and globally aware citizen, we regularly explore themes of difference, empathy, and challenging prejudice in subjects across the school.

This week, we successfully marked Anti-Prejudice Week with special events that provided a powerful, focused opportunity for reflection and growth.

A Special Assembly: Hearing a Story of Pride

We were honoured that one of our own staff members, Ms Allen-Filo, delivered a powerful, personal story during a special assembly. She bravely shared the journey of her childhood as a pupil at St Stephen's, detailing how hurtful words about her hair and skin had made her feel excluded and led her to wish she could change who she was.

The assembly focused on her transformation, sharing how she learned to embrace her natural self. She explained how she stopped trying to change her appearance and how her beautiful natural curls and melanated skin, rich with warmth and beauty, empowered her.

Ms Allen-Filo's core message was one of self-love and confidence: "I stand here proud to be a confident Black woman - proud of my skin, my hair, my culture, and everything that makes me me." This moving story served as a reminder to every child that their differences make our world brighter and encouraged them all to say: "I am special just the way I am."

Developing Upstanders with Stuart Laurence (Coming Soon!)

Reinforcing this ongoing message of self-pride and respect, we are thrilled to welcome Stuart Laurence to run special workshops for our pupils in Years 4, 5, and 6. These sessions will take place after half-term and will give children the practical tools they need to put empathy and respect into action:

• Understanding and Celebrating Identity: The children will explore their own unique identity and develop a strong sense of self-pride, which directly links to our core PSHE objectives.

• The Power of Dialogue: Stuart will guide the children on the importance of asking questions sensitively and answering questions honestly to navigate differences with respect and curiosity.

• Being an Upstander: Crucially, a key focus will be on teaching the children how to be an active upstander - someone who speaks up and acts against prejudice and bullying - when they witness someone trying to undermine the identity of others.

By combining the emotional impact of a personal story with the practical skills that will be taught by Stuart Laurence, we are committed to equipping our pupils to be empathetic, confident, and actively supportive members of our community, strengthening the values we teach every single day.