The situation in Ukraine is very upsetting and concerning for everyone. Some of the children are very aware of what is going on and we have talked about what is happening in Collective Worship with the older children. The key focus was on ensuring that the children are accessing news from platforms that are appropriate to their age and level of understanding. We also talked about what we might be able to do to help, especially as there is a Ukrainian centre in the village.

Last week, we contacted the centre to see what we could do to help as a school. They informed us that they would be taking resources to people rendered homeless by the situation and told us which items would be most use. We shared the list on Thursday and by the end of Friday we had collected the things pictured below. We were truly touched by the generosity shown by our families.

As this situation is likely to continue for some time, we have put a box in reception so that we can continue to collect and to help people forced to leave their homes.

Please see below for advice about how best to discuss this very concerning situation with children.

Supporting your child if they see upsetting content online about what is happening in Ukraine
Childnet
https://www.childnet.com/blog/supporting your child with upsetting content/

We should not hide from children what is happening in Ukraine (Schools Week/Children's
Commissioner)
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/we should not hide from children what is happening in ukraine/

How to talk to children about what’s happening in Ukraine and World War Three anxiety (Metro)
https://metro.co.uk/2022/02/24/how to talk to children about whats happening in ukraine
16163133/

Help for teachers and families to talk to pupils about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and how to help
them avoid misinformation (Department for Education)
https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2022/02/25/help for teachers and families to talk to pupils about
russias invasion of ukraine and how to help them avoid misinformation/