Our Community

“Education is for improving the life of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it”

Marian Wright Edelman

DVIS Diversity Group

The formation of the Diversity Group at DVIS reflects the schools’ vision for ALL to flourish with God in life, learning and love. The group is in place in order to ensure that diversity within the school community, and that of local and national communities, is recognised, celebrated and promoted. This is an open, informal group which meets at least 3 times per year.

The group is in place to support the school and to feed back any issues, in order to effect positive change and create a more cohesive and representative voice. It is imperative that school reflects the diversity of its community.

Although we recognise that diversity covers a broad range of qualities and aspects of life, at DVIS we recognise the need at times to highlight specific diversities and differences; the school is then better placed to respond to the community and any inclusivity issues that arise or need tackling.

LOVE DVIS days

Every term the school community comes together to show love in action! The aim of the work party is to get together to carry out practical tasks around the school and literally love the school! Jobs might include gardening, painting, fixing, up-cycling, window cleaning, sorting resources, making resources and having fun whilst doing it! It rings a great sense of community, pride and satisfaction with a job done well!

Kings College Hospital Project

Since January 2019 small groups of the Year Two children have been visiting Kings College Hospital every other week to brighten the days of some of the older patients there. The projects was set up between the school and a parent, Dr Ruth Cairns, a Consultant Psychiatrist at KCH. The work has had a great impact on the c,old and young alike. It has inspired the children to think about other roles they might do as they grow up, it has helped them to think of others, developed their questioning skills and allowed them to draw alongside people who they may not normally do so. For the patients ... it has brought smiles to faces and a fair amount of joy!

Cherish

Thanks to the incredible support from parents and the community, teachers over the past eight years have visited Uganda in order to support the teachers and children at Cherish Primary School. Cherish, which was set up in February 2011, was launched to help disadvantaged children in the local community who were not enrolled in school. The school’s selection criteria includes children living with HIV, orphans and vulnerable children living in abject poverty.

Each time the staff who have visited Cherish have spent time supporting teachers in class, building up their strategies for teaching and learning. Other training has included developing ideas for active learning, leadership training, questioning skills, how to sue pupil voice and creating a supportive learning environment.

All this continues to be made possible through the time and funds given by staff as well as generous contributions to our fundraising efforts by parents and friends of Dulwich Village C of E Infants’ School. Thank you!

For a recent update on the latest visit please click here – Helen Poyton's reflections of her time at Cherish Uganda, November 2019.

To find out more about Cherish's work go to: cherishuganda.org

Courageous Advocacy

In support of our vision of ”flourishing with God in life, learning and love“...

“we aim to promote courageous advocacy through our relationships with those around us, through the promotion of opportunities to challenge social injustice and inequality and to support each other, adult and child, to speak out about how we should care for our world, our neighbours and ourselves.In the process of thinking and doing something for others we are standing up for them and drawing others attention to their need. In this process we often find we are changed and hope that it changes the lives of others too.”

We want the children at DVIS to start to develop their understanding of what disadvantage, deprivation and exploitation of the natural world looks like and what's more, ask questions about it, challenge it and try to make a difference in changing it.

When looking at this challenging work we have turned to the bible:
Matthew 22:36-40 Good News Translation (GNT)
36 “Teacher,” he asked, “which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and the most important commandment. 39 The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’ 40 The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

As a result we have developed plan for the year that reflects this passage: