Today, Wednesday 9 July 2025, thousands of people from across the UK are gathering at Westminster to urge MPs to show leadership that protects our health, our natural world, our communities, our climate, and our future. Closer to home, pupils at Cawston CofE Primary Academy are stepping up as advocates for climate and nature — raising their voices to express what they care about and what they hope for the future of our planet.
A new short film, Voices for Creation: church and school together, highlights the strong partnership between the school, the local church, and the Norwich Diocesan Board of Education (NDBE), which is helping ensure these children’s voices are heard — and that their concerns lead to real action.
Chris Allen, RE & Christian Distinctiveness Lead for the Diocese of Norwich, explains: “We’re shifting children into leadership roles. Instead of bringing adult-led initiatives into the children’s world, we’re giving children the space to lead us — changing the dynamic of how we work across the Diocese.”
Examples of best practice and practical projects, such as fundraising for water butts, will be shared regularly through meetings with the NDBE. “The children will be meeting with our DBE representatives at both committee and board level,” Chris continues. “They’ll have around half an hour on each agenda to share their experiences and propose actions, which the adults will then take forward across schools in our Diocese.”
Revd Andrew Whitehead — local vicar, school governor, and NDBE member — adds: “One of our roles as a church community, in partnership with the school, is to empower children to understand they can make a real impact. It’s not just about small actions — it’s also about pushing for the bigger policy changes that need to happen. Many young people feel a growing sense of climate anxiety. To them, the problem is obvious, yet not enough seems to be happening at the highest levels.”
As one pupil put it, while describing their work building a bug hotel in the churchyard: “If we don’t have any bugs, we won’t have any birds.”
Another pupil shared their vision for the future: “I’d like it to be that when we go on walks or bike rides, we can simply enjoy the wildlife — with no rubbish on the ground — just take it all in and enjoy our day.”
Revd Whitehead says: “My hope is that the Church can be a place that gives voice to that hope — and offers a safe space where children can express both their dreams and their anxieties.”
Head of School and Sustainability lead at Cawston Primary, Sharon Brett concludes, “These are my future leaders, politicians and world changers!”
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