New disability awareness resource for schools

A new disability awareness resource, supported by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, has just been launched for Catholic secondary schools. Images of Perfection is a scheme of work for 11-14 year olds that uses the medium of art to get young people to reflect upon disability. It encourages pupils to see our equality in the eyes of God and builds upon the existing good work being done in the area of disability awareness within schools.

Images of Perfection received funding from the Bishops' annual Day for Life collection, most particularly from the 2006 Day which celebrated the life and presence of people with disabilities within the Church and in society today. It is the fruit of a partnership between Day for Life, the Christian Education Centre in Southwark, The John Fisher School, Purley and the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales.

The bishop for Day for Life, the Right Reverend Bernard Longley, has endorsed the project: "I am happy to introduce this exciting and innovative resource which aims to raise disability awareness in school, home and parish. This initiative has been born out of a desire by the Church to promote a culture of inclusion and equality for all people, no matter what their ability may be. It is hoped that this pack will provide schools with a wonderful opportunity to question, reflect and come to a new understanding of the valuable contribution that people with disabilities make to the world."

In his letter to Catholic secondary schools, the bishop asks headteachers to: "give serious consideration to adopting this project at Key Stage 3. I, therefore, encourage you to publicise this resource to your colleagues in Art and Religious Education, to the governor responsible for inclusion and SEN and to ask your SENCO to be involved in its implementation and to help share outcomes with the whole school. I would also suggest that Images of Perfection offers a wonderful opportunity to extend links between school and parishes where, for instance, artwork and presentations could be displayed."