The Friendship Circle offers workshops at Jewish Primary schools across Manchester, boosting the community’s inclusivity and compassion.
One child’s experience at her seventh birthday party led to the creation of a unique disability awareness programme in five local Jewish primary schools, run by Manchester charity the Friendship Circle. Its inspiring sessions have a lasting positive impact both on its members and the children they meet, helping to break down the barriers of difference and, according to King David Primary School’s Head of Jewish Studies Rayna Glickman, helping to “nurture and build future generations of kinder, more caring people who are inclusive of everyone.”
One of the proudest moments in Rayna’s 30-year teaching career came in July of this year following the school’s inspection by Pikuach – the statutory equivalent of OFSTED, accredited by the Department for Education to appraise religious education at Jewish schools in the UK. The results were a resounding success, outstanding across all categories.
As part of this achievement, the report referred to the school’s ongoing relationship with the Friendship Circle. Within the highly complementary conclusions was its observation of pupils’ unambiguous pride in their Judaism and “memorable Jewish experiences” afforded by the school. A randomly selected Year 4 pupil quoted in the report told inspectors: “My best moments are lessons with the Friendship Circle… I never knew what people could do with disabilities… I felt that they can do whatever they want.”
According to Rayna and picked up by the report’s authors: “Such experiences reinforce and bring into practice the school’s value of VeAhavata Leraiacha Kamocha – Love the Neighbour as Yourself. To teach children this value you cannot just say it, you have to show them in practical ways. They need to live it, and we as educators must give them opportunities to see it in practice. We make this possible through the school’s ongoing relationship with the Friendship Circle.”
This close association originated with the experience of a little girl, now a 14-year-old pupil of King David High School. Alongside her siblings, Chanale, daughter of the Friendship Circle’s Programme Director, Esty Bruck, grew up with many of its members as her friends, none more so than Hannah Levy – an outgoing, loving young woman with a huge sunny personality who is non-verbal and has Down’s Syndrome. When it came to her seventh birthday party, Chanale naturally included her.
But Chanale’s school friends struggled to know how to relate to Hannah. There was evident discomfort, and later she announced: “Mummy, I think we need to take our members to schools so that the children have a chance to get to know them.” At that tender age, she grasped the challenge of social inclusion faced by many people with disabilities. Esty contacted Chanale’s teacher offering to bring members to meet her daughter’s classmates. Her offer accepted; she devised three sessions which to this day form the basis of the Friendship Circle’s ‘Schools Education Programme.’ She recalls those first visits: “It was amazing – our members loved it, and the children were wonderful.”
Having expanded it to other Jewish schools, the programme is offered to all Year 4 pupils aged eight to nine.
“In the first session, we discuss the types of disability people may have – whether physical or developmental – and what they might struggle with as a result. We look at what can be done to make things accessible for them.
“In session two I bring along a small group of members to meet the children who prepare questions such as: ‘Has anyone ever made fun of you because of your disability?’, ‘Do you struggle to make friends?’, or
‘Were you born with your disability?’ Our members love it. One of them, Michaela, describes it as her ‘favourite thing to do.’
“Session three is usually a joint art activity when members and pupils chat while creating a wall display. In the final session, they reflect on their learning and the importance of friendship.”
And perhaps we should let the last word come from two of the children who benefited from this year’s programme at King David. Ariella commented that she learned that “disabled people can have so much fun and do so much like us, such as going to stadiums and going on trips to places” while Jessica said the sessions taught her “that it is very important to appreciate our differences.”
Thanks to the wisdom and insight of one remarkable seven-year-old there is much to be hopeful for in our community.
Friendshipcircle.co.uk