Webster Primary School

The National Holocaust Centre

& The Horrors of War

#HorrorsOfWar is a learning theme in Year 6. It has developed from a study of World War Two into a cross-curricular learning experience supported by the National Holocaust Centre, the Anne Frank Trust, Manchester Camerata Chamber Orchestra, artist in education David Hulston and other partners.

The 20th anniversary of the National Holocaust Centre and Museum:

On the 26th July 2016 a group of 39 pupils and 7 staff were privileged to be invited (as one of only 2 schools) to attend and take part in a service of thanksgiving and re-commitment to mark the 20th anniversary of the National Holocaust Centre and Museum.

The children made the following pledge along with the rest of the congregation: 'We pledge ourselves to promote peace in all the world, to live in generous love for all humanity, and to strive for the welfare and the unity of the nations.' Pupils took turns to collect a rose from one of the Holocaust survivors attending the event.

In his sermon during the service, The Very Revd John Hall, the Dean of Westminster said 'We all need to play a part to enrich one another in peace and unity'. Prayers were led by Rabbi Tanya Sakhnovich from the Nottingham Liberal Synagogue, Imam Asif Ali Al-Azhari the Director of Education at the Karimia Institute, Nottingham, Dr James Smiths CBE- Co-Founder of the National Holocaust Centre and Museum and The Reverend Professor Vernon White- Canon in Residence.

Photo credit: Andrew Dunsmore/Westminster Abbey

We are very proud to be one of only 10 partner schools of the National Holocaust Centre and to have developed strong links with them to deepen pupil's understanding of the Holocaust.

All Webster staff took part in a training and development day at the centre in September 2014 and again in 2018 with the goal of incorporating themes from the Holocaust throughout our curriculum from Nursery to Year 6. Examples of these themes being identity, difference, tolerance and respect.

The day ran as follows:

We discussed what qualities we want our children to have when they leave Webster in Year 6 and what we will to support the children to achieve these outcomes. Here are some of our ideas:

All staff visited The Journey, the Museum and the gardens to deepen our thinking.

'The Journey is the first exhibition to be built in the UK, solely for the teaching of the Holocaust to primary-aged children. The Journey tells the story of Leo, a fictional German-Jewish boy living in Berlin during Nazi rule. His story unfolds in a series of rooms, which not only detail Leo’s experience but also that of children who lived during the Holocaust and survived. Their stories are at the heart of the permanent exhibition.' The National Holocaust Centre Website

The Museum has a small but internationally significant collection which has been donated by survivors, their families and people with a personal connection to the Holocaust. The collections focus mainly on objects, books, photographs, documents, ephemera, oral and video testimony relating to the Holocaust. There is a strong emphasis in our collections to telling the stories of people who were affected by the Holocaust and for their experiences to not be lost within statistics. National Holocaust Centre Website

We were privileged to listen to inspirational Holocaust survivor Janine Webber tell the deeply moving and thought provoking story of her life.

Dave Hulston, who has worked on this theme with Webster pupils for several years, shared his thoughts and ideas around the theme of identity as well as exploring children's sense of self and understanding of the world through art.

Below are some photos taken on our staff development day: