On Friday, 11 September, we were delighted to visit Elsecar Holy Trinity C.E. Primary Academy for an engaging Local Community (LOC) presentation with pupils in Years 5 and 6.
The event brought together three speakers from Islam, Hindu and Christian backgrounds, offering pupils an opportunity to hear different perspectives, ask questions and explore the importance of faith, community and mutual understanding.
Our Muslim speaker was Camran Munir, a Muslim chaplain and Head Chaplain who has supported communities across Sheffield’s public, health and civic sectors. His work has included serving as the Lord Mayor’s Chaplain, providing pastoral support within healthcare settings and working with correctional facilities.
Our Hindu speaker was Dr Anju Devianee Keetharuth, a Senior Research Fellow and Health Economist at the University of Sheffield’s School of Medicine and Population Health. Her academic and professional work focuses on health economics, quality of life and the evaluation of health and care interventions.
Our Christian speaker was Rev. Steve Chapman, Vicar of Elsecar Holy Trinity and St Andrew’s Hoyland with St Mary’s Worsbrough. He has also served on the school’s Local School Board and brings experience of both education and parish ministry. His role reflects the important connection between church, school and the wider village community.
The presentation was a great success. The pupils participated enthusiastically, asking questions and engaging thoughtfully with the speakers. Their active participation created a warm and meaningful atmosphere for dialogue and learning.
As part of the event, we also shared Noah’s Pudding with the pupils to take home. Sharing food is a simple but powerful way of creating opportunities for interaction, friendship and understanding across different faith and cultural backgrounds. The Dialogue Society’s Noah’s Pudding manual highlights school-based pudding distribution as an effective way of encouraging interaction and dialogue.
We are especially grateful to the three university student volunteers who supported us throughout this project. Their time, energy and commitment made a valuable contribution to the success of the programme.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to Elsecar Holy Trinity C.E Primary Academy, the school staff, pupils, speakers and volunteers for making this such a memorable and meaningful occasion. Partnerships between schools, faith communities, universities and local organisations can create valuable opportunities for young people to learn from one another and strengthen community cohesion. The Dialogue Society’s community dialogue resources emphasise the importance of building such local partnerships.
