Lord-Lieutenant of Derbyshire presents Zaytouna Primary's children with their Junior Dukes awards

Proud staff, children and their families at Zaytouna Primary School were thrilled to welcome a very special visitor to their school this week as part of their Junior Dukes award celebrations. The Lord-Lieutenant of Derbyshire, Mrs Elizabeth Fothergill CBE, spent a morning listening to the children’s endeavours and achievements before presenting them with their certificates and medals in front of an enthusiastic school community audience.

Supported by devoted staff at Zaytouna, pupils from year one and two have been working towards their Mini Dukes award and pupils from year three to six have been working towards their Junior Dukes award. Both awards involved the children completing a range of age-appropriate challenges that encourage independence, confidence, resilience, and self-motivation.

Inspired by a primary school teacher who had always loved to earn badges through Brownies and Guides and completing challenges such as the Duke of Edinburgh, a suite of challenges and rewards was formulated to instigate a love of learning and independence and a sense of achievement.

Zaytouna children are bright, kind, curious and courageous and always ready for a challenge. Having already achieved so much, which is endorsed in their recent Ofsted report and their accolades for sport and community-led initiatives, the Mini and Junior Dukes award programme has played an important part of the school’s commitment to enrichment.

Headteacher, Mr Aaron Bird explains; “As an inclusive school that is constantly seeking ways to improve, we are always looking at different ways to stimulate and encourage our children’s love of learning, both academically and holistically. Enrichment is an extremely important part of our school life here at Zaytouna.

“It’s making sure that our children know that there are opportunities out there for them. The world is theirs and there for the taking. We help give them the skills and provide the opportunities to help them build the confidence and curiosity to live their best lives.

“Mini and Junior Dukes is a scheme designed to develop their skills outside of the classroom. The list of challenges include First Aid application, dressing themselves appropriately, making a delicious and nutritious sandwich, tying shoelaces competently, climbing a hill whilst carrying a rucksack and the all-important making a good cup of tea, safely.”

Early Years teacher and award facilitator Mrs Lisa Kilpatrick has led the Junior Duke programme this term for both age groups. She explained her role; “our children are always eager to participate in extracurricular activities so my job was to make sure they understood the significance of each challenge and demonstrate each one in a practical session at school that they could then practice along with their friends in the classroom and then safely at home.

“It has been wonderful to see how much the children have grown in confidence. A shy year six pupil shared that his favourite thing about completing Junior Dukes was “meeting new people at school”. One delighted parent shared how her daughter now makes the tea and they sit together over the brew and catch up on their news. She said she hadn’t realised just how capable and grown up her daughter had become.

“All of our families thoroughly enjoyed the two-hour family walk challenge, especially the part where the children got to pack and carry the rucksack. Some enjoyed visiting areas of outstanding beauty that they would not have ordinarily explored - and they now plan to revisit. We are overjoyed that these awards have had a significant impact for all involved.”

As a school that is proud to serve its community, Zaytouna staff and children love to welcome visitors. Meeting the Lord-Lieutenant today was not only an honour for them all but also a memorable milestone in terms of their enrichment. As Mr Bird continued; “We are so grateful to the Lord-Lieutenant for the time she spent engaging with the children and their families and our staff. The children were able to ask questions about her role as the representative of the King and the Monarchy, which has fuelled their curiosity to learn more about the structures and systems within the United Kingdom. We encourage our children to be community citizens and it was wonderful for them to see this aspect of royal service, and most importantly for their achievements to be recognised and praised by someone who represents the King.

The Lord-Lieutenant explained the history behind her role and what it involves in terms of her daily duties including the organisation of royal visits across Derbyshire and presenting Service medals on behalf of the King, and supporting the Armed Forces. She explained that she also had a duty to Law and Order through the magistrate’s system. She was delighted to comment on her visit to Zaytouna and the children’s achievements: “I received such a warm welcome from everyone at the school today. It has been a wonderful morning and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed listening to the children’s endeavours as they worked through their challenges. I am highly impressed by their commitment to this and many other aspects of their education. I was equally impressed to hear about the school’s ethos and how this is applied across the entire school community in such an engaging way. I’m very keen to promote that we are one country and that His Majesty the King is interested in everything that goes on, particularly in faith-based communities. It is wonderful to see how Zaytouna Primary School is bringing a community together.”