Sahbi Benzid - Ambassador
We thought you might like to take a peek behind the curtain at the Foundation to see who is working to make Education for All children everywhere a reality at the moment.
Our team members have each written a short blog to introduce themselves and give you an insight into the experience they bring to the Foundation. The first one is one of our ambassadors Sahbi Benzid.
Sahbi Benzid - Ambassador
I was born and raised just outside Liverpool but have spent most of my life in a town in Essex. My family background is North African, from a small beautiful country called Tunisia. I regularly visit there to see family and friends.
I have been teaching for over 13 years and I am currently the Deputy Headteacher in a secondary school. I have really enjoyed my journey to where I am now, the key advice I would provide any aspiring educator is to try to learn from your mistakes because we all make them. I still do, but less often, I hope!
I decided to become a teacher because I have a passion about sharing the knowledge of my subject and helping to mould the moral fibre of future generations of this country. Education has given me so many opportunities and I love giving something back to children, especially the less fortunate in our society.
My subject is all things Computing; from coding to developing apps to using graphics software to creating a logo. I especially enjoy the enrichment side of education. I believe outside of the classroom learning provides opportunities beyond the standard National Curriculum.
The proudest moment so far in my years in education has been running a Robotics Club. The students that attended the club achieved so much, from being National Robotics Champions to representing the UK in the World Championships. Those memories will be with me for the rest of my life.
For the future of education, I would like to see less exams, less assessing and more emphasis on developing the person rather than aiming for the best grades and the turning of schools into exam factories! Maybe it is just a wish, but there are many examples of this happening in education systems across the world.
I will leave you with a picture of what I am doing during the Covid-19 lockdown and I hope you’re able to do the same, and that is enjoy more family time. Me reading a Julia Donaldson classic to my little girl Mira.
Steve Sinnott Foundation • July 13, 2020
This week while out and about in Hertfordshire and we visited the British Schools Museum. We discovered the first school opened by Joseph Lancaster, was known as the ‘Poor Childs Friend”, was in 1810. It was his lifelong mission that all children regardless of their circumstances, should benefit from an education. Apparently, Joseph heard a small girl say, “Oh that I could read!” and this inspired him to create a simple education system that eventually would benefit children across the world. Joseph was the tenth son of a poor man himself from South London. His aim was to offer free education for everyone. However, it would be 93 years before the U.K. government finally made education free for all. There are still many countries today where education is still not free to access and it is certainly not compulsory for primary and secondary age pupils. Joseph’s mission really resonates with that of the Foundation, to support access to education for all. We enjoyed our visit and appreciated the tour given by two of the Museum’s volunteers, Angela and Clare. They described some of the challenges faced in the early years of formal education and shared some of the rules that teachers and students had to abide by with us.
Sparks Bristol is a collaborative community project initially envisioned by The Global Goals Centre, (GGC) more of which below. A few years ago, GGC took over an empty Marks and Spencer store and that’s how Sparks was born. Sparks is a department store with a difference, co-created by Global Goals Centre and Artspace Lifespace. On the ground floor is a huge range of shops, installations, events and more. Upstairs is a hub for local artists, it offers affordable studios as well as rehearsal and performance space. The Global Goals Centre is a Bristol-based educational charity inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals. (SDGs). GGC believe the SDG’s or Global Goals as they are sometimes known, can be reached, with imaginative solutions and widespread education and engagement. They work with partners to promote creative solutions and deliver ground breaking projects that work towards these ambitious goals. The Steve Sinnott Foundation supported the Global Goals Centre with seed funding when it first started over 5 years ago. This month we went to visit them to see how they are getting on and we were taken aback by the volume of work they have achieved since they started. It is amazing to see how though working together with other local community groups it has grown into the vibrant centre it is today. All of the creative projects they host are linked to the SDGs. They cover topics that tackle poverty, education, climate change, fashion recycling and upcycling, to name a few.
Spring is definitely here, daffodils, blossom and crocuses are all basking in the bright sunshine. There is still a chill in the air in the shade but it's happening and all the seeds that were sown over the last few months are coming to fruition. At the Foundation, we have been planning the year ahead and our Positive Periods and Prevention of Gender Based Violence programmes got underway this weekend in Haiti and Ghana. These projects will have a long-lasting effect on the lives of the women and girls who take part: tackling the root causes of gender-based violence and enabling girls to attend school every day when they have their period, to feel safe at school and know how to take action when they are faced with violence. These are the first of many projects planned for the year ahead as we continue to work towards Education for All children everywhere.
