Each year children and staff at Pattishall CE Primary School mark ‘Wear A Hat Day’ to raise money for Brain Tumour Awareness, a charity that has a very personal association as a key member of staff lives day to day with a brain tumour.
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Heidi Berry, Emotional Literacy Support Assistant at Pattishall, has been working at the school for 20 years supporting children with their mental health and well-being. Her unwavering positivity and passion for her work means that you would never know that she has been living with a brain tumour for almost 10 years.
This year, the school combined their ‘Wear A Hat Day’ with the annual Easter Bonnet Parade. A few weeks prior to the parade a group of boys approached headteacher, Emma McLean after collective worship, asking if they could sell hand-designed caps on ‘Wear A Hat Day’ to raise additional funds for Brain Tumour Awareness. When asked why they would like to do this they replied ‘Mrs. Berry has helped so many of us through really difficult times, we want to do something to help her’. They produced their own advertising and spent much of their spare time designing a range of caps to sell. In total they raised nearly £250 for charity but above all else, Mrs. Berry was overwhelmed by the gesture and the genuine sentiment behind it.
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An integral part of the primary school’s vision is that they want their children to leave school knowing that they can change the world. As Emma McLean says, ‘We are passionate that every child is about to bloom and that there should be no restrictions placed on their ambition.’ Previous students have donated hair to the Little Princess Trust, written to big businesses about sustainability and most recently two year five students set up ‘The Pombles’ (Pattishall Wombles), and are working with the Parish Council on planning regular little picks around the village.