Peace begins here: lessons from the classroom

Jade-Simone Bacon, Headteacher at St Michael’s CE Primary School in Enfield, London, shares how her pupils are learning to act now for a more peaceful world.

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
(Micah 6:8, NIV)

At St Michael’s School, our vision is to be “Forces for Positive Change” in all aspects of our school life. Every day, in classrooms, corridors, and playgrounds, this vision calls us to act justly, to show merciful love, and to walk humbly with God. This is more than an inspiring verse – it’s the heartbeat of our school. It shapes the way we treat each other, how we respond to conflict, and how we celebrate the differences that make our community stronger.

The International Day of Peace theme this year, Act Now for a Peaceful World, feels especially relevant. For us, peace must start here, in the way we live together at school, because children who practise peace daily will carry it into the wider world.

Pupils as peacemakers

Peace-making at St Michael’s doesn’t just happen in lessons. It happens in the playground, in the lunch queue, and in the classroom when opinions differ.

Recently, I overheard a pupil respond to a disagreement by saying: “I understand why you might feel that way, but I feel like this…”

It’s a simple sentence, but it shows something powerful: our children are learning that it’s possible to disagree and still respect one another. They’ve been given language and tools to navigate differences – not by avoiding them, but by engaging with empathy and kindness.

We’ve also seen them grow in understanding the difference between sympathy and empathy. Sympathy offers comfort; empathy steps into someone’s shoes. Both are needed to build genuine reconciliation.

And sometimes peace-making is as simple as noticing someone on their own and saying, “Come and join us.”

The Difference course

One of the most transformative steps in our journey has been introducing the Difference course. It reminded us of the deep power stories hold – to open our eyes to perspectives we’ve never considered, to challenge stereotypes, and to bring people together.

Jesus himself was a master storyteller. Through parables like the Lost Sheep, he told of a shepherd who leaves 99 sheep to search for the one that is lost. It’s a story about God’s relentless love, but it also challenges us to see the value in each person – especially those who might be overlooked or excluded. At St Michael’s, peace-making means noticing when someone has been “left out of the flock” and taking steps to bring them back in.

Working on Difference as a whole school has created a shared language across our community. We’ve discovered that children are not only capable of engaging deeply with these ideas, but they are also eager to do so. And we have widened our understanding of diversity – beyond race, gender, or culture – to include neurodiversity and the many ways people experience and process the world.

The three Difference habits – Be Curious, Be Present, Reimagine – are not confined to the programme itself. They live on in collective worship, PSHE, RE, and everyday interactions. They are habits our pupils carry with them into the playground, the dining hall, and their friendships.

Teachers first, then everyone

For pupils to receive these life-affirming lessons, our teachers first had to be equipped and confident to lead them. Reconciliation begins with the example we set, and our collective commitment to keep these conversations alive.

We’ve also begun sharing the Difference approach with a small group of parents, but we know we must go further. Some of the most deep-seated prejudices children encounter don’t come from peers, but from adults in their lives and what they are exposed to online or on television.

If we want to protect our children’s openness and fairness, we need the whole community to join in. Helping parents to Be Curious, Be Present, and Reimagine could transform the conversations at home, and in turn, shape the culture our pupils grow up in.

A call to act now

Peace is not only the absence of conflict – it’s the presence of understanding, love, respect and integrity. At St Michael’s, we see this when children reach across differences, when they listen more than they speak, and when they choose reconciliation over retaliation.

If we can raise a generation who see difference as a gift, who listen with empathy, and who act with integrity, then we won’t just be building a peaceful school – we’ll be shaping a more peaceful world.

On this International Day of Peace, our challenge to ourselves and to everyone is simple: Act now. Be the person who listens. Be the one who asks questions. Be the one who imagines a better way. And in doing so, let us walk humbly with our God, every step of the way.