5-11 | Schools

In this section:

Consider creating space where school can meet with members of the church to explore some of the big questions in their minds.Space to reflect on the challenges of life as well as celebrate the good can help begin to make sense of our faith journey.

Consider ways in which your church can build trust with its local schools for the schools to begin to experience the love of Christ from the whole church community.

Historically, it has been seen as the role of the vicar or employed worker to visit the school and lead Collective Worship or lead an RE lesson.However, this is changing as church members are being encouraged to connect with the schools in a variety of ways from Open the Book, to Pray.Bake.Read and leading after school clubs.

Schools can be difficult place to connect with as they are often very busy places with full timetables which can make it difficult for churches to know where they can support or serve them.Developing a relationship based on trust can often take many years and can remain fragile and easily broken or damaged.In spite of the challenges that face our churches when approaching their local school, our schools remain the places where children and young people are gathered (albeit some reluctantly!) Monday to Friday.Our schools are also a place where there is a natural gathering of people who care deeply about what happens within their community.So in our churches where we can sometimes find it difficult to attract large groups of people our local school can provide us with opportunities to meet with people within our communities.

Provide time and space for the pupils in schools to explore what their God-given talents are and to think about what they hope and dream for in their futures.

No school in your parish?

There are some parishes where there arent any schools within its boundaries, so connecting with a school isnt as straight forward as those churches that do have a school nearby.

However, perhaps in a less obvious way, there are still schools that will be represented within a congregation. Many congregation members will have family or friends who have relatives who attend a school.It may not be in a churchs immediate community but as part of a wider community.As Christians we believe that God is everywhere and cares about all His people regardless of geographic location.So it doesnt matter whether there is a school within the parish, there will be someone within the community who is connected to someone who is in a school or cares deeply about what happens in the school.Consider; including schools within the intercessions; praying for teaching staff, non-teaching staff and pupils, praying for those in government responsible for setting the education agenda.Prayer is powerful no matter where we are and where those who we pray for are.

If this is your situation God will be guiding you to explore different ways to connect with your children, young people and their families.Consider praying for your community, finding out what God is doing and joining in. (Rowan Williams)

Developing links with your local school

The approach

When approaching a school for the first time or a school which has been difficult to engage with it is important to remember to pray for the school, the staff (teaching and non-teaching), parents/carers as well as the pupils. Each school is a community hub in itself with many people involved to ensure it runs smoothly. Each person represented has their own life journey and challenges. Why not commit as a church to praying intentionally for each person in the school we dont need to know names, God has each name written on the palm of His hand.

It is also important to remember that schools wont necessarily feel that a church has all the answers to their problems they might not even see how church could possibly support them. Other schools may have a very clear direction of travel and know exactly what they do/dont want. Eg some schools would not welcome a Christian Club.The key here is to have an idea of the skills/availability within your congregation, and have some broad ideas. Asking the question How can we support you? is vital as it is open and allows the person approaching the school to know what is exactly needed by the school and if your congregation is able to help out (or if further training is needed).

How to approach

As with our churches schools are very diverse and busy places - there is no one size fits all approach to connecting with a school. For some schools it is very easy to meet with the head teacher, have 20 minutes discussing the best way for the church and school to build a lasting relationship. For others even getting beyond the school secretary to speak to the right person (it may not be the head!) is a challenge within itself. Take some extra time to have conversations with the connections that already exist (Foundation Governor? Parent? Teacher? Teaching Assistant? Dinner Time supervisor?) and find out who the best person is to have that initial conversation. Once you have a key contact person then spend time asking what their preferred way of communication is (email, text, phone call, face to face, formal meeting, frequent 10 minutes at the end of school) this will reduce frustration in the long term as each person has their own preferred way of communicating.

The activity

Finding the best way to connect with your school is vital. Schools have a highly pressured timetable so they need to ensure that each activity that they undertake will be contribute to the learning experience of the pupils. Staff need to make sure that the time will be wisely used as something else is often sacrificed in order for the class to take a trip to the local church. What will they need to be learning when they come into the church? Increasingly its less about labelling pews and fonts and more about learning why Christians might want to gather in church on a Sunday; how do symbols facilitate worship? How does the faith of a Christian impact the decisions that they make? Etc. As a church we need to explore how we can provide the space for schools to explore faith? There is a selection of ways a church might connect with their local school at the end of this section.

Creating teams

Once a connection is established it is of key importance to sustainability and that the connection isnt just dependant on one person. Creating a group of people who care about the school will ensure that the connection is maintained for years to come whether or not the initial people are still around. Important to this is encouraging people to share stories. There is no need to use names but the sharing the occasional funny story and displaying artwork helps to include what takes place in the school community in the Sunday worshipping community -especially when we dont often see families in our churches on a Sunday morning. Sharing this ministry across different members of the congregation actively promotes every member ministry and allows people to explore where God may be calling them and their vocation.

The Church Urban Fund (CUF) has developed a lot of resources on working with and supporting volunteers. For more information visit their website.

Activities and ideas

Primary/First Schools

Open the Book - A simple way to introduce Bible Stories into the life of the schools during assembly time. A group of volunteers re-enact a Bible story and share a thought of the day.
Pray.Bake.Read - Three easy ways to support your local school, through praying regularly and intentionally, baking a cake for the staff and reading 1:1 with the students.
Collective Worship (Assembly) - Many schools welcome members of the church to lead a simple act of worship either to the whole school, Key Stages or in classes. This is an opportunity for some simple bible teaching and Christian Reflection.
Lunchtime/Afterschool Clubs - A great way to connect with the pupils in a fun and interactive way. These clubs allow members of the church to develop more deep and meaningful relationships with the staff and students.
Prayer Spaces in Schools - An increasing number of churches and schools are setting up Prayer Spaces. These are an excellent way of encouraging staff and students to take time to reflect.
Foundation Governor - The Board of Education provide on-going support and training for Foundation Governors which you can link in with via their CECET section on the website.
Chaplaincy

Middle/High/Secondary

Pray.Bake.Read
Collective Worship
Lunchtime/Afterschool Clubs
Prayer Spaces in School
Spirituality/SMSCD Days
Foundation Governor
Chaplaincy

Chaplaincy

Chaplaincy (both Lay and Ordained) is an area of ministry which is developing across Lichfield Diocese and nationally.For people in our churches, Chaplaincy is beginning to become a way in which churches can meet and support schools.Our schools are beginning to identify a need to support students and staff pastorally and spirituallywhich complements the schools existing pastoral care system. Some people within a church congregation who have previously been a Foundation Governor are now beginning to explore what the role of a chaplain might be in their setting.

Below is a link which eloquently describes what chaplaincy is and how it might serve your local school

http://www.chaplaincycentral.co.uk/chaplains/What-is-Chaplaincy/

Below are some key areas to consider as you begin the journey of chaplaincy with a school. For further support and advise email the RNG 5-11s and Schools Enabler rng@lichfield.anglican.org

Areas to consider when exploring chaplaincy with your local school include;

What is chaplaincy?

Or perhaps discussing what it isnt? This is an important part of the discussion as it lays the foundations of expectations. If the chaplain or chaplaincy team is going to created using volunteers it is important to clarify at this point that they are not an employed part of the school but will provide a Christian presence for members of the school community to develop a meaningful relationship with. There are many different models of chaplaincy. During this conversation it is worth considering who the chaplaincy team will be supporting will it be Students? Staff? Students and Staff? Senior Leadership?

Most schools will their own individual Pastoral Care system for the students. one key element here is that chaplaincy does not replace their existing system but complements what structures are already in place. Perhaps discussing how chaplaincy can complement the existing Pastoral Care system of the school would be a useful conversation.

The title of 'Chaplain' might also create some interesting conversations. Each school is different and one school might be perfectly happy to have the title of Chaplain, however, this might not be the case for everyone. By having this conversation it creates an opportunity to think of other titles that the group might be more willing to use.

Who will be the chaplains?

This is an important aspect to consider during the early conversations of chaplaincy with the school. As this is being discussed, thinking through a Role Description and Person Specification will be essential in managing conversations as well as understanding the type of person you will be recruiting. Regardless of whether or not this will be a paid position, the same amount of care needs to be taken with recruitment. Care needs to be taken with recruitment and it is advised that this is done as part of a careful personal invitation as opposed to a general advertising in all bulletins, social media or general volunteer plea. The safety and reputation of the school is of high importance and the careful selection of chaplain be it volunteer or employed needs to reflect this.

For a sample School Chaplaincy Agreement click here

For a sample Lay Chaplaincy Working Agreement click here

Training, supervision and lines of accountability

This is another key area to identify during the early of discussion with the school. There are numerous courses on chaplaincy across Lichfield Diocese. For further information email the RNG 5-11s and Schools Enabler rng@lichfield.anglican.org .

Supervision and support of the chaplaincy needs to be considered to ensure that the chaplain is able to highlight and challenges or concerns and to make sure that there is a constant flow of information between the school and chaplain to make sure that the chaplain continues to serve the needs of the staff and students. As part of this system it is recommended that the school provides a contact person who meets with the chaplain once a half term and that there is a more external pastoral support accessed termly.

Ensuring that the Chaplain or team complies with the school's Safeguarding policies and procedures is essential. Schools will be delivering their own Safeguarding training so decide as a group when the Chaplain or team will attend this training. Schools will also want to ensure that an enhanced DBS check is in place before the role commences.

How do we integrate the Chaplaincy team into the life of the school community?

Once the idea of a chaplain or chaplaincy team has been agreed the question of how they are going to be integrated into the school community needs careful consideration. As this role is to become an integral of the school life then ensuring that the key sections of a school's structure are familiar with what is taking place and have a chance to have an introduction. Some possible ideas include;

Attend the first staff meeting of the academic year to meet the staff and explain the role
Attend an INSET day.
Attend a whole school worship/assembly
Be commissioned r prayed for during a school celebration

Other opportunities in the school year for a chaplain or team to be a visible presence include

Parents Evening
Exam results day
Eucharist Services
Sports Day
Fundraising Days

What is the timescale for setting up a chaplaincy team?

It is important to think through a realistic timescale for starting a chaplaincy role within a school. This is something that could make a huge impact in the life of the school so careful prayer, preparation and planning needs to be in place. More than likely, the school's Board of Governors will need to pass the idea so allow for time the proposal to be prepared and taken to the various meetings. Also allow time to find and recruit the right people for chaplaincy and for the correct documentation to be in place. 12 months preparation (including recruitment and training) is not an unrealistic timeframe.

Will there be a budget?

Although it is possible to set up a chaplaincy on a very small budget it is also important to consider what the main outgoings might include. They may be;