From Church to School
There are many opportunities for churches and Christian to
support their local school. To be ‘salt and light’ in their community…
"I could never stand in front of 250 young people and take an
assembly..."
"BUT I could help in the library, I could organise a
small gardening group,
I could help with the sewing..."
Supporting your school...the possibilities are endless...but
you need to take the first step.
Opportunities abound for churches to have financial input into
schools without a hidden agenda.
How to Approach the School
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Pray
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Make an appointment to see the Headteacher
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Ask the Headteacher if there are areas where the school wants
help/support
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Listen - don't force your views. Be ready to follow the school's
agenda not your own set ideas
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Be patient. Schools are rightly cautious about who comes into
contact with pupils
Some Do's and Don’ts on approaching schools
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Do make an appointment
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Don’t just 'drop in' - it won't be a good time!
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Do be encouraging - it's a hard job
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Don’t be critical or make jokes about teachers/schools
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Do be courteous and considerate
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Don’t be pushy. You're there to serve
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Do offer genuine unconditional support
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Don’t lose interest if the school doesn't want spiritual input
now
How to use the SMSC website
The SMSC website is obviously geared towards teachers and those
associated with education, however it’s not limited solely to their use. Many of
the organisations or providers offer resources that could equally be of use in a
church setting. Therefore it is possible for a church to ‘try out’ a resource
and then recommend it to the local school.
Where the resources are personnel, there is nothing to stop the
church booking that person for a weekend at the church and extending that
booking to cover either the Friday or the Monday for school use (obviously in
consultation with the school).
There are many opportunities for Christians to be involved in
schools - for example your church could consider employing a schools worker, or maybe someone
in your congregation could be a governor. And there are many opportunities for
volunteering your skills - see our Case Study section
for some examples.
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