Support a school

Schools are taking on huge new responsibilities. In particular the Extended Schools initiative means that schools will be open for longer and provide a range of clubs and activities.

Most churches have a lot of natural links with local schools through members of the congregation - parents, teachers, teaching assistants, governors, support staff, youth workers and neighbours. Some will have more formal links with church schools. It makes sense to build on those links when you're thinking about how to get involved. Here are some ideas of how to do that.

• Encourage parents to get involved in the life of the school as members of the PTA, helping out at school fetes or drama productions or running the second-hand uniform stall. It's a great way to build relationships and to show your commitment to a school.
• Many schools welcome regular volunteers - to help with reading and basic Maths, to be a mentor to older pupils or to do practical tasks such as setting out art materials or helping with cooking. Approach your local school to find out what needs they have. Or sign up with a national scheme such as Volunteer Reading Help.
• Offer your church building for class visits or activities. As part of their RE programme, many schools value the opportunity to visit places of worship. Having friendly members of the congregation on hand to explain what goes on and why, can help to bring the experience alive for pupils.
• It may be appropriate to offer to do assemblies or to help with RE lessons. If you have a church youth worker or people in the congregation who are gifted at communicating with children and young people consider putting a team together. Approach the school to talk about what you could offer. The dedicated website for schools work is a good source of advice.
• Support the work of any local Christian youth work agency that works in schools. Youth for Christ and Scripture Union have workers across the country. In some towns and cities local churches have set up a charity or trust that employs people to work in schools.
• Many parents would like practical help on being a better parent. Offer to run parenting courses in the local school, such as the Parentalk course. Make use of the Positive Parenting initiative.
• Offer to buy a gift for the school - perhaps some resources for RE or PSHE. Meet with the Head to explain what you would like to do and why, and find out what they actually need.
• Find a way of expressing appreciation for the work done by the school. One church organized an awards evening where members of the congregation were given 'Oscars' for their contribution to the life of the church. But they also asked the young people to nominate a teacher who was invited to the eveining as a mark of the church's appreciation. She was not a member of the church and the gesture had a huge impact. Little tokens are very important; the card; the small present; the occasional thank you or word of encouragement delivered with a smile.
• Support the Extended Schooling initiative. Further ideas from the Arise Ministries team.

Or you could become a school governor
Or support a Christian teacher
Or set up a prayer group for schools

Coming next year- a link to a new website which will have lots more ideas of how you can support schools.

Remember

• Make sure you find out what schools actually need, rather than simply rushing in with your good ideas!
• Schools rightly have to be vigilant about the health and safety of their pupils. They will ask all visitors to register at reception and may ask you to wear a badge. They will ask volunteers to undergo a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check. This is not a reflection on you, but is an essential check to protect children from the small minority of people who abuse positions of trust.