School and Parish Links

Schools are hubs of our local communities. With some care and support Mission Communities and parishes can develop a good working relationship with local teachers and schools.

Whether your local school is a church or community one, they are often open to support from their local church. A good start is to make time get to know the headteacher and to ask them how you can help. Here are some ideas you might want to consider together.

Appreciate

• Each year, traditionally on the ninth Sunday before Easter, there is a Sunday dedicated to celebrating education. Why not buy individual Fairtrade chocolate bars to put in staff (teachers and support) pigeon holes with a personal note saying how much you value the work they do?
• You could also pray for your schools especially on that day.

Listen

• Find out more about your schools and where they would value church links and involvement. To start with it might be small things as you get to know each other.

Pray

• Many schools have prayer boxes where anyone in the school community can leave prayer requests; this can make a real difference in people’s lives. Pray also for wisdom on how best to serve your community.

Volunteer

• Schools are often looking for volunteers for reading, cooking, craft activities, extra-curricular clubs, gardening, fairs and fundraising. If you have a skill and would be willing to share it let them know.
• Similarly if you can support Collective Worship (assemblies); are happy to speak about your faith in an RE lesson; or can facilitate visits to your church your school would love to know.
• Some communities lack evening, weekend and holiday activities for young people to join. Why not survey the young people themselves about the things they would value before embarking on ambitious projects.
• Schools are often looking for governors – while this is undoubtedly a time commitment you can be confident that you will be making a valuable contribution to the life of the school and will gain a deeper insight on the needs of families in your local community.

Two-way

• Many schools advertise the work of the church and many churches advertise the work of their schools. This two-way communication is really useful for your local community and is a good way to build bridges.

Befriend

• Make a special effort to befriend families that might need additional support, little things like remembering someone’s birthday can make a huge difference.
• Perhaps as a church you could offer meals-on–wheels for families in need: a new baby; a family member in hospital; or a recent bereavement.

Do get in touch if we can help you in anyway. The Diocesan Education and Children and Young People’s team are here to support Mission Communities and parishes in their local contexts.

If you are a school wanting to make link with your local parish please contact Tatiana Wilson or your linked School Adviser.