CAPTION: Online school assemblies mean pupils get to see a familiar face
Taking school assemblies into homes
Robin Budgell has over twenty years experience as a teaching in primary and secondary schools, which means he’s well equipped to now be filming and broadcasting school assemblies from his home.
Robin is the Children, Families and Schools worker for The Sampford Peverell Team Mission Community (SPTMC), near Tiverton.
He has five primary schools in his patch, the largest number of any mission community in Devon and has been in the role since September.
Robin was a teacher before becoming a church family worker
Robin said: ” I recorded one assembly and sent it out and the teachers said ‘yes please we’d love one a week’.
“In some ways it is intensely frustrating, you don’t go into teaching to sit behind a computer and send out resources, you do it because of the relational stuff and being with children.
“On the other hand I do like fiddling around with technology and it is an exciting challenge doing things in new ways.”
Robin’s assemblies, which are available on the SPTMC website , are interactive with pauses for families to do activities.
They include a Bible story, a song and an opportunity for children to pray.
Robin said “Usually I only do two assemblies in each school every term.
“Now I am doing one a week for all the schools.”
SPTMC are also sharing a ‘Church From Home’ session each week with Bible stories, video, questions, activities and songs. This is available on their Messy Church Facebook page.
“This lockdown has drawn families out of the woodwork I didn’t even know about.
“It has produced new ways of reaching out to people we haven’t connected with before.
“Because of social media interaction you can see faith at home stuff going on which you wouldn’t normally see.”
Robin’s assemblies are designed to be accessible with songs including a well-known Bob Marley number!
Robin, who has two teenage children and whose wife is a childminder, said it was also important for families to give themselves permission not to take part in online activities at the moment, when many are overwhelmed just getting through each day.
“I think it is important to sign-post places for families to go, like a church Facebook page, but not to harass them with emails and resources.
“One of the biggest roles for a church family worker at the moment is simply to pray for the families they know.
“That quiet work of prayer is really hard but really important.”
If you are looking for resources for children and families to do at home, the Diocese of Exeter has a Facebook group for children and families and a webpage with ideas.
