Brentwood Schools Christian Worker Trust Newsletter, Autumn Term 2017

BSCWT, c/o Shenfield High School, Alexander Lane, Shenfield, Brentwood, Essex, CM15 8RY

Phone: 01277 249275 E-mail: office@bscwt.org Website: www.bscwt.org

“Serving school communities by providing Christian learning and support” Registered Charity No:

1005207

Inside this issue: Page Page

Taking up the challenge 1 New Clubs 3

10 things we’re doing in schools this term 1 Prayer Spaces in Schools 3 Schools Work Sunday and Pray for Schools Day 1 Assemblies on Joseph 3 From the Trustees 1 ‘Quosh’ - self-harm training 3 Introducing Rosie 2 Trust to CIO / Finance update 4 ‘Do not worry’: Lessons on Anxiety 2 More ‘Caterpillars’ 4 LifeSpace 2 Recent feedback & how you can be involved 4

TAKING UP THE CHALLENGE

On 18th March 2018 I will be running the Brentwood half-marathon. There, I've said it! There’s no getting out of it! I've registered for my place. I've started my training. Please understand: I do not enjoy running! And, as far as I can remember, I have never run any more than 3 miles

in one go before. So I do not anticipate this challenge being at all easy.

You may wonder why I am putting myself through the inevitable effort and agony of such a challenge! I am doing it to raise money for the work of BSCWT because I believe in what God is doing through it. He is touching young people's lives who might otherwise have little chance of meeting Christians, of getting much needed support or of learning about Christian faith.

As I train during the dark winter days, it would really help me to have your support, so if you can sponsor me for this challenge, please visit:

www.give.net/runforbscwt.

My two sons will be running with me (probably much faster!) and it would be great if others want to take up the challenge and join us to raise funds for BSCWT either in the Fun Run or the half-marathon—please let me know if you can. Thank you for all your support.

Ian Kemble, Director of Schools Work

From the Trustees Time seems to move so quickly at times. It feels as if we have just finished presenting the highest ever number of Its Your Move lessons in the summer term, then we are planning for Christmas Unwrapped! I hope you find all the different reports in the newsletter from past months as exciting as me.

As we move into the new school year, we can praise God for the clubs that have started in new schools, the opportunity to develop different themed lessons in secondary schools and the possibilities of ‘Lifespace’. Not to forget the appointment of Rosie to the team.

But most of all I am thankful for the support that as a Trust we receive from individuals and local churches. We are dependent upon your commitment to prayer and gifting of time or money to enable the activities of the Trust to be sustained and develop in the future.

Please pray with me for the resources necessary to meet all the opportunities that schools are offering to the Trust at the moment, to make a difference in children’s lives. Jeff Fair, Chair of Trustees

‘Pray for Schools Day’ : 21st November 2017

The third Tuesday of November every year is Pray Day, where schools across Europe and around the world are the focus of prayer. Please encourage your churches to use this day to pray for :

Our local primary & secondary schools

Pupils, staff, governors, Head Teachers, parents, youth workers, anyone concerned for young people.

This year, European Pray for Schools Day organisers are encouraging those who use social media to get involved via #SayDoPray. Say something encouraging; Do something kind; Pray for a friend. For further details, please see:

http://www.prayforschools.org/pfs-events/pray-day-for-schools .

Schools Work Sunday is on

4th February 2018

Following the success of last year’s ‘Schools Work Sunday’, please use this opportunity in your church community to celebrate and pray for the work of Christians, including BSCWT, in our local schools.

Thank you!

Ten things we are doing in schools this term….

11 lunchtime clubs in 7 schools

‘Caterpillars’ course on coping with loss

“Christmas Unwrapped” project

“From Darkness to Light” lessons

Christmas Prayer Space

Chaplaincy/mentoring in 4 schools

Assemblies in 27 schools

‘Bible Explorer’ & ‘OT Mini’ lessons

Lessons on Anxiety

‘Happiness course’

Sue with pupils during an ‘It’s Your Move’ lesson last term

Do not worry!! - Lessons on Anxiety

Anxiety is something most people will have experienced to some degree at some point in their lives. I know I have, and have great compassion for young people who are dealing with anxiety at school and/or home. It was with some surprise and excitement that I was asked in a recent planning meeting with the Citizenship Department in Shenfield School if I could take some lessons on mental health issues with Year 10. Anxiety immediately sprung to mind since, as a Chaplain, I am constantly meeting young people who struggle with this. It was agreed that I would plan a lesson that could be used with whole classes throughout this year

group.

It is fascinating to know that in the Bible it says ‘fear not’ 365 times. God knows anxiety and fear are issues people

experience, sometimes on a daily basis. The Bible is full of encouragement for us not to fear and that worrying cannot add a single hour to our lives (Luke 12:25). And we can ‘cast all our anxiety on Him, because He cares for us’ (1 Peter 5:7). Can we imagine what it must be like for children and young people to be dealing with worries and anxieties and even panic attacks, without knowing that there is a Heavenly Father wanting to help and support them? I feel excited about these lessons coming up. I have much planning to do, but it is such a privilege to be able to teach on such an important aspect of life. I’ll let you know how they go!

Mary Thomas, Schools Worker

Introducing Rosie

At the start of September, I began working as a Schools Worker with BSCWT and the time has flown by. Everyone has been so welcoming and I cannot thank them or you enough for your prayers and support. It’s been wonderful seeing first hand all the things the Trust does as I get to grips with my new role. I’ve had the opportunity to go

along to a number of lunchtime clubs, assemblies and pupil support sessions as well as starting to lead two primary school lunchtime clubs myself - one at Mountnessing and one in Willowbrook. I have also joined Sue with the ‘Caterpillars’ group, which supports young children going through bereavement and loss, and have found this to be an experience with which I feel extremely blessed to be involved. By the time you read this, I will have spent time shadowing Mary’s pupil support work in Brentwood County High School, with a view to beginning to support some students myself in schools. I will have also joined Ian for some assemblies there and will soon be helping him with assemblies at St. Martin’s as well. My first few weeks have been both encouraging and thought-provoking. As I continue to join in with all that goes on, I am excited to learn more and be open to God’s leading in my new role.

Rosie Graham, Schools Worker

LIFESPACE Following a year of part-time work in the Shenfield School Careers Office and some time spent last year with Bishop John Wraw and others considering how Christians could help young people in thinking about their future, I began to feel ideas building for creating a reflective space for secondary school students. After a lot of prayer and planning ‘LifeSpace’ was born! The idea was presented to Shenfield School and the school agreed

to include it as part of their Practice Interview Day with Year 10.

So on a warm day in July, 120 Year 10 students visited ‘LifeSpace’ in three groups. We had a team of BSCWT staff and Associate Workers leading the day, joined by two university students who have volunteered with us before.

The students visited 8 ‘zones’ during a one and a half hour session and explored topics such as: Who are you

as a person? What is important to you? What are your gifts, skills and passions? What direction are you going in? What is your legacy, what do others say about you? What would you like to change/leave behind? What is your big dream? How can faith feature in this area of your life? Each zone had activities and visual displays to help them to think into these areas.

‘LifeSpace’ provided a calm reflective ‘space’ that students often don’t get time for in school or in the fast paced world around them. The Head

Teacher and several school staff members visited during the day and were pleased to see the students relaxed and having the space to explore questions of life and faith for themselves. Our hope is to repeat ‘LifeSpace’ again and in other schools or maybe adapt to 6

th Form. We will see where God guides it

next! Fiona Mason, Administrator

Rosie with pupils ‘being rabbits’?!

Mary with students at ‘LifeSpace’

Ian with a student at ‘LifeSpace’

Quosh – self-harm training

‘Quosh’ stands for questioning and understanding of self-harm. Our first training morning to help people understand self-harm has just taken place. It was a good time, with people from different churches and different backgrounds attending. We had lots of interesting discussion, and lots of sweets (a priority on any training session!), and we learnt a lot about the difficult and challenging aspects of helping children and young people who self-harm.

We also explored how to run a self-harm group in school, looking at ways in which to help young people explore their emotions and at some possible reasons why they use self-harm as a coping mechanism. Hopefully all who attended took something valuable away with them, something that will help equip them to support and help these needy young lives.

We are planning to run future training sessions on other themes, so ‘watch this space’ to see what is coming up next!

Mary Thomas, Schools Worker

New clubs

It’s very exciting to be able to say that we have been asked to start up two new clubs in two new schools this term! In addition to the 7 groups we already have running at Warley, Holly Trees, Mountnessing and Larchwood, we have recently stared

lunchtime clubs at Willowbrook and Long Ridings Primary Schools. It is wonderful that we have enough staff and volunteers to help resource these additional clubs, and equally

wonderful that the schools are open to us running them. Please pray for all our clubs – the children, their leaders and helpers - and give thanks for the opportunity to meet with more children on a weekly basis. Sue Evans, Schools Worker

Assemblies on Joseph

In our primary school assemblies last academic year, we decided to follow the story of the disciple Peter through the changes and challenges of his life as he met, and became a follower of, Jesus. The idea worked so well, that we decided this year to do something similar – so now we are following the ups

and downs of Joseph as he learns from his mistakes and events that happen to him, and as his relationship with God grows stronger.

We are starting off this half term with Jacob’s favouritism towards Joseph over his brothers and Joseph’s dreams and apparent belief that he was somehow better than his brothers. We draw attention to

the fact that are all different, have different abilities, situations and possessions, and that other people do not always treat us equally or fairly. However, the difference does not mean that we are any more or less valuable as people, and it should not lead us to believe that we are better or worse than others around us. We finish by affirming that Christians believe that God is not like Jacob, loving some more than others, but he is a perfect Father, who loves each and every one of us equally.

Sue Evans, Schools Worker

Prayer Spaces in Schools

At the end of last term we returned on two consecutive Mondays to St Mary’s School in Shenfield to run a prayer space for the whole school. The Prayer Space was set up in St Mary’s Church and once again we were welcomed, encouraged and expertly helped by volunteers from the church and parents from the school.

Each class from the school had a turn to come over to church, and each child had the opportunity to visit all of the prayers zones. The four zones we set up focussed on four different aspects of spirituality: our relationship to ourselves, to others, to the world and to God. From the very smallest to the oldest in the school, the children were all engaged and focussed in what they were doing, valuing and enjoying the time they spent reflecting on big questions and responding through different activities.

Sue Evans, Schools Worker

Hannah with pupils at the St Mary’s ‘Prayer Space’

Pupils reflecting at our ‘Prayer Space’

A ‘Prayer Space’ activity

A big 'thank you' to all our valued and regular donors and supporters. The Lord Jesus knows the need for the Trust's work and our financial position remains positive at the 6th month end, with a surplus of £3.9K (£37.6K Income against £33.7K Costs).

However, with our increased activities (our third Schools Worker, Rosie, and extra opportunities for the Trust's involvement) we are looking to the 'Lord of the harvest' that the current level of donations from individuals, churches and other support donations will be maintained and increased. Gift aid tax recovery (£1566) for the first quarter of the current financial year is included, and the 2nd quarter claim will shortly be dispatched to HMRC.

Please continue to support the Trust in prayer as we take the love of Jesus for each child and young person into the schools of Brentwood.

Peter Embling & Joe Nunn, Joint Treasurers

How can you be involved? If you are a Christian with a passion for schools, education, children and young people, and think you might be interested in being involved, please get in touch with us at the BSCWT office. Please join with us to:

Finance Update from the Treasurers & Trustees

Peter Embling Treasurer

Joe Nunn Treasurer

More Caterpillars

It is good to be able to start another ‘Caterpillars: Growing through Loss and Change’ group this term. Please pray for the youngsters who are meeting with us.

Sue Evans & Rosie Graham, Schools Workers

Associate Worker Olive with students at It’s Your Move

A recent comment from Carole Herman, Head Teacher of Shenfield High School, on BSCWT’s ‘LifeSpace’: “I loved it! The ambience created, as well as the reflective activities, provided an ideal opportunity for students to pause and think about their hopes, dreams and choices. LifeSpace became the antidote to frenetic activity, pressure and stress - a much needed resource for young people.”

BSCWT is a Local Mission Partner of

Trust to CIO -

The lengthy process of creating a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) for BSCWT’s (or ‘the Trust’s) activities in line with current good practice guidance has finally been completed. From January 2018, the Trustees are anticipating that all our documentation will be updated with

the new details. This includes a new charity number and revised bank details. Do look out for our communications to you to help everything move smoothly.

Olive with pupils at ‘It’s Your Move’

PRAY We believe praying for our local schools, children and young people is really important. Please contact us to:

Request our weekly prayer email, termly prayer calendar and newsletter by email or post. Contact the office via email office@bscwt.org or 01277 249275

Join us for our team prayer meetings at the BSCWT office every Friday, 9.30-10.30am, during school term time

Start a prayer group for schools in your church or start/join a prayer group for a particular school.

Just pray — on your own or with others!

GIVE BSCWT depends on the continued generosity of people who support us financially. If you’d like to support the work financially, please:

Set up a standing order or a donation via your online banking. Please contact us for a Gift Aid Declaration form, if applicable (or download one from www.bscwt.org/downloads)

Contact us for a standing order mandate (or download one from www.bscwt.org/downloads)

Send a cheque to our office address (see front of newsletter) or donate online at www.give.net.

For on-line banking/standing orders, please contact the BSCWT office for our bank account details

VOLUNTEER There are over 40 people who give their time and energy to volunteer with BSCWT

Our Associate Workers volunteer with us in schools, working with children and young people

Our Trustees oversee the running of the Trust.

Our Management Committee supports the schools work and the Trustees by doing important tasks in areas such as prayer, finance, human resources, policy-writing, monitoring and publicity

Our Church Reps help us to liaise with our local churches

We are also open to applications from people interested in doing an ‘internship’ or work experience with us.