The Department for Education has just published its updated guidance for safeguarding in out-of-school settings, which includes supplementary religious settings. Please see the links below for information on what needs to be done if you provide supplementary activities for children. Visit the link below for updated safeguarding guidance for providers and parents.
FCG Chaplaincy Hub Offer for all Chaplains - Nourishing Roots with Paul Rochester
Join us for a day of reflection and spiritual renewal with the Free Churches Group, led by Bp. Paul Rochester, held in the beautiful and peaceful surrounds of the Royal Foundation of St Katherine, London on Tuesday 10th October 2023 from 10 am to 4 pm.
Paul is the General Secretary of the Free Churches Group and an ordained minister in the Church of God of Prophecy where his is a Senior Pastor for a Church in South London and has regional oversight for eight churches. Paul wrote his MA Dissertation on silence and Pentecostalism.
The day will include refreshments on arrival, mid-morning, and mid-afternoon as well as a hot buffet lunch.
Registration will be from 9.30am onward for a 10.00am start.
The cost for the day will be £20 for FCG chaplains, with a small number of places available for non-FCG chaplains from September.
Register your place here.
For more information, please contact Mark Newitt at mark.newitt@freechurches.org.uk
Visit here for more events.
Photo courtesy by Royal Foundation of St Katherine.
SUPPORTING RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN YOUR LOCAL SCHOOLS
Does your church host school visits, or would you like to think about ways in which you could invite schools to your building?
Would you consider talking about your Christian faith in an RE lesson, either in school, or through a video link? These are practical ways in which Free Church people can help children and young people to understand what it is to be a Christian and, in particular, what it means to be a Free Church Christian.
A new initiative – RegionalREHubs – has been set up to support schools, teachers and others involved in delivering Religious Education as part of the school curriculum, and one of its first activities is to equip speakers and those who host visits with the necessarily knowledge and insight to do so in a way that is compatible with the needs of schools.
The RegionalREHubs initiative is supported by a range of organisations, including the Religious Education Council, of which the Free Churches Group is a member – and has been for nearly 50 years! A series of free online training events has been launched, and anyone who is interested is invited to register for one of these dates:
2022
Monday 12 December 9:30-11am
2023
Tuesday 24 January 4-5:30pm
Monday 20 February 6-7:30pm
Thursday 23 March 2-3:30pm
Tuesday 18 April 9:30-11am
Wednesday 17 May 11-12:30pm
Tuesday 20 June 10-11:30am
To book a date, email: marketing@regionalrehubs.co.uk
Attending one of these training sessions offers participants the opportunity to sign up to an agreed set of principles for working with schools, and to gain a RegionalREHubs kitemark, either for individuals as speakers, or for church buildings where tours are offered. A national register will be developed, and any enquiries that come through the Regional Hubs will be passed to an appropriate person or an appropriate church. Do consider joining a training session and ensuring that Free Church voices are heard!
You can find more information here.
Photo by Christi Marcheschi on Unsplash