What do you do if you are worried about a local school? Do you feel concerned? Do you wonder what can be done? Or do you pray?

Supporting schools through prayer....

Have you got plans for you and your church on Tuesday 21st November? Why not be part of a national day of prayer for schools?

The third Tuesday of November every year is Pray Day, when schools across Europe and around the world are the focus of prayer.  This year it will be held on Tuesday 21st November 2017, with schools across the UK taking part. Se this link for further information. 

If you haven’t heard about it before, this is a day set aside every year for people across Europe to focus on praying for their schools, with events taking place in many countries including the UK.  The day is for:

• all types of school from nursery to sixth form,
• pupils, school staff, governors, parents, church leaders, youth workers and anyone else concerned about young people,
• anyone who believes that God hears our prayers.

The theme this year is from Paul's letter to the Corinthians:

"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God." (2 Cor 5 v 18-20)

You could get involved by:

• Telling young people about our campaign;
• Use Social media to promote #SayDoPray;
• Just praying on your own;
• Running a prayer meeting or a Prayer Marathon in your school for pupils and/or staff;
• Organising a prayer evening for everyone from your church;
• Setting up a stall in or outside a school and offering to pray for pupils and staff;
• Leading a school assembly about what prayer means to Christians;
• Teaching an RE lesson on how and why Christians pray;
• Prayer Walking around your local school and area  – see our   video
• Give a gift of a plant or a cake to the teachers in your school.

Why not find our more about this, get involved and make it a date for prayer and action?! See HERE. 

(Photo, used with permission, from Rachel Kane, The Salvation Army, from a recent Pray Day event - Rachel is a member of the Free Church Education Committee.)

There are 30,000 schools in the UK, and Pray for School’s vision is to see every single one of them supported by regular Christian prayer. Pray for Schools is not an organisation to ‘join’, but a network that exists simply to encourage prayer for schools in partnership with prayer groups, churches and Christian organisations. With prayer the combined efforts of Christian teachers, parents, governors, school board members and many others will become more effective.

Reforming Christianity: A new resource for Key Stages 2-4

Welcome to REforming Christianity

An inspiring and interesting range of RE teaching resources about the Reformation has been commissioned by the Free Churches Group and The Methodist Church, sponsored by the Westhill Endowment and produced in association with RE Today Services.

A new teaching resource for Religious Education for teachers

working with children and young people at Key Stages 2-4.

These resources are free to download and use in RE classrooms. 

How can I get these resources?

Simply e-mail us at education@freechurches.org.uk
We will send you a password which will give you full access to all the resources.

All we ask in return is that you complete a questionnaire when you have used some or all of the resources for your age-group. We will use your feedback to develop further resources, and will have a better understanding of what works well in the classroom.

The resources consist of:

• 6 x Key Stage 2 lessons - A man called Luther; What was Luther's gift to the people? The Bible in translation; Wycliffe and Tyndale; Christian reformers
• 6 x Key Stage 3 lessons - Martin Luther and how the church changed; The Bible in English; Non-conforming in England; How Christian attitudes to slavery changed; the Bible and slavery. 
• 6 x Key Stage 4 lessons (in line with GCSE specifications) - Visions of Salvation (beliefs and teaching); Trinity (beliefs and teaching); Worship (practices); Local Church (practices); Baptism (practices); Eucharist (practices). 

(Image shared, with kind permission of mission enabler, Adrian Wyatt of Xross Purposes. Visio Divina photography workshops; ade.wyatt@gmail.com tel: 07976 362 615)

FCG Education Prayer (Week 5) - focus on all those in formal and informal education

Loving God,

We pray for all of those in formal and informal education: for those in colleges, universities, in our churches, our Bible study groups, our local schools, for those throughout our community centres, in evening classes and those exploring new pathways. Guide them and support them.

We pray that it is a time of transformation, joy, challenge, personal growth and vocational.
We pray for those in training for ministry and Christian service in our own denominations and across the member churches of the Free Churches Group.

We pray for the students and tutors involved in theological education and ministerial formation. May God uphold, provoke and guide them.

We pray for all those who are on a path to seek 'life in all its fullness' (John 10:10).

Loving God, encourage us to keep praying on this, to learn and share more about the gift of
education and to act with courage, conscience and conviction in your name!

In Jesus' name, our friend and teacher,

Amen

(Image shared, with kind permission of Adrian Wyatt of Xross Purposes. Visio Divina photography workshops; contact Adrian for further information on -ade.wyatt@gmail.com tel: 07976 362 615)

800,000 secondary pupils lose out on religious literacy!

You may have already read or heard about this over the weekend, but the Free Churches Group are concerned about the lack of opportunities for children and young people to study RE at school. 800,000 secondary pupils lose out on religious literacy: No Religious Education (RE) is being taught in a quarter of all state secondary schools, raising serious implications for community cohesion and inclusivity.

The National Association of Teachers of Religious Education, the RE Council and RE Today Services have jointly published a report on the current state of RE. It's called "The State of the Nation". You can read the full report HERE

New analysis of the Government’s School Workforce Census reveals that more than one in four (28%) state secondary schools are struggling to meet their legal obligation to teach pupils about major religions and systems of belief, depriving teenagers of vital knowledge about different faiths and beliefs in community, public and world affairs.

All state-funded schools, including academies and free schools, are legally required by the 1998 School Standards and Framework Act to provide Religious Education as part of a balanced curriculum.

The analysis of Government figures prompted the Religious Education Council and the National Association of Teachers of RE (NATRE) to create a new State of the Nation report. 

To read a summary of the report and hear from key people in the RE sector, see link HERE

A National Learning Alliance

The charitable and voluntary sector is often called the 'Third Sector'. There is a Third Sector National Learning Alliance (TSNLA) which is a growing, national alliance of voluntary and community organisations and social enterprises involved in learning and skills. They aim to provide a coherent national 'voice' from and for this sector's learning bodies to government departments and other important funding and policy bodies. They also aim to provide a forum for developing Third Sector ideas and proposals, with the key aim of enabling those most disadvantaged to re-engage with learning and skills. This is particularly relevant to us, as a network of churches who are keen to work towards equality in education and free and fair access to all, so each person can reach their God-given potential through learning and personal transformation.

Revd Sara Iles, the FCG Education Assistant, has worked for two learning providers from the Third sector in the past - ViSTA, Somerset and The Learning Curve, Wiltshire. She recognises and values the immense contribution that the voluntary and community sector make to developing the potential of people in our communities. Contact Sara to find out how to get involved: sara.iles@freechurches.org.uk

There will be a Third Sector provider in the area where your church is; for example, the Workers' Educational Association and many other learning providers.

If you are interested in education and training in the charitable sector then there are lots of resources and links on their website. 

To read more about the work of this important Alliance, see their website: http://www.tsnla.org.uk/ 

Many Voices, One Vision!

Vision

Our vision is for all adults and young people to have the learning opportunities they want and need in order to realise their potential.

Mission

Our Mission is to represent the views of members to influence policy and address issues that impact on the skills, prosperity and well-being of learners.

Objectives

• Represent and champion Third Sector learning providers
• Inform and maintain effective communication with Third Sector learning providers
• Influence and respond to relevant policy and developments
• Foster partnerships and co-operation with key bodies and networks in the interests of Third Sector learning providers
• Support Third Sector learning providers to influence and inform understanding of the Third Sector at local, regional and national level
• Support providers to access the information, funding and resources they need to provide high quality accessible learning and skills provision which tackles economic and social disadvantage
• Review and enhance the TSNLA’s capability to deliver its objectives