Thank you for taking the time to share with us what you have been up to. How long have you been running prayer spaces in schools and what do they look like in the school you run them in?
I started running prayer spaces in December 2022. I usually have them set up in our reflection room however I have had one outside on our playground.
How did you start, were you already connected with a school in someway or did you approach the school with prayer spaces in mind first?
I was asked by my head teacher if I would attend some training and lead this as I teach RVE in upper school.
How was the first prayer spaces in school? How was it received by staff and pupils? Did you have anything you learned for future ones
Our first prayer space was a thankful Christmas tree. I chose this one as we were going into the Christmas term and I wanted to give the children the opportunity to think about what they can be thankful for during the festive period. The prayer space worked very well. The children were given some coloured baubles in their classes and were asked to think about what they are thankful for, some examples were provided such as family, friends, our world etc.
Lower school were able to draw a picture on the baubles whereas upper school were asked to write.
The children were then invited to go and hang their baubles on the tree. During this time they were able to read other children’s baubles, say a thankful prayer and reflect on the coming season.
How do you decide which prayer activities to do and do you do it all by yourself or with a team? How much work is it!?
I try to link the prayer spaces with either a religious festival, new event or certain times within the school year such as transition.
I organise the prayer spaces myself and send all resources and plans out to each class. We had a 40 acts of kindness prayer space that linked with lent. During the time of the coronation we had an environment prayer space. We as a school are hoping to create our own peace garden so I have been working with the 5/6 children to help design it so with this on mind I created an outdoor prayer space using a small peace garden. Our most recent one I chose was all about transitioning to help the children to share any worries they may have starting a new class and any expectations they have for the rest of the school year. I used a butterfly template and the children can write on the wings.
Have you got any funny or stand out memories that stay with you from in a prayer space in school?
There has been some beautiful work done by the children. Some of the words the children have used have been very humbling and lovely to read.
I have enjoyed watching them grow and develop over time.
If someone is thinking about getting started, what advice would you give them?
I would advise them to start using a prayer space they feel is manageable and don’t go to big straight away.
Also take full use of the website as there are lots of fantastic resources and lesson plans that can be adapted easy to fit in with your school.
That’s great advice, thank you for taking the time to share with us.