Lichfield Christian Schools Work Trust
The Lichfield Christian Schools Works Trust is responsible for four main areas of activity, namely Shepherd’s Crook Puppets, Schools Weeks, Bridgebuilders and Engage! Youth Mentoring - all of which are aimed at promoting the object of the Trust which is to support children and young people in the schools, colleges, and other educational establishments, in Lichfield and the surrounding area as a Christian charity.
Shepherd’s Crook Puppets was the first ministry of the Trust and tells stories from the Bible using puppets at typically four Primary school assemblies a term with a team of four.
Schools Weeks are held before Christmas and Easter each year at Wade Street Church with typically 8 Primary schools attending with around 300 children. The sessions now extend into a second week with single instead of double classes enabling us to engage better with the children and enhance the experience for everyone. An interactive drama is followed by several small group activities introducing the children to the true meaning of the two Christian festivals.
Bridge Builders made successful visits this year to Staffs College, Friary Grange, King Edward V1, Maple Hayes and John Taylor Barton-under-Needwood Schools. There is much to celebrate in the cause of helping the youngsters prepare for their next step after school by giving experience of the interview process including writing CV’s. There is no doubt that the efforts of the co-ordinators and volunteers have enriched and improved the chances of students moving on to where they want to be next year.
Engage!Youth Mentoring is supporting 150 plus young people with mentoring needs across the Lichfield Primary and Secondary school through 38 volunteers, who act as mentors. Here are two testimonies. The first from a male Year 4 student: "It has helped me to get through the separations that have happened with my parents. I'm feeling better . ( not as anxious anymore) . I have learnt to let go of things that aren't important. I know that I can talk to my class adults and my parents about how I am feeling- I can talk about my feelings better now”. The second from a school Senco: “Engage! is such an invaluable source of support for us. This is such a challenging time for schools - the volume of need has grown exponentially in recent years and school have fewer and fewer resources available to support our pupils. The work that Engage! does through the mentoring and workshops plays such an important role for us in being able to support the high SEMH( Social Emotional and Mental Health) needs of pupils.”
The trust is very grateful to its donors and generous grants that has enabled the expansion of mentoring work in schools in recent years. This area is where the bulk of our expenditure of circa £26k per annum is spent on the staffing and support costs of the Engage Team of two staff. However unless we are successful in finding new sources of income by the autumn, we will need to dramatically reduce the mentoring work done in the schools. If you are able to consider helping to support us by entering into a giving plan please get in touch.
Please visit our website lcswt.co.uk for further information or to contact us.
Howard Jacobs , Secretary