Creating space in schools where pupils can pause to reflect or pray.
Children and young people are innately curious about life. Growing up raises lots of questions, some to do with their experience, both the good and the bad, and some to do with their sense of wonder at the universe we live in and whether there’s more to life than meets the eye.
Taking a broadly Christian perspective as a starting point, prayer spaces give children and young people an opportunity to develop skills of personal reflection and to explore prayer in an open, inclusive and safe environment.
A prayer space is usually (but not always) a classroom sized area in a school that has been transformed for a few days or a week with a range of creative activities that encourage personal reflection on issues such as forgiveness, injustice, thankfulness, asking big questions, identity and stillness.
In most schools, teachers bring their pupils for subject-lessons in the prayer space. In other schools, pupils are invited to visit the prayer space voluntarily, during their breaks and lunchtimes.
Prayer spaces are usually run by a suitably trained team from a local church or Christian organisation as a service to the school at the invitation of, and with the full co-operation of, senior staff.
To find out more, visit the Prayer Spaces in Schools website.
It’s important to choose and organise prayer activities carefully so that the prayer space best serves and meets the needs of the whole school community. Generally, prayer activities can be grouped in the following ways:
The Prayer Spaces in Schools websites have a wide range of tried-and-tested prayer activities which are free to download and use. They are available here.
