staff pitstop
Many staff have said that it’s the highlight of their week!
As one way to show God’s love and brighten up a tough day, we take (free!) homemade cakes and real coffee to the staff room.
These are baked by churches and served by volunteers and Reach workers on a termly basis.
school clubs & christian groups
Many schools in the area have either a Christian Union (CU) or a Discovery Club, and we help run these each week. They are open to all – and are great places for students to relax, make friends, find out more about God or just hang out somewhere friendly in the middle of a busy day at school.
We encourage students to lead these groups and offer them all the support they need, including training and networking with other student leaders in Reading. All students, regardless of background, faith, gender or age are welcome to these.
mentoring
Our mentoring sessions are half an hour, once a week. They’re an opportunity for students to chat to someone who isn’t a parent, teacher or friend. We can focus on school work, friendship problems or difficulties at home.
The aim isn’t to fix students, but to cheer them on as they find a way forward.
Students can be referred by teachers or parents, but we always go through the school. We agree confidentiality with the students, unless they or someone else are at risk of harm. Should other information be shared that might be helpful for teachers or parents to know, we will seek the student’s permission first before sharing.
We review progress each term with the pastoral support team, keeping our confidentiality agreement in mind. It might be that we signpost to other charities and organisations to widen the student’s support network.