I have just been away for a couple of weeks and, as I walked up the South Circular today, I was struck by the bluebells growing beneath the trees and the many dandelion clocks full of seeds signalling that spring has arrived.

I was also pleasantly surprised to meet a Year 4 child from a Brixton school we visit. He asked why I had not been in school recently and spoke very highly of the collective worship led by Ruth, who covered for me, which was lovely.

That leads neatly to news from Lambeth and Southwark. I have decided to reduce my hours as I get near to retirement and will now be visiting schools three mornings a week. While this is the right step for me, it does bring the challenge of handing some schools over to new people.

The good news is that we already have two wonderful volunteers doing collective worship. Ruth, who has agreed to take over the school in Brixton and delivered her first assembly there last week — by all accounts it was a brilliant start and Clare (in the picture), who visits a school in South Lambeth, and is a valued part of the team. We may also have two more volunteers joining us soon, which is very encouraging.

As our time becomes more stretched, we would love more people to join us so that we can continue visiting every school we currently support. Volunteering in schools is an incredibly rewarding opportunity to encourage children, support school communities, and make a lasting difference with a relatively small time commitment each week. If you have ever considered getting involved, now would be a wonderful time to join us.

We have had a wonderful Easter in Lambeth and Southwark.  I personally led 14 collective worships telling the Easter story and Clare did 2 more. It was exciting because I have returned to a school that I hadn’t been to for a while and I had the great experience of listening to a primary school rock band. Very keen and very professional. 

I imagine around 1400 children heard the Easter story at least. The children were all collectively longing to eat my Easter egg! Can I have some miss?  I threw the hot cross buns away- they were flat! I was also able to provide Easter Religious Education in two schools. In year 5 we were examining the Easter story accounts trying to work out whether Jesus’ death was just something that happened because the religious leaders didn’t like him or was it God’s plan from the start?  

I am continuing to help lead a Flourish leaders' group at a school in South Lambeth. I am working with Roger Reid from St Stephens. We had a successful Easter celebration in church, and the Flourish group leaders wrote and acted the story of Jesus’ trial. It was amazing. 

I have recently had some very encouraging feedback. One Lambeth school (a church school) talked about Spinnaker’s contribution to Collective Worship as: 

“making it more engaging for the children and we have also noticed an increased understanding of the Bible with the children.” 

There was also some feedback from the children:

"the activities are great and they teach us more about the Bible." (Year 5 child)
“they (the collective worships) are fun, and we get to interact with each other.”  (Year 3 child)
“Spinnaker is really fun and lots of children get to interact with the activities Heather makes.”   (Year 5 child)

Another Lambeth school (not a church school) where we do KS1 assemblies, said:

“the assemblies have made a meaningful contribution to pupils’ personal development, particularly in strengthening their understanding of core values such as kindness, respect, responsibility, and empathy.” 

Children’s comments included... 

“My favourite part was the story. It helped me understand how to be a good friend. I liked joining in and answering questions.”  (Year 1 child) 

“The assemblies help me think about making the right choices.” (Year 2 child)    

It’s good to know that our work has an impact in school.  I know that we all enjoy what we are doing and the children are usually very engaged and interested in finding out more. 

It just remains for me to thank all of you. We cannot do this work without your support and, as I have said many times, your prayers and kind financial gifts keep us going. 

Sending God’s blessings to you all.   

Heather, Clare and Ruth