Enjoyed your BeSpace?
Would you like to provide a more permanent prayer & reflection space at your school?
Here are some things to consider …..
Where are you going to put the space?
The first key is finding a place that is accessible, quiet enough to have a space and is able to be accessed at suitable times.
Having a space that isn’t part of a breakout room or space that’s used for other things can also be helpful as it has a real focus and keeps the special feeling of the space. It also allows the space to evolve with all the prayers/ thoughts/ reflections able to be up on the walls etc and become a very engaging and dynamic space that isn’t competing with other things in the room and draws attention.
If you don’t have room inside, you could consider making a prayer garden or an outside space.
How will the children use the space? When will it be open to the children? Will it need staffing?
One option is to have a space that is accessible at lunchtimes perhaps one day a week and staffed by a local volunteer who comes up with engaging activities that change and is on hand to provide a bit of support too. Another option is to have a timetable of when each class can use the space during the week if they would like to during break or lunch and a member of staff provides some supervision and support. Or you could go a bit more free-flow and children can access it more independently depending on where the area is.
Who will take responsibility for changing the activities in the space and keeping it fresh?
It’s great to change a number of the activities on at least a termly basis but half termly is even better to keep engagement. One school uses a box system and have a number of fairly simple activities available and certain ones are chosen for a half term and then switched out for the next half term. A few things permanently feature but others change to keep the space engaging. Another school have a worship committee that works with one of their governors to come up with activities for the space a few times a year and then the children are involved in the planning process and so engaged throughout.
Which activities will you use? What budget will you have to purchase activities?
It can help to repeat some of the activities that you used in the BeSpace, for familiarity.
What are your school values? It can be great to have a few activities in line with the value of the term or something that’s being explored across the whole school or in collective worship and then also keeps the space relevant with what’s going on in school life.
We have a lot of activity ideas on our website: BeSpace activities or Prayer spaces in schools. Also look out for when there are big public events which publish activities that could work at those times. Others could be adapted to fit in with values etc and we would be happy to work alongside someone who is taking responsibility for the space and offer some advice and support in choosing and wording activities if required. Contact us on info@bespace.be if you’d like some support.