Hints and tips for setting up a prayer space in your
school.
There are useful resources on these websites;
www.prayerspacesinschools.com
www.orisonschools.org.uk
www.dare2engage.org
www.schoolswork.co.uk
You are welcome to contact;
[email protected]
[email protected]
Things to consider before you commit to the prayer space
The philosophical
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What is your prayer space for?
What experience of prayer do your children already have?
What do you want the children to take away from the prayer spaces?
How does the prayer space concept fit within your school’s way of operating?
 All stakeholders need to be agreed on the purpose of the prayer tent. This
may take some time and discussion but needs to happen before any decision
is taken to go ahead.
 Is this going to form part of the RE curriculum or will it be in addition to the
curriculum as a special event?
The practical
 Where will you hold it? An empty classroom, a tent on the field taking a room
out of use for the duration?
 Prayer spaces take a long time to set up and dismantle, they cannot be taken
down for lunch, or at the end of each day.
 Who will run your prayer space?
 Who will man your prayer space?
 Where will you source the kit?
Practical organisation once you have committed to a
prayer space
The team
 You will need a team of known, trusted individuals sympathetic to the school’s
ethos and Christian basis.
 In addition to a leader who will introduce the prayer space to the children you
need at least 1 adult in each zone, more if possible.
 For the quiet zone one adult is needed inside the ‘tent’ and one at each
entrance. A system to count children in and out is needed so that the inner
space is not disrupted and children can come and go quietly
 The team will need some training on how to manage child protection issues eg how to respond to children (if necessary) sensitively and appropriately.
How to record concerns and what the procedure for passing on concerns will
be.
 Some training is required in terms of the practicalities and vision sharing.
 Consider if you want to use parents as volunteers for the prayer spaces.
The school staff
 Make sure that all staff are kept informed and included in planning.
 If you are planning to have the prayer spaces open at lunchtime remember to
include the lunch time staff, including the cook.
 Don’t forget the caretaker and the cleaners!
 Decide what role you want the teachers and TAs to have in the prayer spaces.
Their attitude quickly alters the atmosphere in the prayer space.
Parents
 Inform governors and parents and ensure that all are aware that this is an
optional activity. Invite them to come and see the prayer spaces before or
after school.
 Encourage the children to bring their parents into the prayer space.
 If appropriate you could give them the Orison website address so that they
can see what it is about.
The timetable
 It takes several hours to set up so allow plenty of time
 It works well to introduce the idea of the prayer spaces in a collective worship
before any children go into the space. The rest of the team carried on setting
up while a few did this.
 If the space is small you will only be able to have half a class at a time in the
prayer space, what happens to the other half?
 If possible the time table needs to allow children the option to make return
visits to the tent. We did this at lunchtimes. It was only open to the year
groups that had already visited and so knew what the prayer space was
about. I put posters up each day saying which classes could use the prayer
space at lunchtime that day.
Immediately after the prayer space
 Who will meet the team at the end of each day and pick up any Child
protection concerns or other worries?
 What will you do with the children’s prayer requests?
 How will you follow up the experience the next week? (the first year we did
one it was half term and the experience had just dissipated when we got
back).
 What do you do with “The big questions”?
In the longer term
 Can the children be involved in creating the prayer space activities?
 Can some of the ideas be used in collective worship?
 Is there scope for a permanent prayer space?