Love Portway: Portway School (now Oasis Brightstowe)

 

 

For a number of years many churches local to Portway School in Shirehampton prayed for the pupils and staff there. Then 5 years ago, when the school had just been put under Special Measures by OFSTED, a friendship started to form between various local Christians and the School.

 

The Churches asked if they could pray for Portway and even more, if they could come onto Portway premises to pray. And so the Prayer for Portway evenings began with a small crowd representing many local churches and often a couple of members of staff from the school, themselves not Christians. Local people gathered together simply to pray for staff, pupils and families associated with Portway and the friendship grew.

 

Since that time, many local church members have gone into help in the school in any way that Portway has needed. For example: 

  • Helping with photocopying at busy times
  • Volunteering time to mentor and support young people.
  • Providing cakes in the staff room on Parents' Evening
  • Providing a welcoming team to parents on the new Parent – Teacher days during the year.
  • Contributing to RE lessons on subjects from marriage, to retirement, to what it means to be a Christian.  

There is such a mutual appreciation between Portway and the local churches now. It's been amazing to see the churches joining together to bring God’s love in simple ways in to a struggling school.

 

Jane Simpkins: Christchurch C of E Primary School

 

 

Jane is a regular figure around Christ Church Primary School in Clifton. She can be seen running assemblies, RE lessons, helping out in the playground and on school camps. She knows the children by name and offers informal pastoral support to the kids, the parents and even the teachers.

 

For Jane, the key is consistency. ‘Before I was involved, there was a regular rota of 8 Church staff leading assemblies, and consequently the schools work never progressed between assemblies and the odd RE lesson,’ says Jane. ‘With so many people involved, there was no way to build any sort of relationship. But when it’s just one person, there’s the potential to really become part of the staff. The headteacher has even asked to put my picture on the staff board, I’m such a regular!

 

Involvement is something that has to grow – and will only grow as trust develops. ‘When I first went in, I made the mistake of offering everything under the sun to the school,’ says Jane. ‘Now I realise that it’s an organic process – a step-by-step thing. I’ve made the most of every opportunity the school’s given me, from making cakes to simply having a natter over a cup of tea. Now they’re starting to approach me about running the kinds of things I offered at the beginning – and more. The staff have even given their blessing for us to develop prayer zones around the school.’

 

 

Enough: Hartcliffe and Withywood

 

 

Enough’s Zoe Williams and Suzie Gardener had one thing on their hearts when they moved into 404 Bishport Avenue: to open their home to become a safe place for Hartcliffe’s young people on their way back from school.

 

“We wanted the house to be a safety net in an estate of chaos, full of addiction and brokenness,” explains Zoe. “You just don’t know what some of the young people have to face when they go home.”

 

Enough has been running for about a year, and in that time has seen around 100 young people from the area pass through its doors for the weekly homework club, cake and games evening and God club. The sessions run on three nights of the week between 5 and 7pm and regularly attract up to 30 young people at a time. The project is based in a house attached to St. Andrew’s Church, traditionally used as the curate’s base. Zoe and Suzie now live there with an open house policy, frequently seeing young people dropping by before school to put in the odd prayer request. The spare bedroom in the three-bed detached house provides emergency overnight accommodation for young people facing desperate problems at home.

 

The project was built on the success of detached schools work in the local schools and a heart to do more for the young people in the area. With the emphasis on providing a safe place, learning support and meaningful activities, Enough slots into the extended schools agenda. And it has proved phenomenally successful in consolidating community links. “We’re at the stage now where teachers and anti-social behaviour teams are referring kids to us,” says Zoe. “There’s an amazing sense of God in the house. Young people want to come, and treat it with respect because it’s a real home.”

 

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