I know that many of us have been wrestling with the same question over these past few months. When the majority of schools aren’t welcoming outside visitors, how can we continue to support our local schools?

It’s been an unprecedented few months and as a team we’ve been reluctant to promote the work of the project during the ongoing pandemic. We know there are far greater priorities at the moment with people’s health and safety paramount.

Emma Howard shares the lasting impact a high school mentor had on her life. The relationship was strengthened when she didn't get the exam results she needed for her desired university course and with the help of her mentor she embarked on a new career path.

Paul Shane Spear famously said that “As one person I cannot change the world, but I can change the world of one person.” This is certainly true of Sheena Wurthmann, a member of Netherlee Parish Church, who in her role as a high school mentor has been changing lives of young people in one of the most disadvantaged communities in Glasgow.

We sat down with Morag Crossan about the value of schools work. Morag is currently a Probation Minister in the Church of Scotland and she brings a wealth of experience from her time as a youth worker.

We sat down with Lisa Cameron, Youth and Children's Ministry Leader at St James' Church in Glasgow to hear how she's serving the primary and secondary schools in her parish. She has a strong focus on supporting pupils' emotional well-being and has some great advice for first approaching schools.

If you already have significant involvement in a school community, proactively looking for other ways to be involved with that school or other schools in the area is not always easy. But perhaps it’s always good to be asking the question: what else can we be doing here?

Perhaps one of the most important questions when serving in a school community is this: how can we be showing the church’s love in action? Karen Stangoe, the children and families worker at Uddingston Park Church, reflects on the different activities that churches can run in schools, and how sometimes it is through serving in the more mundane school activities that we convey this love the best.

Knowing where to start in involvement with a school community can be tricky when we don’t know what opportunities are available to us. Often, when this is the case, it is good to be aware of our skills and be open to using these in the community where there are gaps to be filled.

When Gillian Burns started as the Youth Worker for John Knox Church of Scotland, a new headteacher started at Stewarton Academy, the local secondary school, at the same time. Prior to Gillian starting in the role, the school had had a good relationship with the church, but with very little input, mainly at Easter and Christmas events. But things took a massive shift when the new headteacher started and Gillian was able to build up that relationship from the beginning of both of their roles