May Editorial

After months of declaring how badly they want to leave school, the Year 11’s I work with are now taking all that back, with just a few more days of school before they head off on study leave.  Although the main concern this week seems to be surrounding their prom at the end of the week - last minute changes to the outfits, who’s getting a limo with who (very important!), oh and of course which after party they’re attending, - I know for some of them it’s a time of apprehension.  Uncertain of what life is like without the class they’ve been with for the past 5 years or the steady routine that school gives, a few girls who I meet up with are just beginning to realise that they’ve been taking quite a lot for granted.  One girl last week shared how she was secretly jealous of her sister who was in year 9 who (in her perception) ‘had nothing to worry about’, and would have liked to switch places. Of course we will know many (possibly most?) who can’t wait to move on from school.  The majority will vocalise their desperate need to leave, but I do think somewhere in them there will be a feeling of risk and uncertainty in a way they haven’t experienced for 5 years, and at the age of 16 the pressure is increased incredibly (socially as well as academically).

So how can we best support young people in schools through times of change? You may not be asked to help out at the leavers’ assembly, so why not volunteer? (or if you can’t do that, take an assembly in the lead up to their leaving time). Maybe it’s not the Year 11s, but Year 6s, or another situation where change is a factor affecting the students. I think allowing students the space to reflect in an assembly (even if 8 minutes is all you have) on the change that has taken place within them over the past few years in so many areas of their lives, how they’ve grown and adapted to new things, people and ideas, is such a helpful and simple idea. Very often teachers will remind them of the adventure holidays they went on, the comedy moments, sporting achievements and other memorable times, but they may need you to step in to encourage students to reflect emotionally and spiritually on the journey they are on.  Invite a response from students to think about the ways they have changed the most and who or what has been the most support to them. 

I was reflecting on this idea of change in my own life, and how when the familiar seems to disappear, the really important is more obvious than ever. The ‘really important’ for me is knowing who I was created to be in relationship with (i.e. God!) and trusting He is never going to give up on me, in fact just the opposite! What are the ‘really important’ things for the young people God has given you to care for?  Share stories, find out what’s important, give them a safe space to be heard. Maybe that’s just what they need in times of change...some stability, someone to listen.

Have a wonderful month of May,

Amy Stock

schoolswork.co.uk project director