First contact

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Martyn Skinner is head teacher of Monkston Primary School in Milton Keynes. And, unfortunately, he doesn’t think there’s any magic formula. ‘For me, it boils down to the manner of the person as they make contact,’ says Martyn. ‘Often it’s as straightforward as someone ringing up the schools and asking to chat to the head teacher; just seeing if they can say hi and introduce themselves. The people who do it well, do it in a low-key way.’

It’s the manner which seems to be important. Going in like a bull in a china shop is not going to help. Going in with an agenda, particularly one that you don’t reveal in a first meeting, is also not going to endear you to the school. ‘Most heads would respond very well to a low-key intro and are put off by anything that generates intensity,’ Martyn continues. ‘A phone call like, “Hi, I’m a leader of the local church, since we serve the same community, I’d really love to come and introduce myself” can be a really effective approach.’

Head teachers might not be able to offer a lot of time initially, after all, they’re leading a large community of children and teachers (the average size of a primary school is around 250 children) so they don’t have much time to spare. However, most will be polite enough to listen to the low-key phone call that Martyn describes. After that, the head might invite you in for a meeting, and it’s there that you might be given the chance to explore how you can serve the school. ‘I don’t think that most heads are looking for you to come in with a whole set of ideas,’ Martyn says. For him, churches need to begin by listening to schools and seeing where they can help out and serve them.

The head may not invite you in to take an assembly or RE lesson immediately – they don’t really know you yet! Indeed, they may not ask you to help at all. All they might take away from your conversation is that you’re a Christian, that you are friendly and that you care about their school. However, that still won’t be a waste of time. In a couple of weeks’ or months’ time, the head might reflect back on your conversation and realise that there is something you can help out with.

On the other hand, they might identify areas that you could start helping them with, for example arranging a visit to your church (many RE curricula require children to visit places of worship). Some heads might ask you if you have any suggestions, so do have simple ideas of how you can help up your sleeve, but don’t force those on the head and don’t promise anything that you later can’t deliver on. Also don’t be disappointed if the head doesn’t initially go for any of your ideas!

Martyn does has some words of warning: ‘In my encounters dealing with some people from churches, it can be a little bit off-putting if either there’s a very clear agenda or programme that they want to foist upon the school or there’s a really unnerving intensity. It’s not about the process you choose, but about initiating contact in as friendly a way as you can.’ Head teachers strongly feel the responsibility not to allow just anybody to come in and have the opportunity to influence their children.

Churches need to begin by listening to schools and seeing where they can help out and serve them

This leads on to an important point. Christian staff and children in schools may have been working hard to establish constructive and inclusive faith dialogue, and a misjudged approach from a church could well set their work back if it suddenly gives an adverse impression of what it means to be a Christian. However, a warm and friendly first impression can open opportunities later on.