Changing Children’s Lives in Stockwood
Stockwood Free Church has partnered with Woodlands Academy School, a local primary school, for the last three years.
During that time, they have been mentoring young people who would otherwise not qualify for the extra support they need for the past three years or so.
Stockwood is amongst the 10 % most deprived areas in the country — many of the pupils present with social, emotional and mental health challenges.
With the support of TLG (both in-person and with printed and online resources), Stockwood Free Church has made a real difference in the lives of our mentored children.
The church has had good contacts with schools in the area for quite a few years. They've regularly led "Open the Book" sessions, assemblies, performed puppet shows and other activities at summer fairs, and supported a wide range of different school events.
Headteacher Heather Morris said, "The church is at the heart of the school!"
Lance Mason, the pastor of Stockwood Free Church, said:
"When we came across TLG, it gave us the opportunity to provide more specific support in areas that our partner school often lacks sufficient resource, i.e. mentoring children whose life experience seriously detracts from their education."
"Those of us who are mentors have also had the joy and privilege of being a valuable part of the education of the young people – of "transforming lives for good" - and have had great fun to boot."
"The children have visibly grown in confidence and social skills, and the school - and the individual children - have enthusiastically embraced the programme. Support from the central and local TLG teams is invaluable and invariably encouraging. "
"Our church mentors really love each session; the sense of "adding value" is common to all of us. As a result, even more doors have opened to the Church, and we have led 'Easter in a Box' and 'Christmas in a Box' sessions on school premises and also RE lessons. "
"The TLG programme provides our Church with the perfect way of making a real, lasting difference to the lives of young people, and we would happily commend it to every Church in Bristol."
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