Contents

Page 2

Who are CICS?

Page 3

Primary

Page 4

Transition

Page 6

Key Stage 3&4

Page 7

Key Stage 5

Page 8

Assemblies

Page 9

Mentoring & Pastoral

Page 10

Lunch &
After School
Clubs

Page 11

Who are CICS?

We exist to support and serve Calderdale schools in the
relevant communication of the Christian faith. In light of
ongoing educational reform, we seek to be flexible in
our approach to ensure what we offer schools is
practical and in line with the curriculum framework.
Our Aims are:
To support Calderdale schools in the effective
communication and education of the Christian faith
To inspire, equip and support local churches to serve
their local schools
To be an encouragement and support Christians as
they live out their faith
To play our part in inspiring all to have a positive
impact in a school community
We are able to offer most of our services to schools free
of charge.

Page 3

Primary
Aims:

Our aim is to work alongside members of the local Christian

community to train, equip and help them to deliver high quality
collective worship, lessons and workshops prepared by the CICS team.
We also aim to:
Encourage churches and schools to work together in mutually
beneficial ways
Help resource and train churches to support local schools in ways
which are suitable for them
Provide an excellent range of workshops, lessons and collective
worship ideas to support the schools RE Syllabus and SMSC
requirements
Stimulate a childs imagination and cause them to wonder and ask
questions
Nurture a sense of community and belonging
Be relevant, professional and fun
Help children understand Christian beliefs

Open The Book

We are in the process of training churches to deliver Open The Book

materials in their local schools.
Open The Book uses interactive drama to bring the stories of the
Bible to life. This can be delivered in collective worship settings as
well as in classrooms. www.openthebook.net

Page 4

Multifunctional Workshops & Resources

Through storytelling, drama, art, and craft the following vibrant

and exciting workshops are examples of the resources we have
created.
Gods Story - Looking at the Christian world view and the story of
Jesus.
The Feast - Easter workshop exploring the roots of this Christian
Festival
Once Upon a Lifetime Looking at the traditional key moments in a
Christians lifetime including Baptism, Marriage and Memorial
Waterbugs and Dragonflies - This workshop offers themes of
funerals, grief, memorials and the Christian hope of heaven. This is
designed sensitively and creatively to leave children and staff feeling
empowered with knowledge to help themselves and others if and when
the death of a loved one may occur.

Prayer
We want to assist schools in enabling children to explore faith and
spirituality from a broadly Christian perspective. Creating flexible
environments which are fun, interactive and contemplative, which can
be adapted to any age group and situation.
We are also able to deliver this resource working in partnership with
Bus Oasis, being able to use their fully converted double-decker
bus, which can be stationed in a convenient location.

Page 5

Transition
Its Your Move
Every year we work in partnership with local churches to
present the majority of Year 6 students in Calderdale with
a copy of the Its Your Move book, designed to help
students about to move into Secondary School. The book
is very honest and practical and aims to equip students
with key information about some of the differences they
should expect in their new learning environment. Its
Your Move is a great supplement to the existing
transition work that schools already provide for their
students.

Events
Available for transition events at
both primary and secondary
schools.

Page 6

Key Stage 3&4

CICS works alongside secondary schools to help
them deliver their Religious Education curriculum to
an excellent standard.
Topics include:
Christian Festivals
What is a Christian?
Christian perspectives on Matters of Life and Death
Forgiveness
Working with schools and speaking to students, our staff
understand the challenges that young people face.
We have worked with other specialist agencies such as:
CNI Network (Street Angels) - Alcohol Safety
CAP (Christians Against Poverty)- Money Management
The St. Augustine's Centre -Asylum/Human Trafficking
One off faith days/sessions are a great way of engaging
with the big subjects in a new and different way. This
could involve relevant games etc.
We can produce bespoke lesson plans on any topics not
included above.

Page 7

Key Stage 5
We can deliver age appropriate presentations on the
themes mentioned in the KS3&4 section of this brochure.
We would also be happy to speak to 6th form students on
any of the following topics:
Why

does a loving God allow suffering if He is all

powerful?
Religious Experiences
Peace and Unity
Does God Exist?
6th form students need to be able to challenge and
discuss their personal beliefs and the views of others.
They also need to be able to construct rational arguments
to demonstrate evidence to exhibit their opinions. CICS
works towards creating this educational learning
discussion, leading young people to construct a reasoned
argument to objectively share their opinions. We treat the
students as adults.

Page 8

Assemblies
We are able to deliver relevant, motivational and
inspirational talks for all age groups on a variety of themes
Within our team we have the creative flexibility to prepare
content specific to the needs of your students
Including:

Choices
Christmas
Easter
Dedication
Excuses
Fear & Anxiety
Friendship
Heroes
Lent
Fresh Start
Self-Image
Love your neighbour
All things are possible

Page 9

Mentoring &
Pastoral
We can provide 1-2-1 mentoring for students or group
mentoring.
Mentoring can be a crucial addition to your pastoral care.
We will work with students individually or in groups to
help them to realise their potential.
This work comes at a small cost to schools.
LISTEN, CHAT, HELP, CARE

Page 10

Lunch &
After School
Clubs
CICS have several years experience of running and
equipping students and volunteers to run lunch and
after school groups. These groups are designed to
create a safe, inclusive and structured environment for
students who have an interest in the Christian Faith. The
groups are always designed to be fun and enable
students to share their opinions honestly.
We want students to:

Build Friendships
Ask and Explore life's big questions
Feel supported in their faith

Bus Partnership
Bus Oasis is a mobile youth resources using a converted
double-decker bus. This can be made available for both
curricular and extra curricular activities at your school
upon request

Page 11

Christian Initiative in Calderdale Schools

c/o 3 Broadley Grove,
Halifax,
HX2 0RN

Office address:
New Ebenezer,
St. James Road,
Halifax,
HX1 1YS
01422 706761
01422 881693

office@cicscalderdale.org.uk
www.cicscalderdale.org.uk

In association with