Schools Work
As part of OS2’s Phase 3 expansion, we are launching a new project, called Collabor8. The mission of this project is to link our work to the schools of knowsley The premise is simple. With our five years of experience, and our faith-based background, we are ideally placed to provide schools with support in the areas of RE and Collective Worship, in addition to ECMA Intervention, Performing Arts/Urban Arts, Extra Curriculum Leisure and Tailored Sessions. Religious Education and Collective Worship All schools are mandated to follow SACRE guidelines to offer both religious education and collective worship. Many schools run into challenges in fulfilling these requirements - especially given that in some cases, school staff aren’t allowed to lead the latter. As explained in the faith section of our website, OS2 is a faith based organisation. We are staffed by young, inventive Christians, often from all over the world. We have a wealth of experience and expertise in both of these compulsory areas: RE Lessons: Over the last five years, we’ve delivered over 300 lessons, discussion groups and themed events. As our team members come from all denominations (Baptist, Pentecostal, Methodist, Catholic, Anglican etc.), we have a uniquely varied range of both personal experience, and perspectives. Being a youth-focussed operation, our RE presentations are mostly multimedia affairs. We have significant experience in using music, slideshows, professional (home made) movies and live performances. All of our presentations (and the component media - movies etc.) are built from scratch, to ensure that they are fit for purpose, original and engaging. So, how successful are we? Every week, up to seventy children voluntarily attend our themed events (which are all biblically themed), and up to twenty attend our weekly Bible lessons. This is in their leisure time - they don’t have to come at all, but they do - week in, week out. Collective Worship: Worship is a difficult issue for many schools. In fact, it’s a difficult issue for most people. It’s barely understood, and the very word can make people uncomfortable. Thanks to our variety of experience and backgrounds, we are able to offer simple, effective introductions to, discussions about and investigations of, and practice and experience of many forms of worship. Wether in assembly time or lessons, we are well placed to offer any level of support or leadership in this area. Every Child Matters Agenda (ECMA) Intervention OS2 has been involved in ECMA intervention since we became part of KMBC’s third sector review committee. We are heavily involved in area-wide efforts to improve the lives of children, and as such have multimedia lesson, assembly and lunch-club plans, prepared and ready to go. Performing Arts/Urban Arts With every new generation comes new forms of expression. As a youth work organisation, we keep up with current trends. In particular, we currently provide tuition in breakdancing, street dance, MC-ing (rapping), DJ-ing, Free Running (parkour), Graffiti and more. With our own professional equipment, we are able to set up anywhere, at any time. In providing this support to schools, the schools only need to provide an empty space, and some school children - we take care of the rest. Extra Curriculum Leisure In October 2008, Merseyside Police approached us to help them reduce anti-social behaviour on mischief night and halloween. In response, we held an NRG event, offering cage football, basketball, grafitti, free running, dance battles, MC showcasing, live music (all by bands made of local young people) and a late night rave. The result? 160 young people off the streets and out of trouble, and a successful ASB reduction campaign by the police as a result. This is our main specialty. Wether it’s a concert, a disco, karaoke, a sports tournament, or anything else - we take both pleasure and pride in providing the very best entertainment to young people. With all our own professional equipment, we can respond to requirements with tailored solutions, quickly and to a high standard. Tailored Sessions Although we have our specialties, our experience in interactive presentations positions us well to provide lessons or assemblies in any subject. Among other subjects, theme days we’ve previously been employed by schools to deliver include Foreign Cultures (in which we concentrated on Modern Australia, with three Australians taking the lead) and Enterprise Initiative (in which we held a ‘The Apprentice’ contest). If you need us to support you or help equip you in delivering a specialised subject, or would like us to deliver it for you, then please get in touch. We’re here to help. To get a flavour of the kind of thing we do on a daily basis, have a look around this site. The%20Faith%20Aspect.htmlshapeimage_3_link_0
(Click here to see the original lesson plan context for this video)