What is a school pastor?

A school pastor cares for and supports a 'school community'. They promote safety and aim to reduce anti-social behaviour. School pastors are there to listen, care and help young people to become good citizens.

What are the responsibilities of a school pastor?

• To go on patrol at times and locations agreed with the school.
• To listen, be observant and look out for young people that are vulnerable and respond accordingly.
• To build links with school community – young people, parents, school crossing patrols etc.
• To observe school pastor principles, health and safety guidelines and to only work within the remit of the role of a school pastor.
• To be prayerfully aware of God's direction and share that with your team.
• Other duties, as requested by the school, e.g. mentoring, attending special events.

• disruptive in class;
• finding it difficult to participate/engage in classroom learning;
• regularly being excluded from class;
• on final warnings for exclusion from school;
• presenting with a host of social issues.

The aim of the school pastor is to engage with the pupils, identify their concerns and, in liaison with their tutor, develop an individual learning and behavioural support package that will enable personal development and an enriched school experience.

History and Development

Background

School Pastors is an initiative operated by The Ascension Trust, a national Christian charity, established in 2002, that oversees a number of projects. It is best known for the Street Pastors movement, which now has more than 9,000 volunteers in teams all over the UK and internationally.

Inspiration

Revd Les Isaac, founder and director of The Ascension Trust, pioneered Street Pastors because of his belief in the Bible’s challenge to the church to be a catalyst for social action.

The Ascension Trust originally planned School Pastors to be the first expression of their vision for social action in urban communities, but in the end it was Street Pastors that came first and School Pastors took several more years to reach fruition.

Like Street Pastors, the School Pastors initiative helps Christians to be relevant to and engaged with their communities.

School Pastors teams are now operating in sixteen areas across the country, in secondary schools and in the post-16 sector. A number of new areas are at various stages of set-up or information gathering.

Development

School Pastors teams find that there are opportunities to work in partnership with other Christian organisations in schools, for example, with sexual health projects or life coaching groups.

As well as patrolling at the end of the school day, School Pastors teams are also involved in mentoring schemes, leading assemblies and running reading clubs. There are many opportunities, with school pastors finding that once a relationship with a school is established, schools often say to them, ‘We like you … what else can you do for us?’