Photo Artur Łuczka from Pixabay 
As the new term is about to start, welcome back from your holidays, whether they have been spent way or at home. I hope you've found an opportunity to slow the pace for a little while and to take some time away from the normal run of responsibilities. Stepping back often provides us with an opportunity to see what we are doing with greater clarity and to consider what we might do differently moving forward.
So let's look ahead: we are living through yet more challenging times economically, with many families worried about how they are going to provide for the immediate needs of their children. What hope are we able to offer those we come into contact with as we start this new term?
 The Psalmist David says:
The Lord is my light and my salvation; he protects me from danger -whom shall I fear?
...I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Psalm 127: 1 and 13-14 NIV
We can't solve all the problems or meet all the needs of those we come into contact with; but we have a God who can answer prayers and provide hope when things seem hopeless. How can we communicate this message of hope and God's care for each one of us?

This packed mailing has information on Authorised Chaplaincy Assistant training, Children & Families' Authorised Lay Ministry training, Godly Play and All Inclusive training sessions, as well as resources for back to school and Creationtide, including Harvest.

If you are a new children and families leader in your church you might like to join our next Children and Families Leaders' meeting, Evolve, on Monday 21 September 7.30-9pm on Zoom. We will be having our second session of looking at Intergenerational Worship, led this time by Ruth New, Children & Families' Missioner from St Mary's Ely. The aim of Evolve is to meet other leaders from across the Diocese and to share our experiences and ideas. If you'd like to join in, email me directly and I'll send you a Zoom invite.

PS: As ever, resources below are denoted in green if they have been offered previously-new resources are in white. Inevitably there will be  some 'repeats' from previous years.
Authorised Chaplaincy Assistant Training
Working in conjunction with Ridley Hall, we are really excited to be able to offer this free training for Authorised Chaplaincy Assistants, for all those from Church of England churches in Ely Diocese wanting to strengthen their relationship with their church school. The training starts in early January 2023 for two school terms and will equip you to fulfill a supporting pastoral role in your local church school. You can find out more about what is on offer and how to apply on our Chaplaincy page 
Children & Families' Authorised Lay Ministry Course
Are you new to working with children and families in your church or would you like to broaden your skill set?  The new streamlined, 10 session Children & Families' Authorised Lay Ministry course will be starting in January 2023 and is a great opportunity to meet with others delivering ministry to families, to learn from each other and from the experienced children and families' practitioners delivering the sessions. Most sessions on Zoom but two sessions will be delivered in person on Saturday 4 March 2023.
To find out more and to see the course outline, visit the ALM training page 
Please discuss this with your incumbent before applying as you will need to gain the support of the incumbent and PCC in order to gain the Bishop's authorisation. 
An Introduction to Godly Play
Saturday 15 October  
If you have ever heard the term 'Godly Play' and wondered what it is all about, this one day in person training session is an opportunity to find out just what it is and how you might use it to deepen the faith of the families you are working with.
Eona Bell, an experienced Godly Play trainer and Andrea Harrison, a Licensed Lay Minister who has worked as a Godly Play enabler for the Salvation Army, will be delivering this one day session. Visit the booking page for more information or to book on.
All Inclusive?
Wednesday 9 November
I'm delighted to say that Mark Arnold, from Urban Saints, will be delivering this excellent Zoom training on how to make sure that families who have children with special educational or additional needs can be welcomed and included in your church. As he explains, it is not as difficult as it might seem and it can make a world of difference to those children & their families. Visit the booking page for more information or to book on.
Please note booking closes on Wednesday 2 November to enable us to post out what you will need for the course. 
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 
Back to School Resources
Resources For churches...
Photo by James Coleman on Unsplash
Photo from Pixaby free license
Creationtide and Harvest
Telling the Story
With Under 5s Flame Creative
Harvest In Creche Flame Creative  
Squeak the Harvest Mouse (Treasured Tales) RE:Quest
  
Prayer & reflection ideas
Messy Church Prayer Activity Flame Creative 
 
Assorted craft and session ideas
Pictures, weaving and playdough ideas  Debbie Hill Pinterest
Animals and insects Debbie Hill Pinterest
Autumn Food Crafts Debbie Hill Pinterest 
Trees and Leaves Debbie Hill Pinterest
Pumpkins and Scarecrows Debbie Hill Pinterest
Water and bubbles ideas Debbie Hill Pinterest
Stones and Clay Debbie Hill Pinterest
Bird Feeders Debbie Hill Pinterest
Harvest picture(under 5s) Let Their Light Shine
Harvest 3D picture (under 5s) Let Their Light Shine 
Messy Harvest Messy Church Pinterest
Harvest Messy Church board Mina Munns
Creche-Basket of oranges Catherine Ward 
Harvest crafts Families Ministry UK
Craftstick scarecrows  Crafts by Amanda
6 activities to teach thankfulness Imagination Tree
Under 5s 40 different play ideas Imagination Tree 
 
Trails
Scavenger hunts, sorting and matching activities Debbie Hill Pinterest
Assorted trails, activities and ideas Muddy Church 
 
Service ideas
Roadsign prayers for HARVEST All Age The Reflectionary 
Tropical Harvest festival The Reflectionary 
Spud-Power! The Extraordinary Hidden in the Ordinary The Reflectionary
All Age Worship for Harvest Spiritual Child Network

Film Clips
One Human Family Food for All Caritas Internationalis
Parable of the four soils Brian Morrisey
Parable of the Sower RodTheNay
Parable of the Sower My Wonder Studio
Photo by Lewis Keegan on Unsplash
Mission and Ministry work closely with the Education department which supports church schools in the Diocese of Ely. There are resources for Collective Worship and Class Collective Worship which follow the Lectionary available to download. 
Photo by David Beale on Unsplash
For Homes...
The Lectio for Families app is now available to download. Designed for families with children aged 7-11, it helps generate conversation and prayer based on bible reading.
Raising faith is a flexible six week course from Care For the Family that can be done with small groups or individual families. It can be streamed for free or bought as a resource. It covers:
Building faith through everyday life
Creating the right environment to nurture faith
Making your faith visible
Different ways we connect with God
Doubts and questions
Belonging in the church
For Messy Churches .
Telling the Harvest Story BRF
Messy Church has been developing some work on Messy Church Goes Wild-12 sessions for taking your Messy Church outdoors. You can see previous sessions for outdoor worship for Messy Church here
Dates for masterclasses are not yet published
Wild and Wiggly is part of a new series of adventures looking at minibeasts and how little things and little people matter to Jesus. 
For Professional Development...
 Parenting for Faith Online course  for parents and leaders of those working with families 26 September
Cliff College Certificate in Parenting for Faith  Starting in October Information and registration
Journeying Together free 4 session online course for toddler group leaders and helpers to review their work together Care for the Family
Generation forum: how does class shape mission and ministry to youth, children and families? Hybrid event giving the opportunity to discuss and reflect together  Monday17 October 9.15 Generation Research Centre
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
How safe is your Children and Families Work?
1 Recruit all new helpers and leaders safely and ensure that they are fully  checked by your Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO). This includes having a written job role.
2. Make sure that existing leaders and helpers' safeguarding training and DBS are up to date (with PSO)
3 Follow the best practice guidance in the Parish Safeguarding Handbook (August 2019) and Safer Environment and Activities
4 Make sure risk assessments are in place for whatever form of worship you use ie: indoor or outdoor or online. A simple risk assessment based on the national Church of England's guidelines. Further templates can be found here:Safer Working online (scroll down on website page to find section). These need to be updated regularly in the light of changing COVID restrictions 
5 Make sure any activity you undertake is covered by your church's insurance policy (PCC)
6 Contact the Diocesan Safeguarding team if you are unsure, require help or support.
Safeguarding...
Did you know that if you hold any position of responsibility in the church it is imperative that you have 'due regard' to safeguarding guidance. You can now complete most safeguarding courses online, including Responding to Domestic Abuse. 
 Cambridge and Peterborough Safeguarding Partnership (excerpt of latest newsletter)
Current child protection thresholds and pathways were originally designed to consider risks within the home and family setting; however, increasingly professionals are aware that children and young people spending time outside of the home can be subject to risk and harm. We refer to this as ‘extra familial harm’. There is national recognition that this type of harm is not adequately addressed through traditional child protection frameworks.
Managing extra familial harm through contextual safeguarding is not a new concept and has been successfully implemented in many partnerships across the country. Locally, we have been keen to further develop processes to create a contextual safeguarding system that supports both the individual (tier one) risk and those areas surrounding the individual, such as places, networks, and peers (tier two).
To support practitioners in gaining an understanding of what contextual safeguarding is and how it applies to practice we have produced a contextual safeguarding SWAY


Debbie Hill 
Development Officer for Children & Families Diocese of Ely
Working hours 9-5pm Monday to Thursday 
debbie.hill@elydiocese.org  07837 699016
Pinterest boards: Debbie Hill
Facebook: Hope from Home

We pray to be a visible and generous people of God
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