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SOUTH WOODHAM FLOWER CLUB
South Woodham Flower Club enjoyed a fabulous evening of flowers at their Gala Night on Friday, 27th September at William de
Ferrers School. Our demonstrator, Emily Broomhead who had travelled from Salisbury to be with us, created the most amazing designs
with an extravagant array of flowers. We were pleased to have members from several other clubs in the nearby area join us for what
was a very enjoyable evening.
If you are interested in flowers and flower arranging then why not join us. Our next meeting is on Thursday, 14th November at the WI
Hall in Guys Farm Road at 8.00 pm. We are always pleased to welcome visitors and new members. I hope to see you there!
SOUTH WOODHAM FERRERS SCHOOL PASTORS – 1 YEAR ON
The South Woodham Ferrers School Pastors Team have been
supporting students within William De Ferrers Secondary school
since September 2018 and were recently awarded a £2000 grant
from South Woodham Ferrers Town Council. So who are the School
Pastors and what exactly do they do?
School Pastors is a UK wide initiative of the Christian Charity
Ascension Trust. Other Ascension Trust initiatives that you may
have heard of include Street Pastors who help provide support to
those enjoying nights out in Chelmsford as well as other Town
Centres at the weekend. Rail Pastors and Response Pastors are
other initiatives run by the charity.
The aim of School Pastors is to work in partnership with Secondary
schools, colleges and other local agencies to enhance the safety
and emotional and social well-being of students through caring,
listening and helping.
Mental health disorders in young people have increased in recent
years and with teachers managing a busy workload and often both
parents out at work, it can be difficult for students to find someone
that has the time to listen to them. That’s where the School Pastors
come in . They are able to help ensure students have access to the
right support by pointing them to the particular agencies they may
require.
After spending the spring/summer of 2018 training for the role,
the South Woodham Ferrers team launched in William De Ferrers
School in September last year becoming the first School Pastor
team in the East of England. They started with 8 people from 4
different local churches who happily volunteer their time providing
support to students. The team is made up of people from a range
of age groups and backgrounds.
The School Pastors have provided support to the School by
providing a presence within the school grounds at lunchtimes as
well as patrolling after school in the local community, helping to
act as a deterrent for anti-social behaviour. They have also enjoyed
attending local events such as the School Christmas Carol service,
East Hanningfield fete, SWFest and Wickford Carnival.
Mr Applewhite, the headteacher at William De Ferrers has praised
the work of the School Pastors. Students and staff have embraced
the members of the team and some great relationships have
started to form over the last year, with young people happy to
come and chat with members of the team about how they are.
Many look forward to the weekly visit from the School Pastors and
gladly accept the refreshments or treats that the team occasionally
hand out during lunch time.
After being fortunate enough to receive a generous £2000 grant
from South Woodham Ferrers Town Council the School Pastor
team hope to expand the support that they are currently offering
to the students and staff at William de Ferrers. The money will help
towards the costs of recruiting, training and providing uniform to
new volunteers, enabling the team to increase the amount of days
that they are in school as well as events that they are able to
attend.
Coordinator for the team Jordine Nunn stated “The heart of each
person on our team is to ensure that young people feel listened
to, valued and supported.
The teenage years come with many challenges. We want to cheer
young people on, helping them to overcome those challenges, see
their self-worth and step into all the amazing things life has for
them. We truly believe that each person has the ability to be a
world changer.”
More information about School Pastors can be found at
www.schoolpastors.org or via the teams Facebook page: School
Pastors – South Woodham Ferrers.
Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer for the South
Woodham Ferrers team can request an application by emailing the
coordinator at southwoodhamferrers@schoolpastors.org.uk
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