We are inviting you to join us as we pray for Schools in Great Britain.
Get involved in these creative ways to pray!
Pray Personally– Check out our personal tips on how to pray and get inspired.
Prayer Picnic – Pack up your picnic hampers, grab your Bible, gather friends, family, your community, and head out on a prayer picnic for your local schools.
Pray Practically – Turn your prayers into action, with these practical prayer activities for your local school.
1. Pray Personally:
Get informed:
There has been an increase of 73,800 pupils across all school types from the previous year, to nearly 9.1 million pupils. This includes all state-funded and independent schools. The number of schools has decreased slightly, by 12 to 24,442.
23.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, up from 22.5% in 2022. This represents over 2 million pupils.
1.6 million infant pupils were recorded as taking a free school meal on census day. *
Almost all (96 per cent) of young people surveyed across England, reported that their mental health had affected their schoolwork at some point.
Three in five (62 per cent) young people received no support from school for their mental health.**
Pray for people:
We want to see God intervene in the lives of all those involved in schools; pupils, school workers, governors, ask for his peace, love and wisdom to be known in the lives of:
Children and Young People
Schools and Teachers
Volunteers/ Schools workers Serving our Schools
School Leadership and Governors
Christian pupils and staff, the challenges and opportunities of being in school
Pray for issues:
We want to see God intervene in the huge issues schools are facing, we believe in a powerful God of breakthrough who gives abundantly. Content for breakthrough in the following areas:
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Relationships: Social/ Bullying
The impact of poverty and disadvantage on students
The need for funding and resourcing for schools
Disengagement from education; the pandemic has greatly increased the number of pupils not attending school
Pray for supporting organisations:
We want to see God strengthen and uphold those who are seeking change and providing support, which organisations or people are on your heart or mind? Pray for them and the following:
Alternative provision schools, working with children and young people who are unable to engage in normal school
Organisations like TLG helping hundreds of churches to support children in school with long term coaching https://www.tlg.org.uk
Keep Praying
Which topics from the list above stands out to you, which are on your heart?
Write down the three that stand out to you most and pray the Lord’s Prayer over them. Continue to do this each day, contending for change.
Pack up your picnic hampers, grab your Bible, gather friends, family, your community, and head out on a prayer picnic.
Here are some ideas to help you pray for schools as you picnic:
Before you head off why not print out or write down the names of your local schools? Add them to a Tupperware, and as you picnic, pull out a school and pray for them.
Pray for one another. What is on your heart for schools? Ask children their experience; what are they seeing at school or in class. Ask if they’d like to give that to God, helping them to feel empowered to pray.
We love to be inspired by what we have in front of us when we pray. Why not use your picnic food to help shape your prayers:
SUGGESTION – When you are eating your sandwiches, think about the bread as the foundation; pray for resources, for funding, equipment and for those who run the school, you could ask children what they think the school needs and get them to ask God for it. The butter holds the sandwich together connecting the bread and the filling, pray for teachers and key workers at the school. The filling is the fun part, pray for the children, for their education, and friendships.
Make sure you get some pictures of your prayer picnic and share them on #freshwaystopray.
Pray Practically:
Join in with the 24-7 Prayer movement in GB as we pray night and day! You could ask your local church to run a prayer room for your schools, pray at home, or add stations to a current prayer room for a local school.
Download the PDF for some helpful school themed stations and inspiration!
Let’s seek the heart of God for schools in our nation!
We’d love you to keep praying for our schools in Great Britain so why not run a Prayer Space in a School. Check out the Prayer Spaces in Schools website, for support and resources on running a prayer space in your local school.
Check out Pray for Schools to find out how you can get involved praying for your local school.
