Many young people are growing up without any direction on how to navigate their way through the important decisions about how to handle their money. CAP Money Youth is designed to change all of that. It is a very simple but very effective money management course which has now been adapted for secondary school pupils.

Free school meals make a huge difference to 130,000 children in Scotland, but when schools are closed so are the kitchens... MakeLunch.org.uk is a network of churches working to fill the holiday hunger gap. In 2012, when the Archbishop of Canterbury asked a group of secondary school pupils whether they were looking forward to the summer holidays that were about to start, they said no, because they wouldn’t be able to get their free school meals while the school was closed.

Many in S5 and S6 are investigating life’s big questions in a new and critical manner, trying to make sense of the world. Big Questions days offer an opportunity for students to unpack and challenge current world views in a conference-style environment, which can help to prepare for the transition from school to work or university.

Prayer spaces in schools are a great way of getting young people to think about prayer, and are a creative way of running an RO event – as part of an activity in the informal curriculum to which pupils opt in.

This project varies in size, time commitment and school interaction, and depends upon what the school is willing to do, and what you are able to do.

Bible Alive is a programme to teach children in P5-7 the storyline of the Bible in a series of interactive lessons using props, costumes, music, drama, storytelling, puppets and more. It is flexible (people train to use Bible Alive and then develop their own programme) and the whole Bible is usually taught in schools in one hour lessons over 5-8 weeks.

Seasons for Growth is an excellent way of serving young people in your area who are dealing with issues of loss and change. For example, the death of a parent or friend, or the loss associated with divorce, or even moving house. It’s an established and respected way of working in schools across the UK, with significant impact and good training.

At present there are around 16 Scripture Union Scotland Associate Workers operating in towns throughout Scotland. Each one is employed by groups of local churches to be available to the schools and to young people in the area. This human resource is valued by the school, by churches and by young people themselves and regularly offers some of the following:

Lifepath is an initiative to help Christians in local communities organise an event in which primary school pupils have the opportunity to explore the Christian faith through the ‘lifepath’ of a well known Christian from history with a link to their location.

Easter Code is an opportunity to invite local school(s) to bring P6 and P7 classes to your church to take part in an interactive exploration of the Easter story. There is a resource book and CD ROM which outline the 2 hour event, giving a plan for the day, clear instructions on how each ‘station’ should run and what materials are required. The book also spells out how the content of the event fits in with the curriculum and gives a feedback form template for the teachers.

Sometimes it feels that there is more fluff than substance to Christmas time and that the deeper meaning of Christmas is lost. While still enjoying all the “fun” aspects of our Western Christmas, Bubblegum 'n' Fluff provides churches and chaplains a way to help primary 6 children to uncover the real message of Christmas; the celebration of God's incarnation in the person of Jesus. The event duration is 2 hours and features games, sketches, spontaneous drama, craft ideas, storytelling, theme song, worksheets, and much more.

A chaplain may be the one person every under-18 in an area sees both in the corridors and classrooms of their school and in the streets and homes of their community. Uniquely, the chaplain may also be the only individual who transitions with them from primary to secondary school. What a strategic place to be in!

Primary and secondary schools across Scotland are beginning to engage with the processes of the ‘Rights Respecting School Award’ (RRSA).

This UNICEF initiative is being heavily promoted by the Scottish Government and fits well with the capacities inherent in Curriculum for Excellence and the current schools’ focus on issues such as Restorative Justice, Health and Wellbeing, and Citizenship. Based on the UN Charter of the Rights of the Child, it encourages schools to bring staff, pupils and community together to explore rights and responsibilities as well as to create core values and ethos for a school. It’s an ideal area for the involvement of chaplains, Religious Observance teams and churches.

Inspire Aspire is a national award that young people can achieve at gold, silver or bronze level. It can be run as part of either RME or PSHD. Pupils pick a ‘hero’, such as a sports person or figure from religion or history, complete a poster about that person’s life and values and deliver an oral presentation based on their research. They also have to complete a reflection about their own lives and values.