How you’re sharing the Bible in schools

It probably won’t surprise you that here at Bible Society, we don’t think that the Bible is just for grown-ups. The work we do to help children and young people to discover the Bible, to learn about it and from it, is really important to us. 

Open the Book takes Bible stories into primary schools, and Mary Jones World in Bala receives school visits so that the children can learn how much it meant to Mary Jones to have a Bible of her own. Also, we’ve recently published a new Bible for children, the Good News Bible: Children’s Rainbow Edition, which was developed using ideas and feedback from parents, teachers and children.

Reading Scripture at school

Another way that we help children to come to know the Bible better is by providing resources for schools. For most children and young people, the only place they will come into contact with a Bible is at school. Just 11 per cent of parents with children aged under 18 go to church at least once a month, while 74 per cent very rarely or never go.

We think that the Bible is something that every child, from whatever faith and belief background, should be able to experience and learn about in school, so that they understand the Bible well, can read it wisely and with confidence, and understand the value it can bring to people’s lives. So, over the past few years we have developed a large range of education resources for both primary and secondary schools which are now widely used by schools in England and Wales (and sometimes further afield).

At the end of last month, we reached the exciting landmarks that our education materials are being used in 2,000 secondary schools and 800 primary schools in England and Wales.

Our resources aim to equip and support teachers, and especially teachers of RE (in England) and of RVE (in Wales), so that their pupils can learn what the Bible is, what it says and what it means to Christians. Our education materials are designed to be suitable for schools of all types, including those with a Christian designation (of any denomination) and those without, and in both the state and independent sectors.

What does this look like in classrooms?

A Year 8 class might use our resource on The Environment and Stewardship to learn about how Christians interpret what the Bible says about the environment and how can they put it into action. A 15-year-old preparing for her GCSE in Religious Studies could use Sources of Wisdom to understand how the Bible informs key Christian beliefs and concepts, as she prepares for her exams.

Bible Society is a member organisation of the Religious Education Council, a multi-faith forum that brings together a wide range of different faith and belief organisations to work together to advocate for and support better RE in schools. 

Your support makes the production and provision of these Bible-opening resources possible. That means you are introducing God’s word to children who wouldn’t otherwise read it. Will you pray that this experience of Scripture will help children achieve great things at school?