Anna Shaw
School Ministry Development Officer
E: ashaw@cpas.org.uk
In my work with schools and churches across the UK, I meet leaders who share a deep desire to work well together. There’s a genuine recognition that when schools and churches partner effectively, the impact on children, families, and staff can be significant.
And yet, despite the goodwill, it doesn’t always happen.
The reality is that both school and church leaders are incredibly busy. Even when there’s enthusiasm for partnership, it can easily be squeezed out by more immediate demands. Time isn’t protected, conversations don’t go deep enough, and good intentions don’t always translate into sustained action.
That’s exactly why we developed School Pathways.
School Pathways is a nine-month programme designed to help school and church leaders build strong, purposeful partnerships. At its core, it isn’t about adding more to already full workloads, it’s about making space for the right kind of work.
Through our experience, and research into effective partnerships, a few things are consistently true. Partnerships thrive when:
- There is external facilitation to open up honest, meaningful conversations
- Training is contextualised and relevant to both school and church
- Leaders intentionally prioritise time together
- There is a shared and lived action plan, not just ideas on paper
School Pathways brings all of this together in a structured and supportive way.
What we aim to do
The programme is designed to:
- Give space for rich, structured conversations that don’t often happen day-to-day
- Support dialogue around more challenging or complex areas
- Provide high-quality training that benefits both school and church contexts
- Enable teams to develop, review, and adapt a shared action plan
This isn’t theoretical. It’s practical, relational, and rooted in real contexts.
Learning together, not alone
One of the things I love most about School Pathways is that leaders don’t come alone. Headteachers attend alongside their church counterparts, and can bring wider team with them (senior leaders, children’s and family workers, or key volunteers).
This matters, because partnership is never the responsibility of just one person. It grows when it’s shared.
Each session follows a rhythm that feels both grounded and purposeful:
- We begin with Bible reflection, prayer, and worship—always offered in a way that is invitational and sensitive to everyone present
- We explore a key theme, starting with discussion grounded in real experience
- There is high-quality input to stretch and inspire thinking
- Leaders then work together in facilitated activities, applying ideas to their own context
- We share resources and tools to support ongoing work
- And we end by identifying clear next steps, so that learning is carried forward
The Conversations that shape partnership
Across the three terms, we focus on the key areas that really make a difference:
Term 1: Getting Honest About Where We Are
We begin by exploring the barriers to effective partnership. Participants name challenges as well as opportunities and discover creative ways forward.
The afternoon examines pupil spiritual development, developing a shared theology around this between church and school, noticing where opportunities might be deepened or made more consistent.
Term 2: Deepening Understanding
In the second term, we explore the power of curiosity, learning to ask better questions and to understand the varied experiences of people within our communities.
We also tackle the idea of genuine versus false agency, asking where pupils are truly active participants in their spiritual journeys, and how we can together grow that sense of ownership.
Term 3: Extending the Impact
Finally, we consider how to draw in support from home, recognising how vital families and wider networks are for both educational and spiritual outcomes.
We close by spending time thinking about how to hold difference well , making use of a practical toolkit. We explore how to navigate disagreement with grace, kindness, and confidence.
Introduction to the
'Pathway' course
Join this 30-minute webinar to hear the vision behind Pathways and see how it can support school–church partnerships.
07 July 2026 - 13:30-14:00
Onlines
Turning intentions into action
For me, one of the most important parts of School Pathways is that it doesn’t stop at conversation.
At the end of each session, leaders identify three clear actions and a timescale. Over the course of the programme, these small, intentional steps build into real, lasting change.
It’s encouraging to see how quickly momentum can grow when time is protected and ownership is shared.
Why this matters
When school and church partnerships are strong, the benefits ripple outwards:
- Pupils experience richer, more connected support
- Families feel more engaged and included
- Staff are strengthened by a sense of shared vision and encouragement
Ultimately, this is about helping communities flourish.
School Pathways is an invitation to step into that potential, not perfectly, but intentionally. And it’s been a privilege to see what happens when leaders take that step together.