Who wants to be a Volunteer? I do!

When I was a child, probably about 7 years old I used to pretend to be a teacher.  At the end of our garden, we had a little lean-to building (my classroom) where I would line up my dolls and teddies and I can remember teaching them the alphabet, how to add up, and take away by proudly drawing on my little chalk board.  I would make charts and registers to check all the toys were present, awarding stars to those who behaved well and to those who got all their spellings correct!  I would read my favourite stories to them, thoroughly immersed in role play and having plenty of fun.  The sense of enjoyment and satisfaction this dream/fantasy world gave me is hard to describe but it always made me feel very happy to be able to pass on what I had learnt while having lots of fun in the process.

I never became a qualified teacher but here I am, many years later experiencing that same sense of fulfilment I had all those years ago as a child now working with Spinnaker in schools.

I joined the Spinnaker Team 12 years ago, when my youngest daughter started primary school and I had taken on the role of part-time Children & Families Worker for my local church.  One of my new responsibilities would be to develop links with our local primary school and to help meet their request for assisting to lead Collective Worship.  How on earth would I do that? Up until that point in my career prior to starting a family I’d only had experience in Human Resource Management and helping with the kid’s stuff at church on a Sunday Morning!  Well, that’s where Spinnaker came to the rescue…

I contacted Spinnaker and became a Volunteer/Associate Church Worker.  Spinnaker provided a structured and straightforward Induction into the world of Christian Schools Work, and to this day they continue to provide termly training sessions for the whole team as well as for new recruits.

I accompanied various experienced members of the Team into their schools and saw them in action.  Delivering quality, relevant and fun-filled assemblies where children engaged with Bible stories and games and were inspired to reflect on key Christian values.  What a thrill to see in person the reaction of awe and wonder on the children’s faces at how Jesus can make a difference.  This is what I wanted to do too!

Since then, with Spinnaker’s help, I have not looked back.  I love being a Spinnaker Schools Worker and now even write the material used!  The sense of abundant blessing I get from delivering the thoughtfully prepared resources together with the genuine appreciation of both children and teaching staff at the schools I visit makes me feel like a millionaire!  God can use all our different skills and experiences for his purposes for such a time as this, even if like me you are not a qualified teacher.  Why not join our Team and discover how working for Spinnaker in Schools can bless you?

the genuine appreciation of both children and teaching staff at the schools I visit makes me feel like a millionaire!

Katie Burtonshaw, Schools Team Manager