Zone leaders guide

zone leaders guide This brief guide includes tips and suggestions, as well as things you may need to remember when preparing for and leading your zone.

Preparing for and planning your zone •

If you have been given responsibility for gathering the extra resources you need for your zone, use the zone outline to ensure you have all the essentials, as well as any extra resources you decide to include. Why not enlist the help of other people in your church or community to help you create any props and scenery, or loan you items they may already have?

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All of the zone outlines suggest extra/alternative activities, allowing you adapt the zone to fill the time you have available and reflect your own church (eg style of worship, community work etc), as well as the wider Salvation Army. Your corps officer/children’s worker may have already planned what they want to include in each zone, or you may want to discuss this together.

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You may like to take a look at how your zone (and the visit as a whole) links to the school curriculum. Ask your corps officer/children’s worker for details (included on the CD-ROM).

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When you have decided what to include in the zone you can begin to familiarise yourself with the script. Taking the time to learn your script (as far as possible!) may seem like a daunting task but it will help you to communicate and connect with the pupils and really make the zone your own. Of course you don’t need to learn it word for word (some zones have much longer scripts than others), and you may need to refer to it on the day for the main points and questions, however try to avoid relying on it too much. Why not practice leading your zone with other zone leaders or even with your own children, grandchildren or children from your church?

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Use the glossary to remind yourself of words which pupils may be unfamiliar with. Avoid acronyms (eg CO, YPSM) and try not to overwhelm pupils with too many new terms. If you do use words such as ‘corps’ or ‘officer’, explain them to make sure pupils understand.

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You will see that the zone scripts have been designed to encourage discussion by including different kinds of questions to help pupils share their thoughts and ideas. Most questions are designed to be answered by the pupils, rather than being rhetorical questions, so do give time for pupils to respond and communicate their answers.

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If you are leading the Bible zone, you may benefit from attending a Godly Play training day (visit www.godlyplay.org.uk for details).

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Ask your corps officer/children’s worker to let you know about any pupils who have special needs and what support they will need during the visit. Take these into account when planning your zone and try to be prepared on the day.

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Make sure you know what to do if a difficult or potentially dangerous situation occurs. A risk assessment will have been completed and your corps officer/children’s worker will share this with you before the visit or at the start of the day.

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Leading your zone •

At the beginning of each zone it’s important to share the aims with the pupils, so that they know what they are expected to learn. If there’s time, refer back to the aims at the end of each zone to check what the pupils have learnt (or to remind them!).

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Try to be aware of the time and ensure that you fit in all of the activities and don’t run over. If you have another adult helper from the corps or from the school you could ask them to help you keep to time by giving discreet signals.

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It’s a really good idea to have a plan in case you end up with time left over at the end, or you run out of time. Decide which activity/section you could leave out if necessary and which extra activity pupils could do if you do have extra time.

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Sometimes pupils speak quietly and you may not always hear exactly what they have said.

Asking them to repeat their answer and ensuring you understand what they have said will make them feel that their contribution is valuable and should build their confidence. Also, try to encourage all the pupils in the group to contribute, rather than just one or two. An important part of Ultimate Church Visit is allowing the pupils to develop their speaking and listening skills as part of the school curriculum so it’s good to keep this in mind.

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If pupils are working in pairs or groups on any activities, provide support with reading etc and ask questions which might help them express their thoughts and opinions. This interaction can be really valuable, particularly with pupils who may be less engaged in a task than others.

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Ensure that all the pupils remember to take everything with them when they leave the zone, eg pupil books, pencils, bookmarks etc. Have a supply of spare pencils with you in your zone just in case!

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On the day you will need: F Timetable for the visit F List of groups with names of pupils if possible F Pupil books (and pencils) to give out to your first group F Zone outline and any other relevant scripts F Glossary F Any extra pupil resources to be given out in the zone

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