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As well as working with Lynne Carroll and Jo Bailey, Keith Underhill used Godly Play in Special Schools in his area. Here Keith describes some of his experiences with children at Hatton School and Little Heath School.
Using Godly Play in a Special School setting
My work with Godly Play within the Special School environment came about almost by accident. I was, over a number of weeks, doing some other work, looking at the life of Jesus, with a class of older children. I thought about telling the story of the Good Shepherd (the Godly Play version) just to try a different approach. The response was amazing. Right from the beginning I had their attention and after I had finished they all wanted a go at retelling the story themselves.
Be prepared to be surprised!
Since then I have gone into the same school almost weekly and have told many of the Godly Play stories to different classes, where the children vary both in both age range and in what they are able to do. The liturgical clock has proved a popular Godly Play presentation. (This surprised me at first!) The Sundays of the Church year are represented by little blocks of wood placed in a circle, rather like a clock face. The bricks are coloured white, purple, red and green according to the Church season. The children like to the count the bricks, and explore how many there are in the different seasons, like Advent and Lent. They raise questions about the length of the festivals like Christmas and Easter.
Children wonder in different ways
The Godly Play stories themselves are, in general, very well received, for they are very visual and very tactile. The wondering questions work differently depending on how readily the children are able to use speech to communicate. I have adapted the usual questions and sometimes have used the children's own retelling of the stories as a way of 'wondering'. For example, I ask the children how they feel or how the figures in the story might have felt. But it's always important to remember that children wonder in many different ways, often not using words at all!
Teachers are inspired by Godly Play
I have also used Godly Play with some children
in a local secondary school for children with
special needs and, again, the response has been
very positive both from the children themselves as
well as from the class teacher and assistants. The
artwork that has been produced (both directed and
free response) has been both stimulating and
revealing. Some of the follow-up work from inspired
teachers has also proved very beneficial. In one
session, following the telling of Moses and the
Exodus, the class teacher got out a tambourine from
the cupboard, a 'Miriam' was chosen, and we all
danced around the room 'conga' style to celebrate
the fact that we were now free, out of danger and
safe!
In the primary school, where I do most of this
work, I told the story of Jonah and the Whale. The
class teacher turned the tables upside down so that
the children could use them as boats and act out
the story.
Teacher: The Revd Keith
Underhill
7 Hastings Avenue
Barkingside
Ilford
Essex
IG6 1DZ
Tel: 020 8550 2460
Email: thoseatnumber7@aol.com
Keith Underhill is a Methodist minister working half-time in Circuit and half-time in schools on the Religious Education Resources Project. He works with an increasing number of schools within the London Borough of Redbridge: early years, infants, junior and secondary schools, both mainstream and special. His work includes leading collective worship, taking RE lessons, supporting teachers, showing schools around churches and leading INSET sessions. For the National Society's Godly Play Schools Project, Keith worked with two Redbridge teachers, Lynne Carroll and Jo Bailey, in KS1 and KS2 classrooms, using Godly Play within community school settings. He has also been using the Godly Play approach in Redbridge Special Schools, as reported above.
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