Ronni Lamont is an Anglican vicar and school governor. She is the author of Understanding Children Understanding God, to be published by SPCK in 2007. Ronni also runs training events on working with your local school and children's spirituality, details at www.creativespirituality.org.uk.

It is often assumed that ministers know exactly what local schools need from them, as well as how to meet that need. Here are a few ideas to make you the best minister your local school ever worked with.

Important: You'll need Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) clearance to work with children and as the requirement now is that you must be cleared for each place you intend to work, your Church clearance will not cover you for your local school. Contact your school to get put on their list.

Tips

Be clear in your own mind on why you're engaging with the school and how you fit into the educational system. Be clear to yourself and others that you're there as part of the wider community in which the school sits and your primary role is to assist and support the children, staff, parents and governors in any way that they see fit.

Make an initial appointment with the Head. Ask for a look round, and make sure you talk as much as is appropriate on the way round. Ask about catchment area, falling/rising rolls, teacher recruitment and so on. Find out the things that are of concern to the Head and the school.

Never make assumptions. Ask the school what you can do to help them. It may not be in collective worship!

Spend time getting to know the Head teacher. He or she is often grateful for a listening ear - it's a high pressure and sometimes quite lonely post.

Become a governor. This takes time and energy, but it gives a unique insight into the working of the school and gives you new networks of parents and local government as well as proving you really do want to help.

And if you are a governor, think carefully about your roles. If the staff get to know you well, they may use you as a pastor so put the governor hat to one side at that point, and make sure they know you've done that.

If you lead collective worship, ask if you can help choosing the assembly songs. Ask the school which (for example) Christmas carols they are learning, and then include them at your church Christingle or other child-friendly services; the larger the overlap, the easier it is for the children and their families to slip into a church service.

Ask if you can stay in school after leading collective worship, and work in classes with the children perhaps listening to readers, helping out as an extra pair of hands. It will take time, but you could be a real help to staff as well as really getting to know the children and their concerns, and becoming a real friend to the children and staff.

Think carefully about language levels. It is important to be simple, but not simplistic, clear but not patronizing. Listen and learn from experienced teachers.

Read up on children's psychological and faith development. Make sure you use language at an appropriate conceptual level.

If you are leading collective worship, make it great! If you find relating to children in that context hard, say so and engage with the school in a different way, or nominate someone from your church who can lead children's worship well, perhaps one of your children's workers, youth club leaders or Sunday school teachers. If you don't have these, ask around as there may be a retired teacher who'd love to work with a school again on an occasional basis.

Look at the latest assemblies on this site to give you ideas to adapt to your personal style but check that the Head or another member of staff hasn't beaten you to it!

Sit in the staffroom at break/playtime and engage with the chat.

Let it be known that you'd like to go on school trips, and be prepared to go!

Don't neglect the non-teaching staff such as caretakers and dinner staff; they play a vital role and are probably more important to the children than you are!

Ask if you can leave a parish magazine in the entrance foyer; even better, if you can include articles from the school, particularly children's views, poems, prayers, thoughts and pictures.

Enjoy yourself! Make a note of some of the wonderful comments and insights the children give you; they're precious.