From St Michael's Mytholmroyd church magazine

I often meet and talk to people who express concern because many children are not getting the Christian and moral guidance previous generations took for granted.  In schools, the emphasis on academic qualifications has increased, the teaching staff are more and more burdened , not just with obtaining good ‘results’ from their pupils but with having an abundance of administration work.  One is reminded of Gradgrind’s regime in Dicken’s ‘Hard Times’. This is where CICS comes in.

CICS workers, ( professional and voluntary ) cover many aspects of the RE curriculum, take assemblies, run lunch clubs and, more recently, encourage and promote the ‘Open the Book’ teams who go into Junior schools to teach the bible, through story telling and drama to children ( and many young teachers and assistants !) who may never have had the opportunity to learn about it. This is in conjunction with the Bible Society and is OFSTED approved.

CICS aims to work along with local churches to help the young people in the changeover from Primary to Secondary education. Thus, a team of CICS volunteers deliver to most year 6 pupils in Calderdale a copy of an attractive and exciting book called ‘It’s Your Move’.  This book complements any existing transition work that schools provide by giving the children helpful information and interesting activities which are gently Christian but do not detract from other Faiths in any way.We are aware that this is a sensitive issue. 

I am proud to be a Trustee and volunteer for CICS. However, we always need more support. 

If you feel able to help us and are interested in learning more, our email address is:- 

[email protected] and the website is www.cicscalderdale.org.uk

Thank you to all who have supported us so far and will, we hope, continue to do so.

Christine Jackson, CICS Trustee.