Ideas for Schools
Operation Christmas Child added a tremendous dimension to or school ethos. The beauty of the whole campaign is that you can link it into almost every aspect of the Curriculum. Parents, prospective parents and Ofsted were very impressed by the community perspective that Operation Christmas Child embraced.”
Pat Sabin, former Headteacher at Firfield Primary School Derbyshire
Operation Christmas Child enjoys the support of many UK schools that recognise its valuable contribution to pursuing the vision and values of their schools. It aligns not only with the curriculum for Religious Education, Geography, Citizenship and PSHE but also overarching frameworks like ‘Fundamental British Values’.
Here are some ideas for how to take part:
- Download free posters, leaflets and more to take part and get your school involved.
- You could choose to make one shoebox per class with each child contributing a gift, or every child could fill a shoebox – whatever works best for your school.
- Watch our Operation Christmas Child videos
- Download our assembly ideas resource for Primary Schools.
- Download our class activities resource for Secondary Schools.
- Choose one of the destination countries to study. Research the customs, flag, geography and current events.
- Use Operation Christmas Child as an opportunity to learn about and pray for children of other cultures, languages and world religions.
- Write letters or Christmas cards to include in the shoeboxes.
- Download our Children’s resources
- Make some quality crafts to include in the shoeboxes.
- Watch Lola's Lion
We really wanted to give to Operation Christmas Child this year because we wanted to give people less fortunate than us more opportunities”
Matthew, a member of the School Council at Ballykelly Primary school
Introduction Letter for Parents
Download our Introduction Letter to Parents to accompany the How to Pack Leaflet, and tell parents all they need to know about the programme and why your school is getting involved.
Christmas Values Programme
Invite a local volunteer to deliver our Four Lesson Programme on Christmas Values that supports the work of Operation Christmas Child.
‘Christmas Values’ is a 4 lesson course designed in partnership with teachers and education trusts across the UK. It is a curriculum based programme, designed around the Christmas story from the Bible. The lessons seek to share the real story of Christmas through a thematic program of values. While exploring these values of fairness, generosity, esteem and individuality, we hope to demonstrate the importance and impact of Operation Christmas Child, as well as other compassion based charities. These lessons help deliver the RE and SMSC curriculum, fundamental British values, as well as helping with literacy skills through writing and discussion. The course is targeted at Key Stage 2.
Pack Shoebox Gifts Online Together
Building shoebox gifts online is another great option for your class or school.
Choose from our selections of toys and other fun items to include in your gift. Then, personalise it by adding a letter and photo. We’ll pack everything for you and prayerfully send it on its way with the message of God’s love for a boy or girl in need around the world!
You can even create a goal page and pack shoebox gifts together online as a school. Our custom goal pages allow you to set an online shoebox target, pack together online and watch as your goal tracker grows and represents more children blessed with the joy of a shoebox gift and the eternal hope of the Gospel.
