buddhism for schools
still learning
Welcome to Still Learning, a not-for-profit education service working in partnership with the Sheffield Buddhist Centre. Still Learning provides high-quality tours and workshops about Buddhism and Mindfulness delivered by experienced practising Buddhists. Our sessions are engaging and interactive, as well as designed to meet your learning objectives.
Visit Sheffield Buddhist Centre
Sheffield Buddhist Centre is a beautiful converted church situated in Walkley, Sheffield. We offer engaging, interactive and informative tours of the Buddhist Centre, tailor-made to suit all key-stages. Tours usually last for 2 hours.
Your pupils will experience first-hand the calming atmosphere and the sights, sounds and smells of a Buddhist Centre, complete with two beautiful shrine rooms, a variety of Buddhist artwork and statues and traditional Buddhist artefacts.
- What does it cost? Tours typically last 2 hours. Groups cost £5 per pupil or £7.50 for a 4 hour visit. The minimum group charge is £100 per 2 hour or £150 for a 4 hour visit.
- When should I book? Please try to make any bookings at least one month in advance, which will help us to accommodate your preferred dates.
- Facilities: Disabled access is possible.
Below there’s information on Primary and Secondary school visits, information for scouts and trainee teachers, on mindfulness for schools and free download packs for schools.
For more information or to book a session use the contact form below, phone or email.
Choose Your Activities
Below are some examples of popular themes and workshops we offer, although we are always happy to work with you to develop new activities to suit the needs of your class. Most of these activities can be adapted to suit any key stage.
If you can’t make it to the Buddhist Centre then we can come to you, we offer full or half day workshops in schools: Workshops in Schools
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Primary School Visits
Since Still learning started we have welcomed thousands of primary age children to the Buddhist Centre and visited them in their schools. We run high quality, educational tours with a variety of interactive activities. A standard school tour will meet many of the curriculum’s objectives and would include the following:
However, we plan each session to be specific for the children attending and are happy to address themes and specific learning objectives. We have a wide range of learning activities up our sleeves. The sessions are planned and delivered by an experienced Buddhist primary school teacher plus colleagues.
Our sesions are:
Interactive
Each visit is highly interactive, using images, objects and activities that mean children can get really involved.
Educational
Each activity is designed for learning and finding out what it is really like to be a Buddhist and what Buddhism looks like in the modern world.
Sensory and Fun
We know that not every child learns in the same way and aim to incorporate a range of teaching and learning techniques that make activities sensory, hands on and fun.
Secondary School/ College Visits
Since Still Learning started we have welcomed many secondary school students to the Buddhist centre and visited them in their schools and colleges.We run high quality, education tours with a variety of interactive activities. A standard school tour will meet many of the curriculum’s objectives and would include the following:
However, we plan each session to be specific for the students attending and are happy to address themes and specific learning objectives with our wide range of learning. The sessions are planned and delivered by an experienced Buddhist, qualified teacher plus colleagues.
Our sesions are:
Educational
Each visit is highly interactive, employing a range of teaching and learning techniques and high quality resources.
Challenging
Through visiting the centre we hope to challenge students to think deeply about modern world religions and their personal opinions and views. Students will find out what it really means to be a Buddhist and what Buddhism looks like in the modern world.
Thought Provoking
Students will be encouraged to consider some of the bigger questions in life and give reasoning to support their findings.
Scouts
Come and visit us at the Centre or let us ‘bring the Centre to you’. You will meet Ordained Buddhists and Buddhists training for ordination and hear about their lives and their practice. You can look at a range of Buddhist artefacts from around the world and use your detective skills to find out what they are and what they symbolise. Plus you can visit our shrine room and hear about the festivals that take place and what we use a shrine room for. You can take part in eye spy to find a series of objects you might find at a Buddhist Centre.
And you can learn about meditation and have a go at a Stilling Exercise.
You can learn about:
Your local place of Buddhist worship
The people involved, their titles and what they do
The important or sacred objects
Buddhist stories and traditions
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is very popular now in school and workplace settings because of the benefits it can have including (but not limited to) increased concentration, focus, relaxation and reduction in stress. Even the government are getting involved in mindfulness research and have recently launched a mindfulness trial in schools in order to further assess its impact on improving mental health.
Learn about Mindfulness and experience its benefits for yourself:
Learn basic mindfulness techniques that can be applied to many situations
Try stilling exercises, body scans, more formal meditations. Even mindfulness games.
We will tailor your mindfulness session to your groups needs and requirements
Universities/ Trainee Teachers Section
We run workshops with a dual focus for training teachers; we give a solid introduction to Buddhism and we also explain and suggest ways to teach Buddhism to their future students. A standard tour would usually include looking at symbols, artefacts, the Buddha’s life story, ethics, karma and meditation. However, we always tailor our activities to suit the needs of the group attending.
Currently we run workshops in several local universities working with:
Trainee primary school teachers studying BA
Trainee secondary RE/ Ethics/ Philosophy teachers
Primary PGCE trainee teachers
Our Team
Still Learning was launched in 2009, in response to requests from teachers across the region. Since then we have worked with over 30,000 students and over 125 schools, universities and scout groups. All our team are DBS checked and have a wide range of teaching experience.
Workshops in Schools
Why book a workshop? If you can’t get to the Buddhist Centre, why not bring the world of Buddhism into your classroom with workshops tailor-made to meet your learning objectives? Our interactive and informative workshops can help bring to life any aspect of Buddhist life and teachings, including a taste of Buddhist meditation with our popular meditations or ‘stilling exercises’, suitable for people of any faith or none.
Run by enthusiastic and committed Buddhists who can speak directly from their own experience about what it’s like to live by the Buddha’s teachings.
Minimum charge £150 Half day workshop £250 Full day workshop £350
We are committed to finding a way to give students a first hand experience of Buddhism whatever the budget. Please get in touch with us to find out more. When should I book? Please try to make any bookings at least one month in advance, which will help us to accommodate your preferred dates.
Teachers Notes
At Still Learning we have created some teachers’ notes which you might like to use in your classroom to follow on from one of our tours or workshops. You can access these by clicking on the links below:
Also, our friends at Clear Vision in Manchester have been working to bring Buddhism into schools for a number of years. They have produced lots of great resources to help staff and pupils study Buddhism. Sadly they closed down in 2020, but some of their very useful resources are still available and you can access them here.
contact Details
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Sheffield Buddhist Centre
Howard Road S6 3RT - Contact Form
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