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Youth Church | The Church of England in Aston and Nechells

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Children and Young People

We want the children and young people in our churches to know that they can play a full part in the lift of the church, and also to have their own special activities where they can grow in their relationship with God in the way that is best for them. Hence we provide a range of activities during our Sunday services in each of our churches for our younger members.

Each month there are services in each of our churches which are designed for children, young people and adults to worship and learn together. On the other Sundays, the following special groups and activities are provided for children and young people during the morning services:

Aston Parish Church

St James


Child Protection

Each of our churches operates a Child Protection Policy which follows the guidelines recommended by the Diocese of Birmingham and Church of England’s child protection policy. Every adult involved in leading or helping with our children’s and young people’s groups has been subject to an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check.

Copies of the Child Protection Policy are made available to all our staff and volunteers who work with children and vulnerable adults. Copies of the policies are on display in each of our churches, and a copy can be made available on request.

For more information you can visit the Church of England website.


Aston Parish Church Crèche (Under 5s)

The Crèche caters for under 5s. They meet in the Higgins Lounge during Sunday service and share Bible Stories together. Parents may leave their children with the leaders, but they are also more than welcome to stay with their children and join in the learning and fun with them if they wish to. The Crèche is available throughout the service, although some children only come into the Crèche for part of the service.

Children are encouraged to move on to the Explorers group when they are old enough to make the most of the group. Until then, they are welcome to stay with the Crèche.


Aston Parish Church Explorers (Ages 5 to 11)

James Hicks leads the Explorers group which caters for primary school age children. The group spend the first part of the service in the church with the adults. They then go through to the Church Centre together for their own group. When there are services of Holy Communion, the children rejoin the adults towards the end of the service. Many of them have learned about Communion and are able to receive the bread and (non-alcoholic) wine during the Service.

For their own activities, the group draws on the excellent resources in Scripture Union’s X-treme magazine.


St James' Junior Church

We provide a resource table at the back of the church. This includes activity sheets on a theme related to the sermon that day which children can complete.