At a time when the social contract between families and school has been broken, and the mental health crisis is worsening, creating a culture of belonging in our schools is more important than ever.

It can help to increase attendance, improve wellbeing and behaviour, and ultimately enhance outcomes. This is why, for many schools, offering a quiet space for reflection, or a multi-faith prayer room, is important. It helps pupils to feel welcome and part of the school community.

At The de Ferrers Academy, a multi-site secondary in Burton upon Trent, we’ve provided a prayer room for over a year now after a request from students.

It has had a hugely positive impact for staff and students alike - helping them be able to express their faith, something that is a core part of so many of their lives.

However, it is something that requires careful logistical consideration to make it all work.

Setting up a multi-faith prayer room in school

1. Consider the right space

Ideally, you need to find an accessible space, usually a converted classroom or an empty room, with some privacy for both male and female students that can be used for prayer during break or lunchtime.

Muslim students would usually ask for a prayer space for the midday prayer (Zuhr) that takes place during lunchtime. On Fridays, it is the Jumu’ah prayer, and there might be an increased number of staff and students choosing to pray.

This may increase during Ramadan, a month of fasting and increased spiritual observance for Muslims.

Like any lunchtime club or activity, it is important to include this area as a part of the duty rota.

If staff choose to pray, they could supervise and cover this duty at the same time. Clarity is key. Provide clear expectations for how the prayer room should be used. It should not just become another social area because this would prevent praying students from having the quiet space they need.

2. Consider rules around eating

Regarding lunchtime use of the prayer room, you may need to consider rules on food. In our school the expectation is that food is eaten in the canteen to prevent litter around the academy, and so it is not allowed in the prayer room space.

Based on your school’s lunchtime routines, though, you might want to consider whether students will be allowed to eat in the prayer room or not.

This is especially important if the prayer room will be used for teaching after lunchtime. A “no eating” rule might make it much easier to ensure that the room is kept clean and used purposefully.

Before praying, Muslims perform a ritual washing called wudhu. This includes washing of the hands, face, arms and feet. This could be done in the toilets, but if finances allowed, special wudhu facilities would make this easier.

3. Monitor access

Once the rules and expectations of using the prayer room are clearly established, enforce them in line with the school’s behaviour policy.

To help with this, you could to create a sign-in sheet, so you know who has used the room at any given time.

This is a good proactive measure to ensure that staff can monitor the number of students using the room, and it provides awareness of which students have used it, should any behavioural issues occur.

4. Use the room to set positive student responsibilities

If, due to restrictions in space, students pray in a classroom that needs to be used for teaching after lunch, it is important to ensure that tables and chairs are put back as they were, so it doesn’t affect the next lesson.

I had a conversation with one of our Muslims students, who leads the lunchtime prayer for his friends, and in addition to saying how proud I was of him leading prayer, we agreed that he has a leadership responsibility in ensuring that the prayer space is treated with respect.

5. Reach out

While our students asked us for a prayer room space, some may not even consider whether it is an option for them. Reaching out and asking students whether they want one could be important.

The question could be raised in assembly, inviting interested students to complete a Google Form or survey. You could ask Student Voice to lead on this.

Like most people in education, I came into the profession to support young people and also to feel a valued part of the community. For me, being able to provide a space to help students feel welcome and that they belong is an important part of this work.

Qamar Shafiq is a secondary English teacher and the English as an additional language/anti-racism coordinator at The de Ferrers Academy in Burton upon Trent