News of war in Europe is everywhere, and children and young people have access to more news streams than ever before.

Save the Children have produced some useful guidance on How to Talk with Children About the Conflict in Ukraine, as they realise that ‘children around the world might not fully understand what is happening in Ukraine and may have questions about the images, stories and conversations they are exposed to.’

Time and time again in the Bible we are called on to pray. Jesus models this through His life and teachings. Paul consolidates this in his letters, including this to the Church in Philippi:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4: 6-7

Therefore we have produced a prayer resource which aims, in a primary age appropriate way, to inform children about what is happening both in Russia and Ukraine, validates any feelings of uncertainty and encourages children to speak out about these, reassures children that world leaders are working hard to resolve the situation, and enables children to channel their thoughts and feelings into prayer.

Please be aware that the situation is constantly evolving, so some elements of this resource might become outdated before we’re able to address them.

As such, you might wish to adapt/expand upon and/or offer updates to this content as appropriate for the age and stage of the children in your class. BBC’s Newsround is a good place to read about updates in a child friendly way, particularly if children are feeling upset by the news.

If you plan to adapt content, you might prefer to use the EYFS version of these prayers, which offers focus images on screen with text in the Speaker Notes which can be adapted as desired.

If this resource proves helpful to you in discussing and praying about the situation in Ukraine with your school, please do share it across your networks.