A BISHOP visited two Swindon nurseries to bless their sites.

Excited youngsters at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School and Holy Family Primary School looked on as Bishop Declan Lang, leader of the Clifton Diocese came to visit them.

At Holy Family, he joined the little ones in meditation and prayer before blessing the nursery Bush Babies and its new Haven facility..

The school’s headteacher Karen Bathe said:”The pupils were slightly in awe of him but they’re always excited to have visitors, and they were very quiet and well-behaved during the meditation.

“The children here each have a prayer bear they take home and pray with, so they made an art collage of a prayer bear and presented it as a memento for the bishop to take home with him. It’s a nice link to the school and the diocese that we are a part of. This was a wonderful afternoon and it was a privilege to have the bishop here.”

The chaplaincy team at the nursery had afternoon tea with Bishop Declan in the new Haven and they enjoyed asking each other questions.

Karen added: “He saw our youngest and eldest in one visit, it was brilliant We have been exceptionally fortunate to have a grant from Swindon Borough Council after putting a bid in for social, emotional and mental health funding. This is what we used to build the Haven, which will help us provide even better support for children and their families.”