Millions of children across the UK are heading back to school this week and although the start of the new academic year is an exciting time for many, there are also many challenges.

CARE is urging Christians to pray for students as well as their teachers. The organization's Prayer Co-ordinator Celia Bowring said: 'As term has started again it's impossible not to think of the potential difficulties that are going to arise for children, teachers and schools this upcoming school year.

'Hardly a day goes by without new stories appearing in the news about the challenges of cyber-bulling, loneliness among young people and so on.

'The importance of this stage of life for young people and children cannot be underestimated.'

A new report  out from The Children's Society last week revealed the state of Britain's self-harming problem among children. The survey of 11,000 children found over a fifth (22%) of girls and nearly one in 10 boys (9%) said they had hurt themselves on purpose in the year prior to the questionnaire. The worst rates of self-harm were found among people attracted to the same or both genders, at 46%.

Matthew Reed, chief executive at The Children's Society, said the figures were 'deeply worrying.'

'Worries about how they look are a big issue, especially for girls, but this report shows other factors such as how they feel about their sexuality and gender stereotypes may be linked to their unhappiness,' he said.

A separate study  released by the NSPCC last month found that on average, one child in every primary school class has been sent or shown a naked or semi-naked image online by an adult.

As children return to school, churches across the UK are being urged to cover them in prayer.

'We cannot ignore the struggles children in our community are going to be facing this term, but we can do something about it,' said Ms Bowring.

The call to prayer also includes teachers facing long working hours and burnout.

'Let's also remember the teachers and support staff who work long hours and often under considerable pressure,' said Ms Bowring.

'As Christians, we know that our prayers make a huge difference, so we thank God for all those individuals, groups and churches who get together and pray, both strategically and specifically for children, teachers and our local schools this week.

'This week let's commit to interceding for our local schools by covering them with prayer.'

Find out more about how your church can take part at http://www.prayforschools.org/