Church of England Education Office Schools Bulletin September 2018Â

The Church of England Education Office

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Dear Colleague,

I’m sure the summer seems a distant memory as you embrace the opportunities of a new academic year. Across the country, many churches will have prayed for their Church schools, had commissioning services and welcomed new children and families to the school community. I had the privilege of doing all of that as part of Education Sunday in one diocese. Many of the resources for Education Sunday can be adapted for use in schools at any time of the year. There is also an opportunity for schools to thank their vicar in October during thank your vicar week. Links between church and school are vital and we are excited to be shaping our thinking about the way we support schools, churches and families as we all work together in the service of children and young people.

We’ll be sharing more about this and a range of conferences, programmes, network opportunities and a range of different issues of interest over the coming year. Please sign up to our social media to keep in touch: click on the icons at the bottom of the bulletin to follow us on the social media of your choice.

We look forward to all that this year holds as continue to promote education for human flourishing in all its rich wholeness and diversity, and I wish you every blessing for the term ahead.

All good wishes,

Rev’d Nigel Genders
Chief Education Officer
Church of England Education Office

A prayer for the start of the new school year

Loving God, let me be strong today
as I meet new people in new places.
Make me brave when I am worried,
show me how to learn from everyone around me,
and help me to do my very best. Amen.

OPEN FOR BOOKINGS: The National Conference, 7th February 2019

Our third National Conference will be taking place at Central Hall, Westminster and will feature a fantastic range of keynote speakers, practical workshops, networking and collaboration across the following four streams:

School Leaders
MAT leaders and Governors
Diocese Teams and Church Leaders
School Sixth Form Younger Leaders

We are thrilled to welcome The Secretary of State for Education, the Bishop of London, the Chaplain to the Speaker, Dame Alison Peacock, Bill Lucas, Mary Myatt and many others to share on this crucial leadership area. Tickets will be priced at £125+VAT for adult leaders and £50+VAT for younger leaders.

Now open for bookings:
www.cefel.org.uk/nc19/

The Children's Society

The Children's Society has published its annual Good Childhood Report.

They have highlighted that "children are struggling with their identity and alarming numbers are self-harming."

Pressures ranged from how they look, to their sexuality, to how boys and girls must behave. The report showed that twice as many girls are self-harming as boys, and almost half of children attracted to the same or both genders self-harm.

The Bishop of Gloucester has responded on behalf of the Church of England: No child should feel the need to self-harm. As part of her #liedentity campaign Bishop Rachel has listened to young people’s own experiences and stories, which can also be found in the link. See also, our publication on Valuing all God's Children.

Embracing Change - Flourishing Leaders, Rural and Small Schools Conferences, Autumn 2018

Following the March 2018 publication of Embracing Change, the Church of England’s report on Rural and Small Schools, we are delighted to invite you to our forthcoming Day Conference, part of series of 4 national events this Autumn, focused on Leadership Development, Resources and Community. These conferences are taking place as follows:

8th October - Truro Diocese, Sands Resort, Newquay
19th October - Lincoln Diocese, Hemswell Court, Lincolnshire
19th November - Leeds Diocese, Allerton Castle, Yorkshire
3rd December - Canterbury Diocese, The Old Kent Barn, Kent

Due to the generous support of the Pears #iwill fund, tickets are just £30 for two people per school.

To book, click here.

We would like to invite you to the launch of new resources for schools on modern slavery that we have created with Just Enough UK.

The resources include lesson plans for five key stages and collective worship material designed to raise awareness of modern slavery, and encourage young people to become courageous advocates in the fight to end modern slavery.

At the launch on Thursday 18^th October at Lambeth Palace we will hear from The Clewer Initiative, government representatives, and organisations working with young people about why these resources are so necessary, not only for empowering young people to act, but also to protect them from becoming victims themselves.

We will also have the première of a new song, written not only to commemorate this moment of action, but also to enable children and young people to sing and speak out against this horrendous crime.

If you are able to come, please RSVP via Eventbrite: https://schoolslaunch.eventbrite.co.uk

The Department for Education have published a workload reduction toolkit and other resources to support schools and update them on changes in the Department's approach to reducing the burden on teachers.

Thank Your Vicar Week – 14-21 October

Parishes and schools all over the country are getting ready for Thank Your Vicar Week – St Luke’s Healthcare for the Clergy invites you to join in! Visit the St Luke's Healthcare website to sign up for your free resources.

Thank Your Vicar Week invites Church of England schools and churches to celebrate their vicar and all they do for the local community. You can make your celebration as simple or as momentous as you want – a special school assembly, a celebration in church, a cake sale or a coffee morning.

Schools resources released for Parliament Week: 12-18 November 2018

Using the free resources, children and young people will have the chance to play the part of MPs by making a law and running a mock-election, while learning about the importance of the 1918 Representation of People Act which paved the way for women to vote. They can also participate in worship, saying the prayers used in the Houses of Commons and Lords every day at the start of business.

Churches and schools can apply for Parliament Week resources by filling in the application form at: ukparliamentweek.org/partner-event-submission/

Understanding Christianity

The Understanding Christianity accreditation mark is an important aspect of the Understanding Christianity strategy as it seeks to maintain the integrity of an academically rigorous approach to Religious Education (RE) and is only awarded to resources that support high quality classroom teaching and learning about Christianity. The latest resource to be accredited to Understanding Christianity.

Growing Foundations

A resource to aid the delivery of high quality religious education in the Early Years (Nursery and Year R). Growing Foundations provides a bank of ideas that can be used by teachers as a tool in their planning. It focuses on three concepts within Christianity (Creation, Incarnation and Salvation) and demonstrates how these can be taught in a cross curricular and interesting way through continuous provision. The resource was created by teachers and trialled in a number of Norfolk schools prior to publication.

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