"On the edge of a significant crisis": the reality of schools funding

The chair of governors at a nearby primary school gives their take on school funding:

Our education system is teetering on the edge of a significant crisis. The policies of this current government have left schools in a dangerous place financially, having to reduce what they are able to provide for children year after year. Over the last three budgets, my primary school’s budget only increased by 1%. As our school roll increased during this time, our budget allocation per pupil increased by less than 1%. Teaching staff occupy around 48% of our budget, and their salary increases on average by around 6% each year due to national living wage, pension, national insurance, pay scales, incremental increases, and inflation. Support staff costs increase on average by 8% each year. 

This all means that just looking at staff, our budget would have needed to increase by £103k to cover costs, when in fact it only increased by £17k. Add to this an apprenticeship scheme costing £6k, being forced to manage our own building maintenance and indemnity, and the value of the pound rising costs of resources and trips – and the promised budget increase of £42k through the fairer funding scheme is far too little too late. In order to balance our books we’ve had to make redundancies of staff, reduce support to children, reduce budget for resources, and even stop providing all children at school with free fruit.

The finances are probably the biggest threat to education at the moment, but it isn’t the only threat. Good teachers are leaving the profession en masse, as curriculum and assessment policy changes (plus budget pressures) have increased pressure beyond many are willing to cope with. Newly qualified teachers are not staying in the industry as the gap between their training and the hellish pressure within actual teaching is a gap too large for many to leap. 

The increase of expectations within this government’s curriculum policy has also reduced the ability of children from less well-off backgrounds to engage with education because their progress depends on them living in environments that add to and support their education, like in increasing their knowledge of vocabulary. In order to meet the demands of the curriculum, teachers have had to reduce the amount of time teaching in more creative and fun ways, as well as not being able to teach subjects that children in other contexts would be getting at their home. This can surely only lead to the gap between the rich and poor in our country growing even more.

Behind all the talk of funding increases is a real terms cut. Many schools are having to find ways to generate income in order to balance the books. Making this a 'Brexit' election threatens to mask the huge issues in other parts of our society. We need to examine everything, not just who we want sitting at the table with the EU negotiators. 

Broken News: Hey, Media, Leave Them Heads Alone

ITV are dangling some outrage bait this morning with another story based on a school newsletter. This follows a nearby school last week which hit first the local, then the national papers, and a story about pyjama-wearing parents at a school in the North-East. All 3 stories were based on newsletters for parents, sent home with children.

As a parent, communication with the school is key, in both directions. It would be a real problem if the school didn't feel it could talk honestly with me about our children, and the life of the school. Headteachers around the country will be looking at this latest media bandwagon and wondering if it's still possible to communicate with parents, without their words ending up quoted in the Daily Mail and fed to the social media outrage machine.

Parents with an issue over what a school has said need to take it up with the school, not leak it to the press. Using the media to settle scores undermines the parent-school relationship for everyone. School newsletters are for the school community, they are not press releases. If there is a serious problem, then there are proper channels to go through.

Local media have a responsibility here too - in the short term, you might get a bit more web traffic, but at what cost? Not every attention-grabbing headline needs to be published. It clearly suits ITV to sex the story up: head 'demands' - really? 'apparent bid to boost attendance' - nudge nudge! Conflict generates clicks, harmony doesn't. But web traffic and sales data aren't a reliable moral compass.

And for any complaint, Jesus has some good advice: “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 'School and Parent work together' won't make any headlines in your local paper (more's the pity), but then that's not the point is it?

Our Education Secretary Has Forgotten What Schools are For

Bring back Michael Gove, all is forgiven.....

Speaking at the Conservative party conference, Ms Morgan said: "We're going to give more working parents something the best schools already do."

"We will be giving families in thousands of schools a 'right to request' their school provides childcare for a full working day, before and after school and during the school holidays.

"If enough parents call for childcare at their local school, we will expect the school to take reasonable steps to accommodate it, in a way that works for them.

"Because we want working parents to have the confidence their child is in a happy and safe environment."

Schools are places of education, they are not a babysitting service. Nicky Morgan has forgotten what schools are for. The schools should exercise their 'right to refuse' this silly policy. I despair that the Conservatives have picked up where Labour left off: the more time parents can spend at work, and the less time with their children, the better. As the school day expands, and free nursery places get pushed back to a younger and younger age, there'll come a point where the government simply seize our children at birth and kick us out of hospital to go and find a job.

Making Parenting Pay

It seems New Labour hasn't lost its appetite for outsourcing parenting. Ed Balls announced today a policy (yes, a policy) of 25 hours free childcare for 3-4 year olds where 'all' parents are working. This extends the free nursery care introduced by the last Labour government.

Last week the Libdems offered to let the state cook the main meal of the day for all infant school children. This week Labour are offering to relieve us of the burden of being with our own children so that we can get out to work.

Hello? Parenting is the most significant work that anyone with children will ever do. Yet again politicians send the message that earning money matters more than raising your children. But not to worry, the Big Friendly Government will do it for you. Politicians go on and on about making work pay, how about making parenting pay? Shouldn't it be more rewarding, in every sense, for parents to invest in their children rather than being bribed back into the workplace? Home is a workplace too.

If Labour really do want to put £800m into family support, then how about something really useful: parenting skills courses for first-time parents, with regular refreshers/peer support as children grow older, to equip parents with the skills they need to raise children well. Then there wouldn't be so much need for the state to step in at a later stage to provide the hot meals and safe/supportive environment that some children never experience at home. It also empowers people to do a better job themselves, rather than extending the client base of the state at the expense of family life.

Wacky BaccE?

With the resumption of the political football season, education is getting the usual kicking around. Michael Gove's announcement of the scrapping of GCSE's for an exam-based EBacc (if it's English, why not use an English word for it?); Nick Clegg's apology over tuition fees, and strong words from the Bishop of Oxford about the marking fiasco this summer.

An O-level style, final exam system bases success on a number of skills:
 - accumulating knowledge
 - short term memory
 - ability to think clearly under stress
 - exam technique (e.g. spotting questions)

one friend at theological college went into his exams armed with 6 7-letter words, an acronym for each question which was likely to turn up. It worked, he got a first.

I've been mulling over whether continuous assesment or a final test is more Biblical. Probably neither/both: the bible does talk about a final judgement, some kind of test where everything is evaluated. At the same time there is continuous assesment - Jesus continuously reviews his ministry and priorities in prayer, the Psalmist asks God to search his heart.

More Christian thinkers and leaders are writing about discipleship, and best practice in discipleship - for the development of skills, character and holiness - is about 'a long obedience in the same direction'. The church has centuries of experience of 'continuous assesment', though whether the confessional, or the daily examen of Ignatius, produced the fruit of holiness is questionable. Methodists had their class meetings to help one another grow in Christian virtues.

It all depends what we want to happen in education. If it's merely about knowledge and fact retention, exams are fine (up to a point). But what about growth in skills and character? Instruments are learned through regular practice, tutorials, and a series of grade exams, it's the same with sporting skills like swimming and gymnastics. Together with those go the character qualities of patience, perseverance, coping with success and failure. On the one hand it will be good to remove from students the pressure of continuous assesment, some learning is best done in a more leisurely way, rather than cramming facts in order to pass a test/assignment. But continuous assesment also gives the opportunity to develop skills and character in a way that exams don't.

I've recently become a 'Training Minister' on STETS, a local training course for church leaders in the CofE, Methodists and elsewhere. I've been impressed by their course structure - the academic is integrated with personal spiritual disciplines and growth in character. All three are addressed together. This is a million miles from the segmentation of my own training in the 1990s, where character and holiness issues were hardly ever addressed. And guess what? Most of the ministers dropping out of parish life, year in year out, are doing so not because they can't do the job, but because of character and personal issues.

One other thought: as a political football education is now much bigger than it was, as successive governments have tried to wrestle children from their parents at an earlier and earlier age. This is partly to get parents back into the job market, and partly to offer a better environment for growing up than some of the more troubled homes. Parenting is being progressively nationalised. But children still go home at the end of the day, and parents are still the prime educators. There shouldn't be a rigid division of labour between home and school (facts at school, character at home), but it's hard to build a partnership approach without a shared public ethos of what a good life and a whole person actually looks like.

King James Bible for every school

Financed by giving from charities and philanthropists, the Department of Education is sending a copy of the King James Bible to every state primary and secondary school in England.

The DfE link above has several good links to everyone from Richard Coles to Richard Dawkins, plus some great case studies - ways schools have used and explored the Bible as a text and as a piece of UK culture and history. There's details of each of the case studies on the following pages - it would be worth churches having a look at these as well, some reallly creative ways of exploring and engaging with the Bible, in whatever translation.

Other Kings James Version resources here.

General Synod: What You Might Have Missed

In between deciding nothing in particular about women bishops, and spannering the Weddings Project, there were some good initiatives announced at General Synod this week:

Worship Workshop, a new website for schools and children to use to create their own liturgy. Also worth a look for harvesting the links - some good ones under the 'engaging resource' section. Press release here.

How2Help is a new community action website, arising from a motion to Synod in 2010, which seeks to catalyse and resource local churches in serving their communities, and spreading ideas about what works, and how to do it.

from the press release:
The Church of England has a wealth of experience and skill in serving local communities, built up over decades of Christian witness and action for stronger bonds between people and for supporting the lonely and vulnerable. People can now go into the website, starting with the question or issue that motivates them, and find answers, ideas and examples. They can learn from the mistakes of others and discover what approaches work best

and finally, I hadn't realised the Queen was ill. The Synod opened with the National Anthem and prayers for HM The Queen and for members of the Synod who were unwell.  

Prayer Spaces in Schools

Prayer Spaces in Schools Teaser from Prayer Spaces In Schools on Vimeo.

An excellent new website, packed full of ideas and information about how to set up prayer spaces in primary and secondary schools. It's emerged from grassroots practice, and seems to be catching on all over the place. From the site:

In the UK, prayer spaces are spreading, and they're spreading fast.

Schools and youth workers are finding that these creative, prayer/reflective spaces provide a simple, effective way to communicate and to welcome children and young people into an experience of the Christian faith. They offer an invitation to 'belong' without requiring any particular 'belief'.

"I’ve never seen prayer displayed or experienced like this before. It’s made me realise how many different ways prayer can be appreciated. it’s opened up religion into my life. Thank you!"

Teachers and other educational staff are finding that prayer spaces (or 'soul spaces' or 'sacred spaces' or whatever other names they're being given) fit well with different curriculum areas - R.E. and Citizenship being the most obvious, but not the only ones - as well as with wider aspects of school life.

"Thank you for the amazing prayer experience that you have given us as staff, parents and for the students. It will have a totally transformational effect for many people. We are so appreciative of all that you have done for our school community, for all the unsociable hours, for the energy and strength you’ve injected to our spiritual life."

There are separate sections with ideas on prayer stations (interactive places for prayer), lessons and curriculum links.

And because they can be used by children, they can be used by adults too, so if you're after some creative ideas for prayer in regular worship, Messy Church, all-age worship, in the home or for your cell group, it's worth a browse as well.
A full version of the video above is being posted on 8th Feb.

'5 things parents need to know about exam time'

Another handy little list from Care for the Family, who consistently produce great resources for parents and marriage. Here's a couple of the 5 things:

4. Remember they will need down-time
Everyone needs to plan in regular breaks as they work or study, otherwise their quality of work will suffer. A good ratio is that for every hour you revise, you take a ten-minute break. But it's also good for these breaks to be very different from work - so if your child has spent an hour on the computer, ten minutes playing a computer game may not be the best way to take a break.
It will also help your child to build in time and space to relax. Something energetic like swimming or going for a walk may be beneficial, as exercise helps mood-boosting endorphins get into our bloodstream.

They will feel better if they know they have 'permission' to relax - so encourage them by telling them they have been working hard and have earned a break. This will help lower their stress levels. A good motto that shows the importance of getting the balance right is 'work hard; play hard'.

5. Remember to make sure they know you love them
During exam times children may feel more insecure than usual. If they know that you place great importance on their performance in exams, they may feel under pressure to do well. Help them have a healthy view of success and failure, and look for opportunities to praise character and effort, and not just achievement.

Remember to tell your kids frequently that you love them - however they do in their exams. Tell them that doing well in exams is only one part of life: there are other things that are more important - like character, integrity, honesty and caring for others.

Let them know they have worth and value beyond any academic achievement. By doing this you will set them free from the weight of expectations, and enable them to face their exams with confidence and courage

Care for the Family produce a regular e-newsletter with summaries of new articles, events, initiatives and resources. Very handy if supporting families is one of your aims. I think they've had to lay off a few staff with the debt crunch hitting giving, which is sad news - some of the CFF stuff I've heard and read has been absolutely invaluable.

An Outbreak of Peace?

When the Church of England and the British Humanist Association are found singing from the same hymn sheet, we are likely to sit up and take notice. And when we find their joint anthem has further education as its subject, we might be forgiven for asking: what?

The answer is represented by the initials SMSC, which stand for “spiritual, moral, cultural and social” - normally found with the word “teaching” or “support” attached. You might as well get used to them now as SMSC is showing all the signs of being the next “big thing” in Further Education.

so begins this article in the Times Educational Supplement. So far, SMSC, or PSHE (physical, social, health and emotional I think it stood for) or anything which was aimed at children as whole people, rather than just repositories for knowledge and skills, has been confined to under-16s.

Here's the comments of a CofE educationalist:
“It is about knowledge over ignorance,” he said. “It is not about religion. We are coming up with inclusive guidance. Colleges are secular, which is fine, but this has defaulted to mean that we will do the training but not offer some morality or humanistic education.”

Dr Breadon said that educationalists often felt uncomfortable offering moral or spiritual guidance.

“There has been a slippage where people do not put forward their views on morality or spirituality for fear that they may be seen to be forcing these views on young people,” he said.

“But this is really about having intergenerational conversations.

“Staff in FE need to be Jacks of so many trades. Much is demanded of them in terms of teaching and nurturing young people post-16.

“Out of the blue, a tutor in construction or health and beauty may be asked about climate change, sexual ethics, terrorism, or depression. Without a strong sense of their own identity and morality these questions might be ducked rather than dealt with.”

Our local FE college has things like Holocaust memorial day, and stuff dealing with moral issues, but most of it is extra curricular, and more and more seems to fall to the chaplaincy to organise. That can mean it gets pigeon holed, which isn't helpful. It does seem bizarre that, according to the current curriculum, individuals officially stop being 'spiritual' when they hit 16.

At the same time, if people are learning workplace skills in further education, but not a moral and ethical code suitable for the workplace, then it's no surprise to find unethical working practices bringing the country to its knees. Workplace ethics is, alongside foreign policy, the big issue for the UK of the last 2 years.

The loss of confidence is also a big issue: I remember our rabidly left wing head of 6th form in Sheffield having no problems using General Studies lessons 25 years ago to educate us in the faults of the USA, and the role of the CIA in destabilising governments around the world. How many of todays teachers/lecturers would feel comfortable being so open about their ideology and convictions? This is where the current litigious atmosphere doesn't help: there are already too many stories of people getting into trouble for 'imposing' their beliefs on others, and that makes people nervous. One new parent recently asked our local school whether they were still 'allowed' to do Nativity services. There's a bit of unhealthy paranoia over faith, values and so-called tolerance (= 'don't you dare say anything to me that I disagree with or I'll do you for harassment').

The guidelines are being developed together with a government quango, so I'm not sure what legal force they've got, but it seems to be a step in the right direction. And it's great that both secular and religious groups are behind it. Perhaps we can find ways to cope with each others existence after all.....

New Schools in Yeovil & Somerset Council Cuts

Yeovil Express is reporting today that, among a slew of proposed cuts to the Somerset County education budget, is money to support the building of 3 new schools in the planned Key Sites around Yeovil (Lufton, Brimsmore, & Lyde Road). The slightly over-dramatised prose notes that the cuts involve:

• Axing budgets allocated to support the development of new schools in Yeovil – at Thorne Lane, Lufton and Brimsmore.

Locals will be aware that these 3 sites have all been on the back burner for a while, though goverment money for affordable housing has kick-started the Lyde Road site, but only for the first 220-odd houses. Locals will also notice that Thorne Lane and Brimsmore are actually the same site (!), and the Express has forgotten about Lyde Road. Sadly, that's been the case with that development from early days, but that's another story.

Somerset is looking to cut £40m from its annual budget, a cut of 10%, connected to a freeze in council tax. The schools cuts are part of a wider programme, with roughly half the cuts coming from capital and half from spending budgets. There's plenty of background papers for the council meeting making this decision next week, and I'm not entirely sure which one to look at (!). If this is simply putting the schools funding back a few years, that's eminently sensible: the housing isn't going to be built within the original forecast, so the money for the school won't be needed for several more years. Alternatively if the budget includes a certain amount set aside into the capital fund each year for new schools, and that's being cut back, then there won't be enough money there to build the schools when they're required.

This may be a bit of a spanner in some local work we're hoping to do in building a sense of community and belonging on the new estates. The loss (or delay) of a key focal building and gathering place will make this a bit tougher.

The wider financial picture doesn't look good - the council is looking at redundancies, attempting to balance its budget, and unsure what level of government support will be there for councils after the election. It's a fair guess that it'll be lower. One of the fruits of the debt crunch is that we may have to get used to our councils doing less for us than before, or charging more to do the same things. The latter isn't really an option in the current climate. It's going to be tough.

(Ps I note with interest that the Labour candidate for Yeovil has set up a website Somerset Conservative Watch. Not much there as yet, but it'll probably increase as May approaches.)

Conservative Party Family Policy; what does 'Family Support' really mean?

Our marriage preparation course starts in a couple of weeks time, so I'm a bit more tuned into political debates on the family and family support than normal. Yesterday the Conservatives published their 'Draft Manifesto on the Family'. That's not quite as grand as it sounds - a 4-page excerpt from their draft manifesto, which is been released in bite-sized chunks on what seems like a daily basis.

Here is what I understand to be the aspirations, and concrete Conservative policies, for families. Some of this is a direct cut and paste, so my apologies if the grammar doesn't quite work. A few comments in brackets:

Aspirations
- Ending child poverty by 2020
- “Britain is one of the least family-friendly countries in the developed world. This will change with a Conservative government.”
- Support the provision of free nursery care for preschool children and we want that support to be provided by a diverse range of providers.
- Ensure that the public sector becomes a world leader in flexible working.
- Make sure couples are given greater encouragement to use existing relationship support (what does this mean?)
- “A Conservative government will help families with their finances”

Policy Commitments
Tax
- End the couple penalty in the tax credit system
- Recognise marriage and civil partnerships in the tax system in the next Parliament. This is as much about ‘sending an important signal that we value the commitment that people make when they get married’, as it is about personal finance and taxation.
- Freeze council tax for two years, in partnership with local councils (? Isn’t that taxation policy?)
- Reform the administration of tax credits to reduce fraud and overpayments

Sure Start/family support/childcare
- Take Sure Start back to its original purpose of early intervention, increase its focus on the neediest families, and better involve organisations with a track record of supporting families. (new providers to be paid on results)
- Provide 4200 more Sure Start health visitors, giving all parents a guaranteed level of support before and after birth until their child starts school. (to provide advice on physical development, and support for emotional health of whole family – particularly the relationship between parent and child, and parents themselves)
- Bring all funding for early intervention and parenting support into one budget, to be overseen by an Early Years Support Team within the DCSF. Currently spread across many sources and departments.
- Review the way the childcare industry is regulated
- Funding for relationship support on a stable, long-term footing through multi-year funding settlements

Workplace practices
- Extend the right to request flexible working to every parent with a child under 19
- New system of flexible parental leave – i.e. making maternity leave transferable within a couple

Comments:
1. What do they mean by ‘relationship support’? Relate? Sure Start health visitors? Marriage and relationship preparation through civil and church registrars? I'd like to hear a bit more about what this means, and what it would look like in practice. It sounds good, but what is it?

2. Health visitors are a good thing, but it might be worth looking at their job remit. The giving of information and options to a stressed new mum when she actually wants advice and wisdom is sometimes worse than useless. If health visitors are actually able to mentor new parents, and pass on wisdom about parenting and relationships, then they will be a lot more use. It sounds like the Conservatives do want to raise the bar on Health Visitors to make them a bit more proactive. But that more 'directive' approach carries its own risks, and involves a lot more input. 4200 extra health visitors will only scratch the surface. However, targeting them at the most dysfunctional families might make some headway, provided they are well prepared and resourced.

3. Flexible working is all very well, and will help, but one of the key pressures on families at the moment is the culture of debt and overpriced housing. It’s a generation and a bit since a mortgage could be supported on one income, families are now under pressure to have two earners, and juggling this around young children means that Mum leaves for her evening shift on the ASDA checkout 5 minutes after Dad gets home from the works. That’s not conducive to a stable relationship. The logic of that tax freeze on local authorities needs to be extended to the whole economy. A low-debt economy where value is placed on family, community, and non-material goods is needed as a counterweight to consumer capitalism, which drives families into overwork, overconsumption and debt, with all the associated stresses. Debt is a factor in a significant number of marriage breakups - I think the figure is about 25-30%.

4. The really thorny issue is how you intervene in the parenting of small children. It's widely recognised that the early years are crucial in how a child learns to see themselves, others, and the world, in how much they develop emotionally, intellectually and socially, and whether they're able to go on to form stable loving relationships themselves. How much tough love is required to intervene in chaotic families with a merry-go-round of partners and deskilled parents who've never been mentored into good parenting and relationship skills themselves? And what kind of 'intervention' would work without being oppressive? To what degree can the rights of parents be infringed to protect the wellbeing of their children?

5. That probably requires some joined up thinking with the education system. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be anything in the draft Education Manifesto which addresses relationship skills. There is no point trying to tackle low attainment if that's just the symptom of a chaotic and dysfunctional family background. I know of a local school which wrestles with this as a key issue: the school feels that it's struggling against the background that many children come from, and providing security, love and encouragement is just as important as helping children to learn the basics. Is there a place for relationship education and parenting skills on the school curriculum? If education is about what can't be left to chance*, then can we afford to leave to chance the basic life skills which will make a crucial difference for the families which schoolchildren go on to have? It's not failsafe, but isn't it worth a try?

6. Who are these 'organisations with a track record of supporting families'? Is that folks like Relate, NCT etc., or more voluntary, community-based groups? What kind of stuff is going to be farmed out, and with what sort of strings? Will Sure Start be subcontracting?

I'm glad the Conservatives have kicked off this debate, and I hope that the parties can all recognise that we have a serious problem here. A proper debate, rather than simplistic call-and-response politicking, is what we need.

I'm well aware that 5 sessions of marriage preparation is a drop in the ocean for the couples who'll be coming along next month, but it's more input than many recieve. No organisation, be it church, government, voluntary sector, Relate, Sure Start or whoever can carry this ball on their own. On that level the tax break for married couples is right: we need to address the culture around families - there's no point them being propped up by one or two structures if culture and society as a whole is toxic to committed relationships and the raising of children in a loving stable home. That's more than policy.

*source: Christina Baxter, head of St Johns College Nottingham, it's a definition which has always stuck with me.

Update: its very interesting to compare these policy proposals with the actions proposed by this Demos report into childhood and character. There's a lot of overlap, though the more concrete interventions to support struggling families proposed by Demos aren't mentioned in the Conservative proposals. And look who's in the picture for the launch of the report....

A place of beauty

For some reason I never linked it at the time, but around this time last year, some folks set up a prayer room in a secondary school, for students to use as they wanted. Accounts of the room are here and here.

I even got a sense of peace and stillness just reading about it, which is pretty unusual for me. Here's some of the poems written by students using the room:

here are a few of the amazing Letters From God that the students have been writing;
"If you don't love me, I will love youIf you don't care for me, I will care for youSo think - why should it be this way?"

"Everyone is beautiful
Everyone is special
Everyone is different
Everyone is smart
A poem from God to you all
Good luck!"

"No matter what, I will love you, watch over you and care for you. In the good times and the bad times. God"

"Never forget that I am with you always. I am protecting you and guiding you all the way. I love you and will never stop loving you. When you sin I will forgive you. I am your God."

"If you have a problem,
I will listen and not judge.
God"

"Dear Child
Calm down
Breathe and relax
God is love."

Markets need Morals: Case Study 1, 'Young Writers' by Forward Press

'Markets need Morals', says Gordon Brown. I agree.




Last week our daughter came home with a letter (addressed directly to her, c/o the school) and a certificate telling her she'd won a poetry competition, and that her poem had been specially selected to be published in a special book. £13 to you the proud parents for a softback A5 book with the poem in, and bulk offers if you want to place orders for Christmas for the in-laws.

We were thrilled, and very proud. But something didn't seem quite right. We didn't recall, at the time she entered this competition, there being anything about buying a book.

The following day, we discover that lots of other people in her class have 'won'. It turned out to be every single one of them. This has happened before: another school known to us whose children entered the 'Young Writers' competition, and all 'won'. The book, when it arrived, was a huge disappointment in terms of the quality of the product, and the poems didn't seem to have been 'selected' on merit at all.

There are various things about this I'm not happy with:

- The misleading letter from Young Writers, claiming my daughters poem had been specially selected, when it wasn't.

- The letter addressed directly to our child, basically using the school to distribute a piece of marketing. Any communication through the school should be subject to the schools vetting, but it puts schools in a difficult place if the letters are addressed directly to the children.

- Taking something our child has done and selling it back to us is a particularly grubby bit of marketing. I thought marketing via children was illegal, and if it isn't, it should be. It's particularly cynical to play on parents and childrens feelings of pride - 'our child is in print!' just to make money. Some things are too precious to be traded in.

- The disappointment of the children, when they realise that they haven't 'won', and that everyone seems to have got the same prize.

It looks pretty lucrative: one selection of 'winners' is here - if each person on that list represents a print run of A5 booklets at £13+ a throw, then they must be doing quite well out of it. I tried and failed to find a place on the site which previews the books. No previews or reviews on Amazon either, where they come in at £19.99 a throw.

Forward Press, who have been publishing poetry from the general public for years, and they seem to be quite well thought of by the poetry-writing public. I hope this is an aberration. However, this thread on mumsnet suggests they've been doing it for a while, this thread mentions a similar tactic back in 2005, and this thread raises some important data protection issues concerning information about children held by the school.

What do people think?

Faith Schools & Bigotry

A thread on Liberal Conspiracy is currently discussing faith schools, in advance of a report due today from the Runnymede Trust on whether faith schools promote that New Labour crock of gold, community cohesion. The full report will be downloadable from the Runnymede Trust site later this morning.

The comments themselves are fairly sensible, with quite a few people noting that they went to faith schools but didn't become bigoted fundies. On bigotry, here's a very thoughtful post from a NZ blog Why am I a Bigot? which argues that the accusation of bigotry gets thrown at Christians who hold strong moral views (in his case on abortion and sexuality), as a way of short-circuiting the argument. If we can label people 'bigots', then we no longer need to listen to their point of view. But is the label true?

One would think that it would be fairly obvious to people that you don’t refute a position by calling the person who holds it a bigot and it is tempting to dismiss this response as simply ... (confused)..; the problem is that people do not appear to find this obvious. In my experience, many people even educated people, recoil from considering any argument against feticide or homosexual conduct or listening to theological concerns on these matters because they perceive such positions to be bigoted.

worth a read (but skim-reading is probably not a viable option!), even if you don't agree with him.

Update: brief summary of the press release:

Faith schools should be open to all
Runnymede's latest report 'Right to Divide?' examines how faith schools have responded to the statutory duty to promote community cohesion. It recommends:
1. End selection on the basis of faith
2. Children should have a greater say in how they are educated
3. RE should be part of the core national curriculum
4. Faith schools should also serve the most disadvantaged
5. Faith schools must value all young people
6. If these recommendations are acted upon, faith should continue to play an important role in our education system

Rob Berkeley, Deputy Director of Runnymede, said:
"Faith schools make up a third of our education system. Schools should be central to their communities and neighbourhoods for all who live there not just those who share their religious world view. If we are serious about the importance of equality and cohesion, faith schools too need to play their part by welcoming all in society to the benefits of their approaches. "

Full report as a pdf here (76 pages), executive summary here (12 pages).

Update: good discussion happening on a new Liberal Conspiracy thread here.

Key Stage 3 SATS Abolished

Hoorah. Now follow the logic and abolish KS1 and KS2 SATS as well, or at least give schools the chance to opt out and use the time normally spent cramming for SATS to actually educate our kids.

Trouble is, it's all tied up with the need for 'league tables' and 'parent choice' which are great ways to ensure social division (all the parents who can afford it move house into the catchment areas for good schools, so the poorer you are, the less chance you have of getting a good education for your child). So parent choice only works for those who can afford it, and it fails everyone else. There's got to be a better way.

Will God Save Gordon?

(cross-posted from the Wardman Wire.)

As the Labour Conference begins, there is probably an obscure spread bet to be had on how many times God is mentioned. The thinktank Theos reported this week on the rising number of credits offered to the Man Upstairs in conference speeches by party leaders. Findings include:

- despite Alastair Campbells protestations, Labour has made most use of ‘God talk’, making 98 religious references and allusions in the ten party conference speeches examined, compared with 65 for the Conservatives and 23 for the Liberal Democrats.

- Gordon Brown makes most references per speech. In 2007, his one speech (in which he famously referred “the sermons my father preached Sunday after Sunday”) contains 14 religious references, compared with Blair’s average of 9.3 and Cameron’s 8.3.

- Brown, Blair, Cameron and Duncan-Smith each made over 8 references per speech; Hague, Campbell, Kennedy, Howard and Ashdown each made fewer than 5 per speech.

- In 2001, when each of the speeches was delivered within a few weeks of the 9/11 attacks, the three leaders between them made over 50 religious references.

- Since 9/11, there is a general upward trend in religious rhetoric. Prior to 2001 (i.e. 1998-2000) there are, on average, 11 references and allusions made in party conference speeches per year, whereas after 2001 there are over 16.5.

Okay it's hardly a scientific study, and Tony Blair looms large over all of it, but he's certainly far from alone.

There are a whole cluster of reasons for this. One is the religious faith of some of the leaders themselves. In another age, religion was a private matter - no longer. Our confessional culture requires people to wear their heart on their sleeve, and Blair is the prime example. Margaret Thatcher professed a Christian faith, but (with one notable exception) she rarely spoke about it.

Religion is, of course, a much bigger issue in politics. Not what you'd expect in a post-Christian, and increasingly secular society. But part of the process of secularisation is debates about things like faith schools, and how to deal with religious worldviews in the state education system. Post-9/11, how our society relates to Islam has become both a local and global issue.

There are other things going on too:
- Faith groups, particularly churches, are more involved in 'welfare delivery' to use an awful government phrase. Media coverage suggests that the only politically active groups are those like CCFON, focusing on embryo research, abortion and sexuality. Look more closely and you find a different picture.

Christian groups are involved in everything from debt counselling to marriage support, prison visiting to Make Poverty History, mental health to measures against people trafficking. Even city traders get a look-in. Organisations like Faithworks, with a track record in dealing with a whole spectrum of need, are routinely consulted by the state, and rightly so. When the church's Moral But No Compass report criticised the governments attitude to faith groups, the one thing that nobody questioned was the church's major role in civic, economic and social life, and in welfare and support of the vulnerable.

- As Britain loses its Christian identity, church and Christian groups become much more distinct from society in general. In 'Christendom', a Christian perspective is taken for granted by everyone, but in a secular society, a religious perspective is novel and distintive (or strange and deluded, depending on how you look at it). It is the very success of faith in motivating people to work with and for the marginalised which makes some politicians keen to work with them, though the reality doesn't always match the rhetoric.

- Religion may be on the way out, but God isn't. Research suggests that more of us are reporting religious experiences, and praying, than 20 years ago.

- The divide between religion and politics, reinforced by Margaret Thatcher once she started getting it in the neck from the Church of England, is weakening from both sides. Politicians see religious groups as a legitimate part of society and politics, and most Christians would say 'Amen' to Desmond Tutu: "I wonder which Bible people are reading when they say religion and politics don't mix".

Finally, there may be one other thing going on. Political ideology seems to be a thing of the past. Back in the 1980's we were drowning in 'isms' - socialism, Thatcherism, communism, monetarism. The Ism is now an endangered species. Now that politics no longer gives us a Theory of Everything, religion has the field all to itself. The success of the Alpha Course - tagline 'is there more to life than this?' - is evidence that people want to see life in a bigger perspective.

Maybe God-talk in political speeches is just politicians trying to hint that, like the majority of voters, they believe in more than pure pragmatism. This is not the same as button-pushing 'God Bless America' rhetoric, which takes God's name in vain in order to win votes.

It would be a miracle if Brown survives to win the next election, and there will be a lot of praying in Manchester over the next few days, much of it done by MP's who have seen the latest polls. I'd be surprised if there is a lot of religious rhetoric at the Labour conference, but if there's no mention of God, you can see the headlines: "Brown hasn't got a prayer".

Creationism in Class?

Prof Michael Reiss, director of education at the Royal Society, has called for 'Creationism' to be explored on the school curriculum:

"Some of my comments about the teaching of creationism have been misinterpreted as suggesting that creationism should be taught in science classes. Creationism has no scientific basis.
"However, when young people ask questions about creationism in science classes, teachers need to be able to explain to them why evolution and the Big Bang are scientific theories but they should also take the time to explain how science works and why creationism has no scientific basis.
"I have referred to science teachers discussing creationism as a worldview'; this is not the same as lending it any scientific credibility."

I hadn't realised that he's a fellow vicar as well, and he seems to have had a busy 24 hours since the story broke! I have 3 observations:

- This whole story reinforces the Dawkins myth that there are only two possible worldviews when it comes to the origin of life - Creationism or evolution by natural selection. So therefore anyone religious must believe the world was made in 6 days. Creationism is a minority view among Christians, but you wouldn't guess that from the way this kind of stuff is reported. Most of us don't have a problem with evolution, and a cosmos many billions of years old. In fact, that cosmos is charged with the glory of God in a way increasingly discovered by scientists.

- By all means teach Creationism as a worldview, but if you're going to be fair why not teach Darwinianism (or Dawkinsism) as a worldview as well? Atheist scientists make faith statements too.

- Part of the debate is whether this belongs in science or R.E./PSHE (personal, social and health education) It's not as though there isn't an explicit worldview behind most of what's in the school curriculum, in terms of what's important, and education as a practical exercise to prepare you as a worker and citizen of a particular sort of society. Everything belongs in RE.

Update: great collection of links at Thinking Anglicans on this story. TA also reports rumours that the CofE is to apologise to Charles Darwin on his anniversary next week. Why? The scientific community gave Darwin plenty of stick too, and soon-to-be Archbishop Temple welcomed Darwins insights. And maybe it's time to re-examine the legend of Huxley vs Wilberforce too.

Monday Links

Bit of a roundup today:

The pic above is from Start the Week, which today covers the youth evangelism fund, a 'director of hospitality and welcome' at Birmingham Cathedral (every Cathedral should have one), and use of the 'Jesus Deck' in evangelism. The Jesus Deck is, to use a very bad description, a Christian version of tarot: except that rather than tell you what the future holds, each card tells part of the gospel story - people choose a card at random, have it explained, then talk about any connections that makes with their life. Very creative.

Madeleine Bunting weighs in in support of faith schools, arguing that a strong ethos is vital to a succesful school, and faith schools find it easier to articulate this than secular schools:

Edward Skidelsky argues that both the secular and sacred "languages"
underpinning the values of self-discipline and responsibility have been badly
eroded. Secular humanism has not found a popular ethical narrative to replace
faith; parents, uncertain how to bring up their children with a sense of
responsibility for others, resort to school Christianity.

Ekklesia, whose Simon Barrow is one of the 'Accord' founders, has a roundup today responding to some of the criticisms and calling for debate, rather than dismissal. I still don't see how Accords position holds together, but if they're opposed by the National Secular Society then perhaps they have got some of it right.

Former SAS man and novelist Andy McNab is doing the rounds highlighting the issue of mental illness in former soldiers. I've avoided the US elections on this blog, but Oliver Kamm discusses Sarah Palins religious beliefs, whether it's right to call her a 'creationist', and what that means anyway.

Looking ahead, the Big Bang happens again on Wednesday, when the 'Large Hadron Collider' starts firing atoms at one another at mind-boggling speeds. The hope is to learn more about subatomic particles, how the universe began, discover new dimensions, and be finished in time for tea and cakes at 3. This Q&A section from the BBC guide makes a bit of sense of it. Here's Rob Bell on subatomic particles and the Trinity

Finally, Andy Murray, what a player.

When is a faith school not a faith school?

Missed this earlier in the week, but Thinking Anglicans has a good collection of links about the new proposals for reform of faith schools launched on Monday by the Accord coalition. Their main goal seems to be to remove the religious element from admissions, recruitment, syllabus and assemblies in all state funded schools. There is a new collection of links today, including a Church of England newspaper editorial, which supports the reforms. Good critique article from the IoS here.

Accord claim they're not looking for the abolition of faith schools, merely their reform. However I struggle to see how a school reformed along the lines they suggest can remain a faith school, as there will be nothing to distinguish it from community schools. Yes sectarianism is a problem, but the fact that there are bad or questionable faith schools doesn't mean that we scrap the entire system. Our local CofE primary benefits from being a 'faith school' in the gentle way that many Church of England schools are. There must be ways to avoid tribalism which don't involve making every school a secular clone.

Update (Sat): article in the Church Times, with some fairly stinging comments about Accord and their reasoning. More links in the Church Times blog, and a new set this morning at Thinking Anglicans. On the official C of E website, their FAQ's about church schools address some of the Accord concerns, but there doesn't seem to be any official Anglican response yet. There is a related post on Cranmer from earlier this week.