Displaying items by tag: Education

Thousands of children started school for the first time this week and most settle well into a new routine, but there will be some who do not. Instead, probably on Mondays there will be tears, tummy-aches and tantrums because they are not adjusting well. Children need to feel safe and connected to an adult. Pray for teachers working with reception class children to notice those who are not settling in and make a special effort to reach out to them. Every year thousands of students enrol in higher institutions (universities / colleges) for the first time. Pray for students enrolled far from homes, being independent for the first time without parents or guardians around to assist. Pray that they will be wise in their choice of companions and friends, quickly forming constructive relationships that take them on the paths that God has prepared for them.

University students are attending chapel services at a higher rate than the rest of the population, challenging the notion that young people aren't interested in church. When 54 college chapels in Durham, Oxford and Cambridge universities were surveyed, the figures showed that there were twice as many students making their way to church on Sunday than there were adults in the rest of the population attending services at regular churches. Meanwhile a separate study showed that from 2017 to 2018, the total number of young people sitting the Religious Studies GCSE fell from 282,193 to 253,618, and 701 schools in England stopped entering students into the subject altogether. However, GCSE reforms now state that pupils must study at least two religions, so the subject has a more secular ethos and is not particularly relevant to Biblical Christian study. 

Supported by Humanists UK, atheist parents Lee and Lizanne Harris want a judicial review by the High Court into ‘harmful and divisive’ Christian messages taught in Burford Primary School assemblies. They say their children's human rights are breached because the school isn't offering any alternatives when the children are removed from assemblies. The children go into a separate room with a teaching assistant and an iPad. The school is not a faith school, and the parents enrolled their children there believing it would have no religious character. They said, ‘Our children shouldn't have to participate in Christian prayers, or watch biblical scenes such as the crucifixion being acted out, nor should they hear evangelical preachers spouting harmful and divisive messages.’ Humanists UK want an overhaul of the laws surrounding school assemblies. Currently schools must have a daily act of broadly Christian worship.

Ten-year-old Kasey, a Pentecostal Christian, is speaking out against the growing LGBT agenda in her classroom. As parents nationally protest against LGBT school lessons, the Christian Legal Centre is supporting courageous Kasey and her mother, who are taking a stand against a school seeking to eradicate any opposition to its LGBT agenda. Kasey and her Catholic friend, Farrell, were explaining in the lesson how gay people would be 'punished' for their sexuality in some countries, but their point was misunderstood and the school suspended them for five days for being homophobic. Kasey said, 'I only learned what homophobic means the other day. I'm not homophobic, I'm just against the school traching LGBT topics to children.' Kasey's mother said, 'The school is failing to recognise our Christian beliefs and is persecuting us for wanting to maintain our Bible principles.' The Christian Legal Centre said the situation reflects the sexual agenda imposed on innocent children.

Over the past three years there has been a 50% increase of pupils aged 11 and under with mental health issues being referred to child health services. Some stay on waiting lists for years before being offered help. Three head teachers told the BBC of the lack of support for disturbed children in their schools where 4 and 5 year-olds self-harm (head-butt, punch walls, pull out chunks of their hair). Nationally, primary school head teachers are reporting a year on year increase of more and more seven and eight-year-old children with a variety of problems and they are finding it harder to manage the acute crisis. Four pupils have attempted to kill themselves on primary school grounds. Please pray for the teachers who are trained to teach, not engage in welfare work or embark on mental health counselling. Pray for the NHS to hear this cry from Educators and act now before the current support system breaks down. See also article in World section – Global Mental Health of the young and BBC report .

A Southend library is teaching primary pupils about modern views on gender identity in story-telling sessions. The free sessions are hosted by flamboyant drag king Joey Bambino who is ‘gender fluid’ and drag queen Saffron Slayter. They aim to show children as young as five that it's OK to be different. One of the LGBT stories is called When Kyla Was Kyle. The children also dressed up and played games at the ‘family’ council-backed Drag Story Time session. Opinions are split about the sessions. Some compared it to Shakespeare plays where men dress up as women, others said primary school children were ‘way too young for this sort of thing’ and it was ‘sad that so much is being pushed on to our young children these days’. A Southend Pride representative, said, ‘We’re delighted to be able to bring Joey and Saffron to the forum to host this fun-filled event for all the family.’

Campaigners for better RE say the new school inspection framework will put more pressure on schools to prioritise the subject. It is understood that two-day-long inspections will now put greater emphasis on the broad curriculum while a small number of subjects will also be chosen as a focus for examination. These subjects could include religious education. Ben Wood from the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education said, ‘Ofsted are really pushing the sense that they want a curriculum to be broad. And that means that while English, Maths and Science are important so is RE, history, geography, art, music, and PE. They are all important, they all have a role to play. It is very heartening to hear Ofsted saying that within the curriculum, RE has a crucial role to play.’ Schools must now ensure pupils can reflect their own religious beliefs as well as having knowledge and respect for others.

Following a summit held at Lambeth Palace with representatives from Ofsted, the National Farmers Union, the Prince’s Countryside Fund, and council and education leaders from across England, the CofE’s lead bishop for education, Stephen Conway, said that there needs to be a cross-governmental rural strategy. The delegates at the summit looked at ways to safeguard schools in the countryside. Bishop Stephen said, ‘We have been reassured that the Government has a presumption against the closure of rural schools, which is a positive foundation for the future.’ Last month, the Department of Education report on running rural primary schools efficiently suggested that primary schools should share headteachers. But this is difficult when some headteachers in small schools also do a lot of the teaching. Rural schools also have challenges with funding, and getting discounts on equipment.

This week, a new framework for the teaching of relationships and sex education (RSE) replaced a twenty-year-old version written before smartphones or social media. Despite steps in regulating the internet, primary school-aged children live in a world of rapid online interactions. This new legislation was formed over two years by the Government, with the Church of England among parties engaged in the consultation, to promote healthy resilient relationships set in the context of character and virtue development. It focuses on respecting others, including the beliefs and practices of people with a specific faith commitment, and the many different types of families that make up our cultural context. It makes explicit a shared duty of care between parents and schools, and what takes place in the classroom builds on what has been taught in the home. The new guidance asserts that ‘all schools must teach about faith perspectives on these questions’.

Government funding has not kept pace with the soaring demands of children with special educational needs (SEN). Councils, schools and colleges should work together to support SEN children, but the number of such children has risen by 33% since 2015, whereas central government funding for their support increased by only 7%. On 27 March 2019 councils were told, ‘Special educational needs support is an approach that all schools and colleges must adopt when it is clear that a child or young person needs additional support to learn and achieve.’ Local council elections are on 2 May. May God raise up men and women in the 248 local council elections who have a desire to meet the needs of the vulnerable in our schools and colleges and know how to apply for adequate funding. See