St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

Get involved in Church Schools

The pros and cons of Church Schools, and the way local Christians can best be involved in them, are questions which have been considered at Bradford Diocesan Synod and our own PCC recently.

Diocesan Synod (on 22 June at Giggleswick) received the “Reports of Boards and Councils”. I confess I stood up and objected to the report from the Board of Education.

The Board said: “We are an integral part of the family of schools, and not in any way exclusive. Criticism of church schools (in the media and elsewhere) is based on genuine misinformation”. But we can’t be both all-inclusive and distinctive! Church Schools try to give pupils a Christian Ethos, but often in the past pupils have had a very small dose which innoculated them against a real relationship with Jesus. As a former chair of governors in my last job, I wonder whether there should be church schools at all? And I’m not a victim of “misinformation”.

The Board admitted that the two secondary schools in the city of Bradford have “brought us real headaches”, and confessed there were “difficulties with admissions policies” - anyone who has friends on Ravenscliffe will know how true that is! Around Eccleshill the schools all set their own policies without regard to cooperation, and we the church have unwittingly made this worse by building a new school on a site far from the old one.

And the Board conceded that “pressures on governing bodies are increasing”. In my experience, if clergy become chairs of governors they receive mounds of extra administration but little chance to make a positive difference to the schools. Far better to come in as a visitor, take assemblies (“collective worship”), occasional lessons, and get to know the staff informally.

St Luke’s PCC met for a special meeting on 25th June with Craig Watson (deputy head of Immanuel). We watched a video which said that schools work best with lots of church members and keen Christians getting involved in many ways - I wholeheartedly agree with this. We began a chat about helping in our two schools: St Luke’s Primary, and Immanuel Community College. We have to see how we can do our best to work for God in the schools around us, and (thanks to Linda and many other staff) we have a very good relationship with our Primary School. It remains for the PCC to think of practical ways of building on this good work, and to find ways of helping you, the local Christians, to help in your school.

John Hartley

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. August 2002, Page 11.
Home Page. Index of articles. Schools: index, Church & School, Creationism, Get involved, Ravenscliffe. In this issue: (August 2002) Vicar's Letter, Rot in the roof, Ravenscliffe, Question, Church Schools.	Get involved in Church Schools The pros and cons of Church Schools, and the way local Christians can best be involved in them, are questions which have been considered at Bradford Diocesan Synod and our own PCC recently. Diocesan Synod (on 22 June at Giggleswick) received the “Reports of Boards and Councils”. I confess I stood up and objected to the report from the Board of Education. The Board said: “We are an integral part of the family of schools, and not in any way exclusive. Criticism of church schools (in the media and elsewhere) is based on genuine misinformation”. But we can’t be both all-inclusive and distinctive! Church Schools try to give pupils a Christian Ethos, but often in the past pupils have had a very small dose which innoculated them against a real relationship with Jesus. As a former chair of governors in my last job, I wonder whether there should be church schools at all? And I’m not a victim of “misinformation”. The Board admitted that the two secondary schools in the city of Bradford have “brought us real headaches”, and confessed there were “difficulties with admissions policies” - anyone who has friends on Ravenscliffe will know how true that is! Around Eccleshill the schools all set their own policies without regard to cooperation, and we the church have unwittingly made this worse by building a new school on a site far from the old one. And the Board conceded that “pressures on governing bodies are increasing”. In my experience, if clergy become chairs of governors they receive mounds of extra administration but little chance to make a positive difference to the schools. Far better to come in as a visitor, take assemblies (“collective worship”), occasional lessons, and get to know the staff informally. St Luke’s PCC met for a special meeting on 25th June with Craig Watson (deputy head of Immanuel). We watched a video which said that schools work best with lots of church members and keen Christians getting involved in many ways - I wholeheartedly agree with this. We began a chat about helping in our two schools: St Luke’s Primary, and Immanuel Community College. We have to see how we can do our best to work for God in the schools around us, and (thanks to Linda and many other staff) we have a very good relationship with our Primary School. It remains for the PCC to think of practical ways of building on this good work, and to find ways of helping you, the local Christians, to help in your school. John Hartley
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