Anglican faith schools get ‘values’ on websiteArchbishop of Canterbury praises scheme in video message on site.
The Church of England is urging its 5000 schools to practise what they preach by launching a new website – christianvalues4schools.co.uk.
The project, commissioned by the Church of England’s National Society , is aimed at making the country’s CofE schools “distinctively Christian”, and the site includes a section on the values upon which church schools are supposed to be based, with biblical verses and theological explanations.
In a video message to launch the site, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, says: “A Christian school is one in which the atmosphere has that kind of openness about it, that sense that people are worth spending time with, that people need time to grow, need loving attention.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean than everyone involved has to share the same theology or philosophy. But a Christian school is one in which the entire atmosphere is pervaded by the conviction that there is something mysterious, and potentially wonderful, in everybody.”
He said: “It is most welcome that the Church of England has set out what it means by a ‘Christian ethos’ for its schools. But what is now abundantly clear is that the Christian ethos that the Church seeks to promote is fundamentally at odds with the practices of many of its schools.”
