Headlines – 29.11.24

Advent Message from Revd April Gold

We are about to enter the period of Advent. I don’t know how it has come around so quickly! I know you will already be deep into planning for Christmas performances and activities and school will be busy and full of excitable children for the next few weeks. Amongst the joy, there will be stress and tiredness from staff, illness to contend with and your own family plans. Be assured of our prayers for you and make sure you pace yourself and take time to breathe and be present with those you love and care about.

Last Sunday marked the Festival of Christ the King the end of the Church year, with the first Sunday of Advent this week beginning the new year! Last Sunday was also traditionally stir-up Sunday, the day when families made their Christmas puddings to give them ample time to ‘ferment’ before the feast of Christmas. The term stir-up Sunday comes from the special prayer for last Sunday:

Stir up, O Lord,

the wills of your faithful people;

that they, plenteously bring forth the fruit of good works,

may you be plenteously rewarded;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Traditionally, families gathered in the kitchen of their homes with parents teaching their children how to mix and steam ingredients for the pudding. Everyone took a turn to stir the pudding mix, as they made a special wish for the year ahead. Practically, stirring the mixture is hard work, hence the need for everyone to take part! By tradition the pudding mixture is stirred from East to West in honour of the three wise men who visited the baby Jesus.

I like the idea of asking God to stir up our wills! As the nights continue to darken, the weather turns cold and we are forced to hunker down, it is good to look forwards to what a new year might bring. This year we also have an educational landscape which is being “stirred up” as the new government begins to make changes. That is why you need to take time to rest and encourage everyone in your teams to do the same. We need to be restored and refreshed to step into the opportunities ahead. It is a time of waiting for policies to be developed and implemented. I know that you are faithful, compassionate, imaginative educators determined to create schools where children belong, thrive and are prepared to live life to the full. That makes me hopeful for what the year ahead will bring!

 

MAT Choir Concert at Coventry Cathedral

Fourteen schools from the Diocese of Coventry MAT gathered for a concert at Coventry Cathedral on Monday. The concert was opened by Bishop Ruth and Revd April Gold was in attendance along with parents of the children. It was a very powerful and joyful occasion in recognition of Advent and the coming Christmas season.

 

‘Light Has Come’ – Collective Worship for Advent

This new collective worship resource, written by Jen Jenkins, is now available on the DBE website with the usual passcode under collective worship resources.

 

Thrive Licensed Childhood Practitioner Course

Stour Federation MAT are offering this course in the spring term. The Thrive Childhood Practitioner Course will revolutionise how you view behaviour. Equipped with Thrive-Online, you will learn how to identify pupils’ social and emotional needs and create targeted action plans to remove barriers to learning. See further details and how to book here.

 

Church of England National Society for Education National Conference – 22 January 2025

The conference is titled ‘Flourishing Leaders, Flourishing Schools’ and the there will a number of excellent keynote speakers and workshop leaders, alongside colleagues from the National Society for Education team, including:

  • Sir Hamid Patel
  • Leora Cruddas
  • Sufian Sadiq
  • Sonia Thompson
  • Ed Vainker
  • Amjad Ali
  • Haili Hughes
  • Kathryn Morgan
  • Jonny Uttley

At the conference, they will also be launching new leadership development programmes and sharing their vision for the Flourishing Leadership Framework, which will be available to pilot from Autumn 2025.

The deadline for registrations is Friday 20 December 2024, so if you haven’t yet registered for this event, there’s still time. Find out more and get tickets here.

 

For the full Headlines newsletter – contact joanne.evans@coventrydbe.org

 

 

Headlines – 22.11.24

Headteacher and Parish Partners’ Conference – 14 November – Journeying Together for Inclusion ‘Last will be First’

Thank you to those school leaders and parish partners who were able to join us at Ardencote Manor last Thursday for a fantastic day of inspiration and ‘journeying together’ for the DBE’s first Headteacher and Parish Partners’ Conference. Around 100 delegates were in attendance to hear our fantastic speakers: Sir John Timpson, Elizabeth Olulari – Racial Justice Lead from the CofE National Society and Anna Shaw from CPAS. After lunch there was inspiriational worship with Bishop Ruth and the gospel choir from Blue Coat CofE School, Coventry. The afternoon was facilitated for parishes and schools to envision and strategise together.

The presentations are available to view on the DBE website under the course resources.

 

For the full Headlines newsletter contact joanne.evans@coventrydbe.org

 

Headlines – 15.11.24

News from the Church of England

 

Resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury

The Church of England have published this press release to announce the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. If you wish to have a wider discussion about this, or have any issues that are coming up for you in school, please talk to your parish vicar or contact Revd April Gold.

‘Love Matters’: New Resources Developed for Schools and Church Youth Groups

The Archbishops’ Commission on Families and Households has developed new resources for use locally in schools and church youth groups to help them explore the key ‘Love Matters’ messages, and to learn about loving relationships. The resources, one for primary-aged children and the other for secondary-aged young people have been developed by and produced with pupils from King’s Group Academies schools in Gosport and Fareham.

Flourishing Together Report

The National Society for Education (Church of England) has partnered with the Catholic Education Service (CES), and Confederation of School Trusts (CST) to launch the Flourishing Together report, a long-term vision aimed at transforming the educational landscape of England. The initiative, founded on partnership, calls on leaders and educators to reimagine schools as places where every child and adult can truly flourish.

Rooted in the concept of “flourishing,” the report outlines ten transformative shifts essential for creating an inclusive, equitable, and collaborative education system. This vision is not confined to faith-based schools; it is designed as a universal approach that invites the entire sector to build a system grounded in respect, mutuality, and shared responsibility.

 

Upcoming CPD…

Global Christianity within ‘Understanding Christianity’ – New Materials

20 November 2024 – 16.00-17.30

Explore new materials on Global Christianity which have been launched by the National CofE to use to enhance ‘Understanding Christianity’ in your RE.

click here to book the online session or receive the recording.

 

Half-Termly RE Clinic – Support for Delivering the New Agreed Syllabus

25 November 2024 – 16.30-17.30

This syllabus marks a significant shift in the way in which RE is taught and these half-termly RE Clinics, facilitated by Jen Jenkins, will allow RE teachers to get to grips with any challenges or questions in implementing this new approach in order to maintain high standards of provision. Delegates attending are invited to bring their own questions around areas of challenge or that need clarification for discussion with Jen.

click here to book the online session

 

Theology RE Subject Knowledge session – Noah and the Flood

26 November 2024 – 16.00-17.30

This session will support teachers with their subject knowledge around the biblical story of Noah and the Flood. This story features in the new RE syllabus in several units and Jen will attempt to unpack some of the theology around it and shares ways you might approach it with different aged pupils.

click here to book the online session or to receive the recording

 

Theology RE Subject Knowledge session – The Trinity

10 December 2024 – 16.00-17.30

This session will support teachers with their subject knowledge around The Trinity. This will help with implementing the new RE syllabus and will explore some ways to share this with pupils.

Click here to book the online session or to receive the recording.

 

The DBE is Looking for Volunteers – Please Do Pass on to Anyone You Think Might be a Suitable Candidate in Your Communities

Do you know of anyone looking to volunteer within the education sector?  We are looking for people to fill the following roles:

  1. Academy Trust Members
  2. Academy Trust Directors
  3. Foundation Governors (maintained schools)
  4. Foundation Governors (local academy governance)
  5. DBE Board Members
  6. School Admission Appeal Panellists

For more information for roles 1 to 5 click here and for 6 click here.

If you are interested in becoming a DBE Board Member there is a 2-week period for applications – 04 to 19 November.  The information for applying is linked here.

 

For the full Headlines newsletter contact joanne.evans@coventrydbe.org

 

Headlines – 08.11.24

School News

 

SIAMS

Congratulations to St Paul’s CofE Primary, Leamington Spa who had their SIAMS inspection last month. The school was found to be living up to its foundation as a Church school enabling pupils and adults to flourish. Well done to all the staff and governors. Read the report here.

 

Diocesan News – New Bishop of Coventry Announced

Downing Street announced on Monday that the new Bishop of Coventry will be the Rt Revd Sophie Jelley, after her nomination was approved by the King. Bishop Sophie will begin her new role in Spring 2025 following an installation service at Coventry Cathedral.

Bishop Sophie has recorded a special 1-min video message for Headteachers which you can watch here.

 Blue Coat CofE School, Coventry was chosen to the be venue of the announcement and there was a special year 11 collective worship with lots of invited special guests, including Revd April Gold.

For more information about the appointment see the Coventry Diocesan website.

 

The DBE is Looking for Volunteers – Please Do Pass on to Anyone You Think Might be a Suitable Candidate in Your Communities

Do you know of anyone looking to volunteer within the education sector?  We are looking for people to fill the following roles:

  1. Academy Trust Members
  2. Academy Trust Directors
  3. Foundation Governors (maintained schools)
  4. Foundation Governors (local academy governance)
  5. DBE Board Members
  6. School Admission Appeal Panellists

For more information for roles 1 to 5 click here and for 6 click here.

If you are interested in becoming a DBE Board Member there is a 2-week period for applications – 04 to 19 November.  The information for applying is linked here.

 

DfE Call for Evidence for The Curriculum and Assessment Review

The Department for Education (DfE) has opened its call for evidence regarding potential improvements to the curriculum and assessment system.

The call for evidence invites stakeholders to submit proposals on improving the curriculum and assessment system. The gathered material will be used in aiding the panel in making its first recommendations next year. The call for evidence closes at 11.59pm on the 22nd of November 2024. Click here to find out more.

The DfE would like to hear from a wide range of people including:

  • students, pupils and learners
  • parents and carers
  • teachers, tutors and lecturers
  • headteachers and senior leaders
  • the wider school, college or university workforce
  • researchers, academics and education experts
  • employers
  • local authority officers
  • anyone with an interest in the curriculum

The DfE is also holding a series of national roadshow events across each region in England. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear directly from the chair of the Review, Professor Becky Francis CBE, as well as other panel members. To take part click here.

 

For the full Headlines newsletter contact joanne.evans@coventrydbe.org

 

Headlines – 25.10.24

School News

Blue Coat Commemoration of the Founders and Benefactors Service

Lou Peet, the Chaplain at Blue Coat CofE School, Coventry writes:

“Every year, year 7 students from Blue Coat CofE School attend a special service at their founding church Holy Trinity. On Thursday 17th students attended once more to hear about the foundations of the school, its rich history of caring for children in Coventry, and even saw what the original uniform looked like! They were invited to participate in organ-led congregational hymns, songs by the junior, gospel and post-16 choirs, prayer and reflection, commemoration liturgy and a talk from Chaplain. Many thanks to Holy Trinity, Coventry for their ongoing love and support.”

 

Global Neighbours Gold Award – Congraulations

Congraulations to All Saints’ CofE Junior School in Warwick who have achieved the Gold Award status in Christian Aid’s Global Neighbours scheme, in recognition of its initiatives to encourage children to think of others throughout the world. They are only the fifth school in the country to achieve the Gold award!

Sandra Sutherland, Headteacher, said: “We are thrilled to be recognised for the work we have done as a whole school community to raise awareness of the extreme inequalities across our globe and perhaps more importantly, the steps we can take to address these. The children gain an understanding of injustice in our world through regular learning about global issues, including the Global Development Goals.  Pupils have been learning about examples of people who faced adversity and overcame this to be courageous advocates for change. These stories have challenged the whole school community to think about how each of us can make a difference in our local community and globally.

Our world is increasingly connected and our hope is for our children to grow as responsible global citizens who care about issues such as the environment and access to healthcare. The children have especially enjoyed the ongoing link we have with a school in Sierra Leone which informs our curriculum, assemblies and ongoing campaign work.”

 

Prayer Space Event at Dunnington

There was a very exciting prayer space event for Dunnington CofE Primary School last month, led by Sarah Folkes (St Matthew’s Church Family Link Worker) and Louise Mellows (congregation member and chair of the school’s PTA group). The purpose of the event was to:

– embed the whole school Christian vision

– reinforce the school values with pupils and their families

– encourage prayer in a range of interactive ways.

In an act of togetherness, Dunnington Baptist Church kindly allowed the use of their hall and facilities for the event. Each year group walked to the hall to visit the six prayer stations, which were all personalised to the school’s vision and values and linked to the natural world. Pupils were invited to join in thinking about what questions they’d ask God, how to encourage one another, who they are thankful for, forgiveness and actions to help the environment. Prayer was invitational, with each station being supported by volunteers from St Matthew’s congregation. A great example of power in community and growing faith!

 

SIAMS

Congratulations to St Laurence’s CofE Primary who had their inspection last month. The school was found to be living up to its foundation as a Church school enabling pupils and adults to flourish. Well done to all the staff and governors. Read the report here.

 

For full Headlines newsletter contact joanne.evans@coventrydbe.org

 

 

 

Headlines – 18.10.24

School News

Revd April Gold joined the children and families of Wilmcote CofE Primary School at the beginning of October to lead their first Harvest Festival Service since joining the Stour Federation Multi Academy Trust. The service took place in the beautiful and historic St Andrews Church. The children all did a wonderful job reading, reciting and even singing their own song written about Autumn. The whole school community came together to donate produce which was forwarded to Stratford Food Bank to help local families, embracing the school’s core values of Friendship and Kindness.

Year 6 were learning about Eco Churches in RE this week at St John’s CofE Academy. They wrote letters to persuade churches to work towards Eco status and designed their own eco-friendly churches as inspiration.

Year 13 PSHE students at Blue Coat CofE School took part in the Great Big Live assembly this morning as part of their celebration of Black History Month. Students had the opportunity to hear from a range of speakers focusing on racial justice and equality.

 

SIAMS

Congratulations to Ryton on Dunsmore Provost Williams CofE Primary who was inspected at the beginning at the term. The school was found to be living up to its foundation as a Church school enabling pupils and adults to flourish. Well done to all the staff and governors in those schools. Read the report here

 

For the full Headlines newsletter contact joanne.evans@coventrydbe.org