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School News

Congratulations to Inspire Education Trust who have been shortlisted for the Optimus Education’s MAT Excellence Awards in the category for EDI.  The winners are announced at an Awards Ceremony held in London in June.

 Congratulations also to staff and governors at St Paul’s CofE Primary Nuneaton on their recent SIAMS inspection. They were found to be living up to their foundation as a Church school, enabling pupils and adults to flourish. You can read the report here.

Invitation to Headteachers from Bishop’s House

Bishop Tim Thornton, the Assistant Bishop of Coventry, along with Dean John Witcombe, invites all Diocesan Headteachers to share in the reaffirmation of ministerial vows and the blessing of oils in the Maundy Thursday Chrism Service at Coventry Cathedral on Thursday 17 April 2025 at 10.30.

Has Your School got a Story of Hope for Lent?

Coventry Diocese is looking for stories of hope from schools to share on the diocesan website over Lent. This is to compliment the Church of England’s theme of ‘Living Hope’.

Examples could be answered prayer, coming together after a time of adversity, children learning more about the hope they can have in Jesus etc.

If your school has a story to share, do let us know at: joanne.evans@coventrydbe.org

God and the Big Bang Coming to Coventry Cathdral

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

School News

On 6 February, Blue Coat CofE School & Music College celebrated its Diamond Anniversary with a special service at Coventry Cathedral. The service looked back on the 60 years since the school was established on its current site in 1964.

The Cathedral was packed with students, staff and special guests. It was a heartfelt celebration, featuring memories from past students, a look back with a history video and beautiful performances from the different school choirs, worship band and gospel choir. The service included the commissioning of Mrs. Lisa Henden as Headteacher by Revd. April Gold and preaching from Pastor Luke Williams (ex-student and Assistant Pastor at CLM Church) and rededication liturgy written by School Chaplain Lou Peet.

The morning concluded with a special ringing of the cathedral bells which coincided beautifully with sunshine streaming through the West Screen.

Bishop Sophie Confirmed as Bishop of Coventry

The Rt Revd Sophie Jelley has been confirmed as the new Bishop of Coventry by the Bishop of London in a service at Lambeth Palace in London on 14th February.

Read more on the Diocesan website here

New Prayer Resource

The DBE has produced a bank of collected prayers that would be useful in school for:

• For the Start of the New Academic Year
• Prayers and Blessings for the School
• Times of the School Day
• Times of the School Year
• Special Times and Difficult Times
• Action Prayers
• Staff and Governors’ Meetings

Find it on the DBE website under general resources and access with the usual password.

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

School News

Lucy Jackson, Headteacher at Hampton Lucy CofE Primary School writes:

“As part of the RE curriculum the children have to investigate how beliefs and ideas are both shaped and expressed through text and art.  Our year 3 and 4 class took the opportunity to use Hampton Lucy Church to find out how views can be both shaped and expressed through art and architecture in our place of worship.

Our vicar, Reverend Linda Mac Dermot was on hand to answer questions from the children and the Verger, Mr Ali Speller shared his many years of knowledge.  This was a wonderful experience for the children with adults from the PCC adding support.

The children also had the opportunity to sketch parts of the church on a second visit to the church, look at artefacts and photographs.  These sketches will be used back in the classroom to illustrate the impression our church had on the children in a final piece of art work. Awe and wonder.”

News from the Diocese

 Read Bishop Sophie’s latest letter to the diocese which confirms the date of her Service of Installation and Welcome to be held at Coventry Cathedral.

Tim Sewards, churchwarden and school teacher, has written an article for the Diocese about the relationship between St Peter’s Church, Barford and their local school which he describes as a vital part of their church health. Read it here.

The process for the appointment of the next Archbishop of Canterbury is underway and an extensive consultation exercise that will take place in February and March. Find out more here.

A Half Term Family Project to Help the Royal British Legion?

Later this year The Royal British Legion will be marking the 80th anniversaries of VE Day and VJ Day, as well as other key battles which brought an end to the Second World War.

They are in the process of developing learning content for schools and would like your help. They would like teachers to ask children in their classes to research their family stories and submit them to the RBL by 28 February.

What they are looking for:

• A description (maximum 50 words) explaining who the story is about (name, rank or role in the Armed Forces, what they did and where they were during the war.)
• A good quality photograph of the person the story is about. (This could be in their uniform, or after the conflict in their civilian life)

They are especially interested in hearing about where these people were on VE or VJ Day 1945.

A selection of the stories will be used in free teaching resources throughout the year, so please ensure the young people have permission to share the stories/photos before they submit them. Send your stories on a word document to teachingremembrance@britishlegion.org.uk by Fri 28 Feb

Are You Exploring the Role of AI Within Religion and Worldviews Education?

Culham St Gabriel’s is hosting an online symposium to bring together researchers and practitioners who are actively exploring the intersection of AI and religion and worldviews education. The event will be held on Monday 17 March, 2.00 –5.00pm.

Find out more here.

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

 School News

Blue Coat CofE School, Coventry sent us this great photo of their year 7s engaging with the DBE’s termly pupil voice question…

Recorded CPD Now Available on the DBE Website

Just a reminder that this recently delivered and recorded CPD is available with the usual password on the DBE website resources page:

• Collective worship in a CofE school refresher (and ‘bite size’ version for staff meetings)
• Spirituality Short part 3 – ‘Others’
• SIAMS IQ5 – A Culture of Justice & Peace
• Implementing the New Agreed Syllabus with Understanding Christianity

Free Lent Collective Worship Resource from the Archbishop of York’s Youth Trust

This new free collective worship material for Lent ‘Living Hope’ is available now.

With 6 weeks of collective worship material, ‘Living Hope’ will take pupils on a journey through Lent reflecting on Jesus’ ministry and his message of hope for all people. This flexible resource can be used in the classroom, or in a church setting and you can use and adapt the material as best fits your school context.

It has been designed to run from the 24 Feb, in the 6 weeks before the school Easter holidays. However, Lent starts on Weds 5 March. The resource is flexible and you may wish to do all 6 weeks condensed into 4 weeks, or choose only 4 themes to deliver.

You can find out more and sign up here: www.abyyt.com/lent

To read the full Headlines newsletter contact joanne.evans@coventrydbe.org

School News

New Classroom Opening at Moreton Morrell CofE Primary School

The Fosse Multi Academy Trust is proud to announce that it has been awarded over £1million in government grants in 2024, dedicated to improving the facilities and conditions of its schools across Warwickshire. This significant funding will enable the Trust to invest in a variety of projects aimed at enhancing the learning environments for students and staff, further supporting the Trust’s mission to “Serve, Grow, Achieve.”

Among he projects benefiting from these grants is the construction of a brand-new classroom at Moreton Morrell CofE Primary School. This state-of-the-art facility was officially opened this week and blessed by Revd Barry Jackson. The new classroom will provide modern, engaging learning spaces for students and is part of the Trust’s broader vision to create environments where all members of the school community can flourish.

Fosse CEO Lindsey Oscroft expressed excitement about the project, saying, “This new classroom is a wonderful addition to our school, providing pupils with an inspiring and modern space that will enhance their educational experience. This investment allows us to address critical infrastructure needs while also investing in the future of our children. The Trust remains committed to providing the highest standards of education, and these improvements reflect that commitment.”

In addition to the new classroom at Moreton Morrell School, other schools in the Trust that benefitted from the 2024 grants include Tysoe CofE Primary and Wellesbourne CofE Primary.

Note to Heads from Sandra Sutherland about Global Neighbours…

 Dear all,

Following my input about Global Neighbours in the DBE Heads briefing last week, please feel free to contact me via email: head.as@welearn365.com if you have any questions. Unfortunately, I had to leave the meeting promptly and can no longer access questions or messages sent to me directly.

Kind regards,

Sandra

Anyone interested in signing up to Christian Aid’s Global Neighbours scheme, do contact Joanne Evans at the DBE as we may be able to secure a discount for you.

Thanks to Schools that have Responded to the DBE’s Termly Pupil Voice Question…

Thank you to those schools who have already responded to the DBE’s pupil voice question about ‘life in all its fullness’.

If you want to take part, we are using the ‘Smart Schools Council’ programme to email this question for your pupils to answer:

“The Bible says Jesus came to give us ‘life in all its fullness’ – what does ‘living your best life’ mean to you?”

• This is designed to be led by pupils and there is no additional work for the teacher, or software to download.
• This could be done with the worship council, school council, a lunchtime/after school club or a whole class. (Suggest year 5/6/7).
• The session includes a 5 min BBC Teach clip, and discussion can be as long or as short as you like (so around 10-20 mins).
• There is a stimulus (video), discussion time and a multiple choice vote. There is an another slide for your notetaker to make additional comments – please do get the children to do this if there is time!

To give you a flavour, this 4 minute video shows how a Class Meeting is run.

Please forward the emailed link to the lead teacher for them to open up the class meeting (question and discussion) in the classroom:

Thanks and do let us know what you think! We’ll feed back on the results in due course.

Celebrate Shakespeare Week – 24 – 30 March 2025

Many of our schools celebrate Shakespeare Week, making the most of the unique aspect of our geographical location and its historical legacy. As you may have discovered, Shakespeare’s worldview is included in the RE Agreed Syllabus L2.7 unit on how history and religion have entwined in this area, and there are additional sub-questions with a Shakespeare theme in several other units. Everything Shakespeare-related is collated onto one page on the syllabus website here to make it easier for any schools wanting to have an RE focus to their celebrations: Shakespeare Week and the New Coventry/Warwickshire Agreed Syllabus – Coventry City Council (password needed)

Find out more information about Shakespeare Week here. Register to access hundreds of FREE cross-curricular resources which have been developed by education experts from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and a number of excellent partners across the UK.

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

School News

Congratulations to St Paul’s CofE Primary, Nuneaton who have just gained a bronze Global Neighbours award from Christian Aid. Well done to all the school staff and pupils involved who should rightly be very proud of this achievement.

If you want to know more about the Global Neighbours award please see here or watch Sandra Sutherland Headteacher of All Saints CofE Junior Warwick talking about their work in school at this week’s Heads’ Briefing – details below.

Church of England Foundation for Educational Leadership National Conference

Great to see Heads and MAT colleagues at the National Society for Education National Conference in London yesterday. The conference was held at the historic church of St John in Hackney where Joshua Watson founded his vision for Church schools in 1811.

The theme was ‘Flourishing Leaders, Flourishing Schools’ and some of the day was spent unpacking the latest publication ‘Flourishing together: a collective vision for the education system’. This was co-published with the Catholic Education Service and the Confederation of School Trusts.

Andy Wolfe, Executive Director of Education for the Church of England also  Launched the Flourishing Leaders and Teachers Programmes which he said could positively address teacher retention and leadership development:

“These programmes will support educators at every level, from early career teachers to system leaders, focusing on purpose, relationships, and wellbeing. Already, 900 schools and colleges have committed to piloting these courses, which will commence in autumn 2025.”

Speakers throughout the day also encouraged delegates to consider ‘The Class of 2040,’ an idea that recognises children finishing their secondary education in 2040 are already in the system this year as reception pupils. Attendees were asked to adopt a long-term ‘flourishing’ perspective in shaping educational practices.

Headteacher Termly Briefing

Thanks to those Heads who joined us for the Termly Briefing on Tuesday. If you were not able to attend, the recording is available on the DBE website under Headteacher Resources using the usual passcode.

Do Look Out for the DBE’s Termly Pupil Voice Question…

As mentioned at the Heads’ Briefing, the link to your termly Pupil Voice question will be coming out to Heads by email shortly.

Forward this link to whichever staff member heads up the group you think best (Year 5/6, Year 7, Worship Council, School Council, after school debate club etc).

This will open up the Smart School’s Council format to host a session which can last 15 min – 30 mins or as long as you like. It is a simple format designed to be led by the pupils themselves. Here is a short 4 min video that explains what you will see.

Please do encourage your group to enter ‘other comments’ at the end if they have time.

Upcoming CPD…

 RE/Collective Worship

Tues 04 February – Understanding Christianity and the New Agreed Syllabus

Tues 11 February – Small Schools Network (Those who have previously attended need not book – we will send the information and zoom link in due course)

Tues 25 Feb (postponed from 13 Jan)  – RE CPD (topic to be decided after consultation with RE Leads)

Tues 11 March – Half termly RE Clinic

SIAMS

Tues 28 January – Spirituality Short

Weds 29 January – Kingdom of God Flourishing through IQ5 in your school

Weds 12 February – Termly SIAMS update

Weds 26 February – Governors – Monitoring and Evaluating the Impact of RE     

Weds 05 March – Spirituality Short

Mon 10 March – Governors – Monitoring and Evaluating the Impact of Collective Worship

Weds 26 March – Introduction to SIAMS – part 1 (second session is on Weds 02 April – only one booking needed for both recorded sessions)

Mon 31 March – Spirituality Short

Admissions and Appeals    

Tues 18 March – School Admissions and Appeals   

iSingPOP Dates Available

 Emma has the following dates available for Main Events if you would like to boost spiritual development and bring the whole school together. This is free as part of our Diocesan partnership.

10th-12th of March, Concert on the 20th of March

24th-26th of March, Concert on the 3rd of April

19th-21st of May, Concert on the 22nd of May

Days 1-3 – Teaching

Spend the first 3 days of the project learning a set of catchy, fun-filled pop songs with your iSingPOP Project Leader. Each song is based on an important and inclusive Christian value and the children dive deeper to explore how they can apply these in life to become World Changers!

Day 4 – Concert

Perform a live concert involving every member of the school to your families and community in your local church. A professional live production including PA, visuals and all equipment necessary for your concert is provided.

Do contact Emma to book emma.kenyon@isingpop.com

Religion & Worldviews Round Up: Spring Term 2025

There are several ways in which you can access CPD to support your leadership of RE in schools. Jen Jenkins has collated them on one Sway newsletter here.

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

Headteacher Termly Briefing – Tuesday 21 January

Don’t forget to join us for the DBE Heads’ Briefing on the afternoon 21 January 14.00-15.30 on Zoom.

iSingPOP – Booking Now for 2025 – Free for your School

Workshops and Main Events in your school – thinking about doing something different for Lent or Easter? Or maybe for your year 6 leavers?

Classroom Worship – you should have received the log on but let us know if not.

The Pop Box – worship made easy! Find over 170 interactive resources, animations and ideas that can be picked and mixed by children and adults alike. All schools received the new ‘Heroes of the Old Testament’ Pop Box last term.

If your school is starting something new with the parish, Emma can work with you and tailor a main event if you would like to launch it in a special and engaging way.

Talk to emma.kenyon@isingpop.com to check availabilty and find out more!

…And do check out the (30 min) video which shows the impact of Alive and the DBE-iSingPOP partnership last year.

Latest Grove Education Booklet Available – Ed62

‘Growing Faith in Schools’ by Anna Shaw

Some of you may remember Anna from our Heads’ and Parish Partners’ Conference in November.

This is the latest in the Grove Education Booklet, designed to be read in an hour, and this one looks at the question: What can be done to grow Christian faith in children and their families when church schools comprise a very diverse staff and student community with respect to faith?

Find it on the DBE website general resources section with the usual password

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

School News

Looking back at some of the Christmas Celebrations…

At Berkswell CofE Primary, Christmas was an ideal opportunity for Courageous Advocacy and children were encouraged to think about how they can shine their lights in the world to help others over the festive period. Here are some of things they did…

EYFS – Both FS1 and FS2 teamed up with Birmingham City Mission to give to their foodbank using a ‘Reverse Advent Calendar’.

Year 1  – children talked about how sometimes people can feel lonelier during special festivities, especially if they do not have loved ones or those that live close by.  They acted on this by each making a Christmas card for the neighbours using thumb prints to create reindeers on the front.  Each card contained a special note and were signed from ‘Year One’.  The pupils then went on a walk around Berkswell and posted each card into neighbours’ houses.

Year 2 – performed small acts of kindness on each day during Advent.  They worked together to think of things they could do for their family, their friends and even the environment to show kindness. Their ideas, such as sharing a joke, giving a hug and litter picking were brought together to form a Kindness Advent Calendar.

Years 3 and 4 – made delightful Christmas cakes at home and then held a cake sale to raise money for Carriers of Hope. They did an amazing job and raised nearly £200 for this deserving charity.

Year 5 – learned about the heart-breaking number of animals abandoned or neglected during the holiday season and they were inspired to make a difference. They raised much-needed donations to support the RSPCA in caring for these animals.

Year 6 – designed and made Christmas tree decorations and some delicious mince pies for members of their local community. They decided that this was something they wanted to do as many local residents are elderly or live alone and would not have the opportunity to celebrate Christmas with friends and family. Year 6 delivered the gifts themselves during the church coffee morning as a surprise! They wanted to bring a little joy and happiness into the lives of others at this special time of year.

Lindsay Eardley, Headteacher of St Paul’s CofE Primary, Nuneaton writes:

“St. Paul’s have truly embraced the magic of Christmas, filling each day with joy, laughter and meaningful moments. Throughout December, the school community has come together to celebrate in various ways. Christingle services were held where pupils learned about the significance of this beautiful tradition. Carols Round the Tree brought together families and friends for a delightful evening of music and community spirit.

Pupils and staff were honoured to welcome Bishop Ruth, the Bishop of Coventry, into the school. Her visit inspired pupils and reinforced the importance of faith and community during this special time of year.

Nursery, Reception and Key Stage One and children shone brightly in their nativity performances, showcasing their talents and reminding everyone of the true meaning of Christmas.

The generosity of local organisations has been overwhelming, as St. Paul’s Church, BVS Gurdwara, Nuneaton Church, Santa’s Guardians and Gifts for Giving, have donated hampers to support some of the families. This spirit of giving exemplifies the kindness and compassion instilled in the pupils.

Additionally, the whole school enjoyed a carol service at the church, where pupils sang beautifully, spreading joy and festive cheer to all in attendance.

Amidst the fun and festivities, time has been taken to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas with the Christian values of kindness, love, and friendship being at the forefront of all celebrations. Pupils have been encouraged to think about the importance of compassion and generosity, not just during this season but throughout the year.

As we look forward to the new year, let us carry the spirit of Christmas in our hearts, celebrating the joy of togetherness and the importance of kindness in our daily lives.”

While Bishop Ruth was at St Paul’s, she recorded a podcast for the Net Zero arm of the Diocese and answered great questions from pupils – listen here (17 mins).

SIAMS

Congratulations to The Revel CofE Primary, Stretton CofE Primary and Long Itchington CofE Primary who all had their SIAMS inspections in November and all were found to be living up to their foundation as Church schools, enabling pupils and adults to flourish. Well done to all the staff and governors. Read the respective reports by clicking on the school name above.

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