Background
The Church of England has a long tradition of providing schools, predating the provision by the state. Since 1944 we have been happy to work in partnership with Local Authorities, to provide education, within the traditions of the Church of England, as part of the maintained sector. As the established Church, we see our role to work closely with local authorities in providing universal education. We wish to see our schools available to any parent who would like to have an education based upon the Christian principles we promote. We especially reaffirm our mission to the education of those who have least in life, whether in the towns or in rural communities.
Church schools are not agents of proselytism where pupils are expected to make a Christian commitment. Our schools are a place where the Church can serve its community, but also nourish those of the Christian faith. So we seek to be inclusive, but also distinctive. Church schools strive to serve their communities but also provide for children from worshipping Christian families.
In many areas we provide the only school within a community and the vast majority of parents are happy and welcome the opportunity for their children to attend a Church of England school with its distinctive ethos.
The current position
In 2001, nationally, 25% of all primary schools were Church of England schools, and secondary 5.5%. 18.2% of all primary children attended a CE school and 4.7% a secondary school. Since then the number of children attending CE secondary schools has increased to 4.9%.
Across the Diocese of Chester there are 111 Church schools, in nine Local Authorities. In Cheshire we have 70 schools for primary age children (c24% of Cheshire primary schools) and one secondary school (c2%).
The DBE’s position
The DBE has agreed that the overall aim is to ensure that parents wherever possible have the opportunity to choose a Church of England school for their child. To meet this aim, it is unlikely that the DBE could support the loss of any Church of England schools in an area where there was no other Church of England school provision. In the Diocese of Chester, many of our schools are in rural areas and we recognise the special place that a village school has in such areas and wholeheartedly support the Government’s position that there should be a presumption against the closure of such schools. In planning for future provision in rural communities, since the population is so small and mobile it is impossible to rely on projections of pupil numbers.
In some areas, it would be appropriate to increase the number of Church of England schools, although to achieve this in a climate of falling rolls is likely only to be through community schools becoming Church of England schools.
There may be occasions when Church of England schools could be federated or amalgamated, and the DBE will consider these on a case by case basis. Given our position of inclusiveness, we are happy to consider amalgamations involving Church of England schools with non-Church schools (or Catholic schools). While continuing to support all Church of England schools, the DBE (and Diocesan Synod) have indicated their wish to encourage in particular aided schools and this policy has been reaffirmed.
Summary
Although it must be remembered that the DBE cannot compel change, we wish to work constructively with the Authority in securing appropriate educational opportunities for the children of Cheshire by ensuring:
To this end, we will consider federating or amalgamating Church of England schools with other Church schools, or with community schools (providing they retain Church of England status). Where there are other Church of England schools within an area, we will reluctantly consider closures where there are strong educational arguments and the effect on the community will be minimal. In areas where there are insufficient Church school places we would like to see more added (in primary and secondary schools).