Christian Character Development

Pupils, governors, staff and parents in many schools have established Ethos Groups as a way of supporting the development of the distinctive ethos of their school. If you are interested in establishing one in your school please get in touch.

In October 2015 The Church of England, Education Division brought out a discussion paper on Character Education The Fruits of the Spirit: A Church of England Discussion Paper on Character Education

The What if Learning Project offers  ideas to support classrooms becoming places with a Christian ethos, whatever the subject or age group being taught. It explores what teaching and learning might look like when rooted in Christian faith, hope and love. It does this by offering 100+ concrete examples of creative classroom work and an approach which enables you to develop your own examples.

Coventry Cathedral has established the Community of the Cross of nails following its bombing. Schools are able to join this international community that focusses on developing peace and reconciliation. Mrs Ethleston’s CE Primary School in Uplyme recently gained Cross of Nails status and if you are interested in working towards this please contact your Diocesan Education Officer.

The worldwide Anglican communion has adopted what is known as the Five Marks of Mission, as a summary of how it sees its role in the world and the role of all those who are members of its churches.

The Five Marks are as follows:

• To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
• To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
• To respond to human need by loving service
• To seek to transform unjust structures of society
• To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth

As part of the Anglican Church, Church of England schools may find it useful to think through the Marks of Mission and use them as one of the ways to structure their own call to be a ‘distinctive’ part of the English national education system.

The Marks of Mission may be summarized using five words beginning with ‘T’: Tell, Teach, Tend, Transform and Treasure. These words are used below, and in some possible statements to use with children.

Living Values is written by Shahne Vickery, who can complement the popular Values for Life  and Roots and Fruits resources which takes eighteen Christian values as themes for a three-year rolling programme for collective worship.

Living Values can underpin every aspect of school life, including: policy development; the whole curriculum; the work of the governing body; and spiritual development. Each chapter is packed full of examples of excellent practice in schools across the UK and is hands-on and practical.