Ep 50: The Church of England's influence over education

What does it mean for a school to be 'C of E'? And how far does the Church of England's influence extend over state-funded education?

The NSS has recently published two reports dealing with the Church of England's influence over schools. The first, 'Religiosity inspections: The case against faith-based inspections of faith schools', examined the ways in which the Church of England uses such inspections to impose its own agenda on the schools within its remit. In 'Understanding Christianity and the study of religion and worldviews: How the Church of England has gained control of Religious Education', former RE teacher Chris Selway examined the structure of RE in England and Wales.

In this podcast, Emma Park speaks to Chris Selway along with Matthew Hill, a former headteacher who contributed to the 'Religiosity inspections' report. Both speakers draw from their own experience of teaching to explore the ways in which some schools are being pressured to encourage proselytising, and the effects which this can have on students as well as teachers. The speakers argue that the C of E must be held to account, and that the way RE is taught needs fundamental reform.

Watch this episode on YouTube | Direct MP3 Link | Transcripts

Follow Emma on Twitter: @DrEmmaPark

Notes

• Understanding Christianity and the study of religion and worldviews: How the C of E has gained control of religious education
• Religiosity inspections: the case against faith-based reviews of state schools
• Faith groups have no business inspecting schools – Stephen Evans

Support the podcast, share with a friend, and leave a positive review everywhere you can.