Education

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Diocesan Director of Education

Church of England Schools and Academies are a vital part of the work and ministry of the Diocese.

They provide education for the children and young people of South Yorkshire and a part of East Riding. There are currently 38 primary schools and 1 secondary school in the Diocese of Sheffield educating about 8,300 students. 

The Diocese of Sheffield Board of Education (DBE) is committed to

the development of effective collaboration with, and between, our Church Schools
the celebration of the excellent work that has been, and will be, carried out in our Church Schools
and to the supporting and enrichment of Church Schools’ distinctive offering of teaching and learning within a Christian context.

We have five areas of mission in relation to schools: 

Cultivation of Christian distinctiveness in the ethos and practice of our schools 
Securing of excellence for all children, with schools meeting and, in time, exceeding core expectations 
Strong leadership and capacity to improve within our service 
Networking leading to excellence through the sharing of school-to-school development across the Diocese 
Offer of service beyond the Diocese through schools affiliating and drawing upon our provision, in the wider community

Huw’s latest blog:

Lent in School

As the half term starts back, we return into the season of Lent, which began during half term, on Ash Wednesday. The Season of Lent marks the just-over-40 days leading up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The dates for these change every year. It’s never too late to start it up in school, acknowledging the season leading up to Good Friday (3rd April) and Easter Day (5th April). As it happens, our first Wednesday back is exactly 40 days up to and including Easter day – so our schools can mark their own Lent Wednesday.

The 40 days of Lent are based on the story of Jesus, forming his ministry by taking 40 days to fast and pray, and being tempted, in the wilderness. It can be found in Matthew 4:1-11.

It is also retold in this beautiful, short film [click here for “40”].

Lent is a time of reflection, leading up to Easter. Traditionally, this meant it was also a time of fasting and giving up some of the more luxurious foodstuffs, so the day before Ash Wednesday was a time of feasting, enjoying some of the rich foods such as dairy products. This is where Pancake Day comes from.

In the Diocese, Lent is regarded as a time for reflection, sometimes with special courses or study time for this, and also a time to create or review our personal Rules of Life – the routines, practices and actions that support and develop our faith.

There are three things I’d highlight for schools to do.

Firstly, make sure we know the story. You will have specific activities for the celebration of Easter but one encouragement should be to share the Easter story throughout Lent and make sure children are versed in the main events (e.g. the story recalled in ‘Understanding Christianity’, particularly in that excellent six stage set of images in the Key Stage 1 Resources: 1.5 Salvation Resources Sheet 1 and 2).

One way of doing this is to create ‘Stations’ of the story – accessible spaces around school where pictures or text are on display. Certain classes could take responsibility for creating one of these spaces. Children can move between these as a way of remembering the story.

Secondly, extend the chat to home. We’re always wanting to encourage the spirituality conversation between school and home. Lent is meant to be a time to reflect on our lives and the way we live them, so we could encourage children to think about the life rules or principles they have at home. The question for home could involve asking “What are our life rules?” This can include any religious practices and rules of life but can also include family rules (“one person cuts, the other shares”) and the things we would set down as guidelines to adopt for a good life. Families may collate these and maybe even draw up a set they can share with school.

Thirdly, share in rescues. Over the centuries Christians have understood what God did, through Jesus, at Easter, in various ways. These events of Easter the Church sees something of the way God does something that shows sacrificial love to save people. That’s a complicated idea, but one thing we affirm is that, this is, essentially, a rescue story. Salvation is about people being saved. School and home could share in thinking of some of the most amazing rescue stories we know – whether this be from history, personal experience or films and TV shows. What are the most amazing rescues we can think of? If classes created pictures or lists of great adventures, they can be displayed in a ‘salvation gallery’.

Wishing you a blessed time as you join with Christians everywhere in the Lenten journey
Huw