The Diocese of Worcester is launching a new resource for its church schools – the booklet ‘Every Faith Matters’ at St George’s Church Hall, Kidderminster at 12 noon, on Friday June 6th.  Children from Jessons Church of England Primary School from Dudley will be singing at the event which will be led by the Bishop of Dudley, the Rt Revd David Walker.

Church of England schools draw pupils of all faiths and none.  The key finding of the Cantle Report (2001) into the disturbances in Bradford, Oldham and Burnley, was that not enough of us have experiences with which to understand the lives and beliefs of other people. Every Faith Matters offers practical support and encouragement to schools as they serve a culturally diverse society.

Inside are stories and examples of good practice where church schools have responded to the needs of their school community.  There is a story of how one school threw a party to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid; how introducing healthy eating suddenly led not to Jamie Oliver recipes but to involving Asian parents in snack boxes; how the school hall was marked out with traffic cones so that pupils got to experience going on pilgrimage. In each case, Every Faith Matters shows how church schools have built a relationship of trust with their local communities.

At a time when all schools face a new duty to promote community cohesion and when faith schools have been in the media spotlight accused of enforcing ‘parallel lives’, Every Faith Matters shows how church schools can be beacons of excellence in recognising and respecting the diversity of faiths and cultures reflected in schools and the wider community. The publication draws on the experience of six schools in Dudley and Worcestershire – each one is already a multi-faith community where children grow up knowing what it means to be a cohesive community by living it. This ‘rich soil’ is made available more widely for all 104 schools the Diocese supports in both authorities.

“The publishing of ‘Every Faith Matters’ is a clear indication of how we see Church of England schools enabling children and young people to enjoy and to thrive in a multi-faith and multi-cultural Britain. This publication is evidence of how inclusive our church schools are and can be, and what an example they set.” David Morphy, Diocesan Director of Education.

ENDS

If you would like to send a photographer to the event, please contact me to arrange – I would be delighted to assist.

The Diocese of Worcester is one of 44 dioceses in the Church of England. It covers an area of 671 square miles and includes parishes in the County of Worcestershire, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, and a few parishes in northern Gloucestershire, south east Wolverhampton and Sandwell.