The Diocesan Board of Education is a statutory body with responsibilities for church schools in its diocese and RE and collective worship. The current Board consists of members nominated by the Bishop; clergy and lay people elected by the Diocesan Synod and members co-opted by the Board with experience of church schools in the diocese and other areas of work with which the Board is concerned. It is supported by the Diocesan Director of Education and other members of the Education Team. The Venerable Fiona Gibson, Archdeacon of Ludlow became Chair of the Diocesan Board of Education in September 2021.
Vision for Education in our Diocese
Sharing God’s Mission in Education across the Hereford Diocese today, to shine as a light to the glory of God the Father.
Introduction
We are the Church of England in Herefordshire, south Shropshire and some parishes in Worcestershire, Powys and Monmouthshire. Our worshipping community is made up of 13,300 people of all ages and backgrounds. Nearly 7,500 people attend a service each Sunday and 12,000 children attend one of our 78 schools.
Our wider vision as the Church of England within the Hereford Diocese is to inspire each generation to follow Jesus Christ - our families, friends, neighbours, colleagues, and the people we meet - so that lives and communities are changed and God’s kingdom grows here in Hereford Diocese, on earth, as in heaven.
The Church of England has been involved in education in this country and this diocese for hundreds of years but our Church of England schools. are not ‘faith schools’. They are highly inclusive places and aim to provide a vibrant education, not just to Christian families, but for everyone, from all faith backgrounds in every community.
Jesus excluded no one from his ministry and focused on the most vulnerable in society. Ours is an education for everyone.
‘EDUCATING FOR LIFE IN ALL ITS FULLNESS’ is the goal of the Church of England’s ‘Deeply Christian, Serving the Common Good’ vision for Education and is central to the vision for education in our diocese.
At the heart of this shared vision is the search for wisdom that rings true both with the Bible and Christian understanding and with experienced educational practice in the twenty-first century.
A Light in the Hereford Diocese: Grace, Service & Family
In the field of education within our rural region, we offer a vocational mission of Grace and Service, which helps to support our families through their education journey.
A Light of Grace - A Loving Parent
Jesus told a parable about a family. A father’s love for his youngest son knew no limits. Though he had every reason to show anger, disappointment, frustration and despair, he instead welcomed him home with open arms and showed the limitless power of love. The richness of this parable contains many lessons used to guide our education strategy in the Hereford Diocese.
We are fully committed to ensuring, through God’s grace, that the education provided by our maintained schools and academies, equips every child and young person in our care with the necessary wisdom, knowledge and skills they need, to open up horizons of hope and aspiration in their young lives. We try to see every single person through God’s eyes.
A Light of Service - A Good Shepherd
Jesus offers a new vision of what we are invited into. His promise of life in all its fullness is given when he describes himself as the good shepherd who calls his sheep by name, loves them to the point of laying down his life for them, and opens up a vision of an ever-wider, united community (John 10:1-18). A school where the things that go wrong are faced in that spirit can nurture in children a lifetime of perseverance in hope. Called Connected Committed - CofEFEL 2020
Saint Thomas Cantilupe, Hereford’s own Saint, became the Bishop of Hereford in 1275. Known as the father of modern charity, his story of service and sacrifice has inspired many to undertake a pilgrimage to his shrine in Hereford Cathedral. Like St Thomas of Hereford, ours is a mission of service. We exist to serve the schools, children and families of our diocese by providing an enlightening and inspiring education.
We are here to develop qualities of character that enable children to flourish together, respecting human dignity and appreciation of the ultimate worth of each person.
A Light for Family – Flourishing Together
“The Diocese of Hereford has seldom held and is never likely to hold, a very conspicuous place among the dioceses of the Church of England, but it has a claim to represent that unobtrusive phase of life which is expressed to us in the notion of family.“ A Diocesan History – 1888 By Henry Wright Phillott - Extract from Saints and Sinners of the Marches by Michael Tavinor.
Our Diocesan Board of Education continues to recognise the importance of family at the very heart of our rural area, especially for our children. We maintain a climate where families can flourish together. We also try to work together as a family of schools, different in countless ways, yet bound together by a common purpose to give the children of our diocese, the best start in life, we possibly can.
We are here to develop qualities of character that enable children to flourish together, respecting human dignity and an appreciation of the ultimate worth of each person. Ours is an education which builds bridges and which enables all our children to live a life in all its fullness.