Tag: education

Bishop of Norwich speaks in debate on lifelong learning

The Bishop of Norwich spoke in a debate on lifelong learning on 6th February 2025, highlighting the role of faith communities in the sector:

The Lord Bishop of Norwich: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Knight, for bringing this debate and look forward in the spirit of lifelong learning to hearing other contributions this evening.

Lifelong learning is about social value, although we do not live to store up treasure just for ourselves. It is about economic value, although we do not live by bread alone. It is about personal value, although we do not live just for me but for the flourishing of others who are our neighbours. Faith communities play an important part in all these aspects of lifelong learning, through catechesis, engagement with social issues, basic skills training, youth work, volunteering and engagement with schools, FE colleges and universities. They are also crucially involved in spiritual value by fostering vocation and character.

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Bishop of Lincoln asks about children’s rights in the education sector

The Bishop of Lincoln asked a question on children’s rights in education on 27th January 2025, during a discussion on government plans to improve children’s wellbeing and opportunities:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, Article 28 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises the fundamental right of all children to a free primary education and access to different forms of secondary education. Noble Lords may know that 1 million children are educated in Church of England schools at the moment, and the Church of England’s vision for education is rooted in a Christian ethos for the common good and the holistic well-being of every child, including those of all faiths and none. The Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools framework, which informs best practice in church schools, has a strong and effective focus on children’s rights in accordance with Article 28 in the UN convention. Will the Minister ensure that the substantial and compelling learnings from church schools can be highlighted and shared within her department’s ongoing review of potential reforms to current accountability measures?

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Bishop of Leeds asks about teaching levels in arts and creative education

The Bishop of Leeds asked a question on low numbers of teachers in the arts and humanities on 15th January 2025, during a discussion on the value of a creative education in state schools:

The Lord Bishop of Leeds: My Lords, schools feed in to universities, and the number of arts and humanities departments in universities has been in decline. I learned recently—and I speak as a linguist—that if all the students currently training in modern languages at university were to go into teaching, we would still only fund 70% of the language-teaching posts. This is a systemic problem in the arts and humanities. Trying to get PhD funding for arts and humanities is increasingly difficult. Will the Government commit to looking at the whole stream of the educational system in this respect, and not just schools?

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Bishop of Norwich asks about services for children with special educational needs

The Bishop of Norwich received the following written answer on 6th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Norwich asked His Majesty’s Government:

  • what assessment they have made of the safety valve agreement, and of its impact in the local authorities where such agreements have been made.
  • what assessment they have made of the impact on the most vulnerable pupils with special educational needs in local authorities where a safety valve agreement has been made; and how they propose to minimise this impact.
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Bishop of Sheffield speaks on need for full funding for SEND education

The Bishop of Sheffield spoke in a debate on support for children with special educational needs and disabilities on 9th December 2024, emphasising the need for proper funding for SEND students and for a multifaceted approach to SEND education:

The Lord Bishop of Sheffield: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for securing this debate. One of the most rewarding pieces of work in which I was involved when I was on the staff of Lichfield Cathedral about 15 years ago was a partnership with a local school for pupils with SEND to create a bespoke multisensory tour involving water, incense, bells, holding crosses and even, judiciously, fire. At first, the cathedral guides were dubious, having been used to providing school visitors simply with a verbal commentary on the history and architecture of the building, but before long they were the ones advocating that the multisensory interactive components be incorporated into all our school visits. The result was a definite uplift in our overall educational offer—and I shall come back to that at the end, if I may.

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Bishop of Lincoln asks about rate of teaching turnover in special needs education

The Bishop of Lincoln received the following written answer on 4th December 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to address teacher burnout and turnover in special education schools due to low pay and temporary contracts.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about arts provision

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 2nd December 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of introducing an arts premium to allow for schools to pay for arts opportunities such as music lessons, as recommended in the report by the Sutton Trust, A class Act: Social mobility and the creative industries, published on 13 November.

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Bishop of Sheffield asks about educational attainment gap

The Bishop of Sheffield received the following written answer on 2nd December 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Sheffield asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report UK Poverty 2024: The essential guide to understanding poverty in the UK, published on 23 January, that of all entrants into first class undergraduate degrees in 2021–22, “just one per cent had a parent who was long-term unemployed or had never worked”; and what steps they are taking to reduce this educational attainment gap.

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Home Education Registration and Support Bill: Bishop of Hereford raises rural schooling and SEND

The Bishop of Hereford spoke in the second reading debate on the Home Education Registration and Support Bill on 15th November 2024, raising the issue of rural schooling and the need to support vulnerable children such as those with SEND:

The Lord Bishop of Hereford: My Lords, like the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, I have not done home education myself. My only experience was standing over my own sons for long hours encouraging a more focused approach to their GCSE revision. This only affirmed my admiration for those who actively choose to home educate their children.

I commend the noble Lord, Lord Storey, for placing the welfare of children at the heart of the Bill. There is some resistance to the idea of compulsory registration in the home-education community, as set out in new Section 436B. There is also disquiet about the content of the proposed register, as set out in new Sections 436C and 436D, which is seen as an example of state overreach. While I support the overall thrust of the noble Lord’s Bill, I hope that further work will be done to clarify the limits of the information recorded and the provision of safeguards to protect parental rights. The proposals for registration and support in the Bill should allow a better collaborative approach between home educators and education professionals.

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Bishop of Newcastle asks about reducing number of young people not in employment, education, or training

The Bishop of Newcastle tabled a question on government steps to educe the number of young people not in employment, education, or training on 29th October 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Newcastle: To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of young people not in employment, education, or training.

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