Christian values in schools is being eroded by the Government?s ?utilitarian approach? to education, the Church of England warns today.
British Children?s moral and spiritual development is being ?pushed to the side? because of reforms that put an increasing focus on learning facts and figures, it is claimed.
In a major report, the CofE said that religious education was being marginalised in many schools but the Coalition ?seems to have no will? to address the problem.
It criticised a decision to exclude RE from the English Baccalaureate ? a new school leaving certificate that rewards pupils gaining good grades in five academic disciplines, including maths and English.
The Church also highlighted a decline in the number of new RE teachers being trained and a refusal to include the subject from a major review of the National Curriculum, which will set out the key facts pupils should learn at each age.
Dr Priscilla Chadwick, a former private school headmistress and chairman of the CofE?s education inquiry, said all schools valued the importance of assessment but insisted it should not be at the expense of ?nurturing the whole child?.
Speaking before the publication of the report, she said: ?The current curriculum reforms seem to be emphasising more the utilitarian purposes of education.
?The moral and the spiritual aspects of educating the whole person can be pushed to the back and be pushed to the side.?
The report, The Church School of the Future, which was compiled with evidence from school leaders, dioceses and politicians, warned that the teaching of RE faced ?multiple challenges... that the Government seems to have no will to address?.
It said a refusal to include the subject in the English Baccalaureate ? which recognises achievement in English, maths, science, foreign languages and history or geography ? was leading to a drop in the number of pupils studying RE at GCSE level.
Failure to consider RE in the current review of the National Curriculum was also having a ?damaging effect on the status of the subject?, it was claimed.
Posted by David Pilkington
Extract from www.telegraph.co.uk
