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Children Included

All clergy should undertake education to prepare them for working with children and everyone with a dedicated ministry among children should receive formal training.

These are two of the recommendations from a new report, Children Included, which offers 'guidelines for training for clergy, readers, and lay people in a ministry among children'.

The report, a response to 2003's Sharing the Good News with Children: the Church of England's Children's Strategy, recommends that employed children's and young families' workers attend recognized training courses and that each diocese ensures that training in children's work is accessible for all.

The problem, says Margaret Withers, Archbishop's Officer for Evangelism amongst Children, "is that, although some dioceses provide some excellent training and support, at the moment no-one is obliged to have any training in ministry among children. Such training as there is, is piecemeal and monitoring is absent."

A prior report, Children in the Midst, which offered a theological reflection on children within the Church, outlines a potential curriculum for those who might be trained, including a suggested degree.

Children in the Midst and Children Included are both available online at the Church of England's website, www.cofe.anglican.org or for sale from Church House Bookshop www.chbookshop.co.uk