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Church academies 'family' launches 'new phase of development'

21 October 2009

 

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, will today address a special gathering of the leaders of the Church of England’s growing network of academies, which have already provided a fresh start to the educational chances of 30,000 young people largely from economically deprived backgrounds.

The Archbishop's address can be read in full here.

Dr Williams will speak to principals and chairs of governors from across the Church of England’s 27 academies, alongside senior representatives from each of the Church’s 43 Diocesan Boards of Education. The Archbishop will speak in support of the work of Church of England academies in socially deprived areas.

The Church is already the largest provider of academies – schools operating independently of the local authority, supported by sponsors from charitable trusts, religious groups, educational institutions or businesses – which are being opened in areas that have had poor access to quality educational opportunities.

Today’s event, hosted by the Archbishop at Lambeth Palace and organised by the Education Division of the Archbishops’ Council, is designed to create stronger connections between Church academies and facilitate them in sharing good practice, especially in developing a distinctive Christian ethos within academies and building the capacity of leaders to improve performance.

The launch of a ‘family’ of academies also marks a fresh focus by the Church nationally to identify gaps in secondary provision across the country, to enable more families to access a Church of England school within a reasonable distance from their home. While Church of England schools represent approximately a quarter of all primary places, they represent only 6 per cent of secondary places.

“The Church’s involvement in academies is the latest phase in a 200-year old commitment to offering education for the widest possible number of young people, provided with a distinctive Christian ethos. More than 30,000 young people have already benefitted from the renewed focus on standards, empowered leadership and enhanced sense of the importance of individuals bringing out the best of their talents and abilities that comes with the launch of a new Church of England academy. Today marks the beginning of the next phase of our engagement with this programme,” comments Dr Rob Gwynne, Head of School Development for the Church of England.

“Both the Labour and Conservative parties have signalled their strong support for the further expansion of the academies programme as a vehicle for creating a substantial improvement in both resources and outcomes for education locally,” he adds.

Last month, seven new church academies opened: St Alban's Academy, Highgate, Birmingham; All Saints Academy, Dunstable; Northumberland Academy; Aylesbury Vale Academy, Bucks; Charter Academy, Southsea; The University of Chester Church of England Academy; and Bolton St Catherine's Academy.

These recent openings take the total number of church academies now open to 27, with 8 more in the pipeline scheduled for 2010 opening and around a further 30 projects under discussion.