Head of Church School Effectiveness

Are you thinking about how you can make best use of your exceptional relational skills creatively?

Are you committed to placing schools at the very centre of the Church’s mission to children and young people?

Derby Diocesan Board of Education (DBE) has a very exciting senior role in our forward-looking team as we seek to support schools and the church to enable the delivery of distinctive and excellent church schools in the context of the current educational landscape and the diocesan mission to young people.  The DBE is committed to delivering excellence and we recognise that for those on the front-line in schools this can be exceptionally challenging. Indeed, for some, the pursuit of high academic standards can result in a reduced focus on what it means to be distinctively Christian. To support the new Diocesan Director of Education, Carolyn Lewis, we are looking for a ‘Head of Church School Effectiveness’. This person will work with our school leaders, governors, staff and clergy to have courage and tenacity; holding fast to the principle of Christian distinctiveness as a driver for excellence.

Since the Academies Act in 2010, national government has embarked at some pace on an academy strategy. The shifting educational landscape has meant that many schools have felt vulnerable and exposed. Small schools could worry that they lacked the resources for autonomous existence. Church schools could worry that their distinctiveness was under threat. Numbers of children and young people regularly involved in church activities have dropped considerably in recent years. However, one million children attend a Church of England school which has led to the affirmation that church schools stand at the centre of the church's mission to young people. Understanding what this means in terms of communicating the faith in the context of education and developing the Church/school partnership remains an important priority. The major reports from the Church of England’s National Education Office: ‘The Church School of the Future’, ‘A Diocesan Board of Education for the Future’, ‘Working Together’, ‘Making a Difference’ and ‘Valuing All God’s Children’ have all presented challenges to shape our vision and structures appropriately for the times. These reports have been augmented by the Church of England launching of a national vision for education: ‘Deeply Christian; Serving the Common Good.’

Derby’s DBE has responded positively to these challenges and laid foundations for the future. It recognises that there is much more to be done. The diocese has recently welcomed a new diocesan bishop, the Rt Rev’d Libby Lane. Bishop Libby has articulated a clear priority as being the church’s work with children and young people and she is particularly supportive of the Board of Education’s work. In relation to academies, it has been our goal to provide the structures and support for all our schools to remain within the family of church schools. This has included setting up our own Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) to provide the oversight and support for schools that choose or are required by the Department for Education to belong.

If in the past a DBE's focus could be mainly on the distinctiveness of church schools, now there is a need to ally that with effectiveness. We also want to go further in developing our understanding of education as mission and realising the potential of church schools in the church’s ministry to young people.

If this role sounds exciting to you and you would like an informal discussion, please email Carolyn Lewis: Carolyn.Lewis@derby.anglican.org