Over the next three months, members of Diocesan Synod will be both nominating and electing members to the Diocesan Board of Education for the next three years.
As you will be aware, the education landscape is changing rapidly which presents the Church with great challenges and opportunities in terms of its contribution to education and the role church schools play as part of the mission of the Church.
The Church of England provides education to one in four children (over one million). In the Diocese, over 15,000 children are educated in 69 church schools.
The Diocesan Board of Education (DBE) is the statutory body in the life of the Diocese that oversees this work. We need DBE members who are called, gifted and experienced to help shape how we meet those challenges and opportunities. You need not be education experts but do need to be committed and willing to learn about it.
The work of the DBE focuses on Christian distinctiveness, religious education, collective worship and spirituality and influencing and responding to national education policy. In response to national policy, the Diocese created an academies trust (DBAT), which currently accommodates eight schools, a number that is growing rapidly as schools convert and new church schools are opened.
While the Directors of DBAT are responsible for every aspect of education in those schools, DBE holds them to account for their work and partners with DBAT on education strategy. DBAT and DBE staff form one Education Team under shared leadership. As a team they are well regarded nationally and punch above our weight.
The DBE has 14 elected members (a mix of lay and ordained from across the Diocese) and eight co-opted members. The DBE currently meets quarterly in different locations across the Diocese, usually at 6.30pm. A DBE Standing Committee meets to deal with essential business between meetings and a Self-Evaluation Sub-group works on plans, policies and practices.
Please think and pray about who might be encouraged to stand. The deadline for returning nomination forms is 20 May. If anyone would like to discuss the role further, please contact John Swainston at john.swainston@bristoldiocese.org.