Speech by Dr Alan Acheson seconding acceptance of the report to The General Synod Board of Education - 17th May, 2001

Your Grace, I rise to second the report of the General Synod’s Board of Education. In doing so I will concentrate on that part of the report on the Board of Education (Northern Ireland) on pages 228 to 242.

As you rightly in his presidential remarks, the scene in Northern Ireland is one of constant major report after major report.

In enabling the Board to respond effectively to these, it is essential that we network with an increasing number of agencies

- three government departments

- five local education authorities

- the Curriculum Examinations and Assessment Council

- the teachers unions

- the grammar Governing Bodies Association

- the Council for Integrated Education and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools

Northern Ireland is a place where our Church’s Board, must be in close contact with our partners In the educational endeavour, to work sensitively and responsibly educationally, socially and politically, We must know how they think and feel, and it is our duty in good times and bad, to sensitively let them know what we are thinking and feeling.

Foremost in this role is yourself as Chairman, our joint Honorary Secretaries and our

Secretary, Dr McKelvey. In the past year Mr David Riley and the Reverend James

Parker both decided to conclude their excellent period of service as Honorary

Secretaries. Both had been headmasters of large secondary schools and both

brought insight, dedication and commitment to our work. I feel certain that General

Synod would wish to convey its appreciation to them.

They are quite definitely a hard act to follow. However, we have every confidence in our choice of Mrs Muriel Crockett and Mr James Bunting both of whom have recently retired and bring their vast experience from the secondary and primary sectors to their new roles on our Board. I would ask Synod to note the appointment of a lady. The first to be joint Honorary Secretary and appointed on merit.

(Page 234)

Next month a new four year cycle commences of appointments to Boards of

Governors and Area Boards. We would pay tribute to those members of our church

who give of their time to serve as members of Boards of Governors and as

members of the five Education and Library Boards. Our report highlights the scale of this service by presenting to Synod the numbers of schools in Northern Ireland. We ask clerical and lay synod members from Northern Ireland please continue to present this service as an opportunity for Christian service and witness within the wider community.

We thank those members who are completing terms of service on the Education and Library Boards and in particular Canon Mervyn Dickson and Canon Kenneth Smyth who have serve three terms of four years on the South East Board. All of our representatives on these Boards have given high quality service and earned the respect of their fellow members.

Apart from the massive challenge of evaluating post-primary education which Your Grace referred to, there have been several other major issues before our Board.

There is underway a major review of the curriculum and in co-operation with our Presbyterian and Methodist colleagues we have continued to contribute to this discussion and to monitor its progress so far.

We have distinct concerns that some of the welcome developments such as provision for Citizenship Education, Personal and Social Education and skills for Employability could be permitted to erode the allocation to Religious Education on the timetable. Where Religious Education is being managed fairly and responsibly in a school, the subject area can resource aspects of these other three areas. However, clergy and members of boards of governors must be on their guard that such responsible Inter-area resourcing does not lead to the erosion of an adequate and effective provision of Religious Education as a discrete subject on the timetable.

Whilst underscoring this concern, it is also essential that I bring to Synod’s attention the welcome news that Religious Education as an examination subject is experiencing the largest growth of any subject. This is in no small part due to the introduction of GOSE short courses which permit students to obtain a qualification based on the statutory periods of RE which a school must provide We congratulate those schools, teachers and area board RE advisers who have worked hard, not only to bring this happy situation into being, but also to facilitate the new A/S level examinations which now come between GCSE and the former A levels - now referred to as A2’s. It sounds confusing Your Grace, but the schools have had a major task in adjusting to this new system. Only the consequent results will tell whether it is an advance or not.

For many years the unfair nature of aspects of the funding of schools In Northern Ireland has been of concern to us. At present we are considering a fairly large consultative document from the Department. An initial examination would seem to suggest that firstly, primary schools which currently received less finance per pupil than secondary schools will receive a more equitable amount. Secondly, there is a

welcome attempt to rationalise the sever different funding formulae which exist in Northern Ireland into a single, more cohesive system. Thirdly, New Targeting Social Need - a Keystone in the Executive’s Programme for Government - is at least being made slightly more tolerable. However, the Board would advise Boards of Governors to be cautious about this document and not simply to respond on the basis of any immediate benefit to their particular school. The overall effect on in-service support of teachers may be detrimental.

I have had to be highly selective in choosing those matters to raise before the Synod’s attention.

Before concluding, I would draw members’ attention to our work in Children’s Ministry (pp 239-241). A most successful residential conference was held last September. Your Grace (Armagh) was one of the speakers. We are trying to build on the spirit of that Conference in our witness to parents, parishes, clergy and communities. We would encourage members to uphold this ministry in their daily prayers. One of the challenging aspects of the growth in Religious Education as an examination subject to which I referred, is that too many of the students who chose to study for the subject, have indicated that they have no formal link with any church,

I can but put the question to the Synod which we have been addressing as a Board -In the light of such information that young people are interested in God and the things of God - How can we as a Church become a more child-friendly and welcoming faith-community with which children, young people and parents would wish to identify with?

This question is central to the Children’s Charter which was accepted by Synod last year as an Integral part of our board’s report. Once, again we would encourage parishes to continue to review their ministry with children in the light of the charter.

I am delighted to inform Synod that thanks to the support of the Priorities Fund this coming winter, the Board will be enabled to appoint a part time worker to assist our Secretary in providing support and training for parish leaders in children’s ministry.

This is a pilot scheme and we commend it to our dioceses and parishes. I second acceptance of this report by Synod.