AFFILIATED SCHOOLS SCHEME

Introduction

The Diocese of Chelmsford covers the county of Essex and five East London boroughs - Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest.  The Diocesan Board of Education (DBE) links with the local authorities in all these areas and also with the unitary authorities of Southend and Thurrock.  It has a special responsibility for the 139 Church of England schools within the eight authorities:  Voluntary Aided, Voluntary Controlled and Foundation Schools.  The Board supports its schools by providing advice and training for headteachers, staff and governors and encouraging partnerships between schools and their parishes. 

As is the case with all Anglican dioceses, the Chelmsford DBE seeks to collaborate in the development and improvement of standards and provision in schools generally, acting upon the recognition of each child as a child of God.  It aims to serve the local communities across Essex and East London and to strengthen the educational opportunities for children and young people in the area.  The proposal to develop an affiliated schools scheme is a fulfilment of this aim. 

What is Affiliated Status?

The main feature of affiliated status is a productive and developing relationship between a school, its neighbouring church and the Diocese of Chelmsford and its Education Department.  It is an informal, time-limited partnership for the benefit of all involved. 

It will consolidate and build upon positive links between the school and its local Anglican church and have the potential for the school to build stronger relationships with the Diocese and to receive support from the Diocesan Education Team.  It will enable the school to develop an ethos based on Gospel values for the worth of each individual while acknowledging the contribution to the life of the school of people of other faiths or none.  It will reinforce the importance of religious education and spiritual, moral, social and cultural education to students and their families.

Together, the school, parish and Diocese will seek to support each other in the spirit of Christian fellowship and service;  they will seek to find innovative ways of working together and learning from one another. 

What are the benefits of Affiliation?

Each school is unique and benefits will reflect individual circumstances.  However, some of the advantages of affiliation are likely to be:

• it is a clear statement that the school identifies with and promotes Christian standards and values;
• it recognises that the school values and seeks to develop high standards of religious education, worship, spiritual, moral, social and cultural education;
• it builds upon existing relationships between the school, local church, clergy and congregation for the benefit of students, families and the wider community;
• it emphasises the role of service to and with the community;
• it benefits the school by inclusion in the network of Diocesan church schools, with access to support services and training provided by the Diocesan Education Team;
• it opens up the possibility of developing relationships with the Diocese and wider Anglican communion;
• it widens the opportunities for progression from church or church-linked primary schools to church or church-linked secondary schools.

Affiliation does not:

• give the Diocese any power or influence in the school's executive functions;
• give the Church the right to promote Christianity within the school;
• provide access to additional funding.

What are the costs of Affiliation?

Prior to an agreement being signed, the Diocesan Director of Education will attend informal meetings with headteachers, staff and governors to discuss and advise on issues related to affiliation.  There is no cost to schools for this advice.

Once a school has become affiliated it will be entitled to access advice and support from members of the Diocesan Education Team at the cost of:

            Annual affiliation fee*                                                                                     £500

            (This would entitle the school to one half-day visit from

              a Diocesan Adviser and an annual subscription to the

            Diocesan Course Programme - current programme attached.)

        

            Additional visits from Diocesan Education Team:    

                                                                                    Half day                                   £180

                                                                                    Full day                                    £300

 

            In-school training sessions for staff and governors led by team members:

                                                                                    Half day or evening                 £200

                                                                                    Full day                                    £350

            * The cost of the Annual Fee might be shared between the school and the parish.

What to do next

The local parish, the Diocese and the school - usually the Head, Senior Management Team and the School Governing Body will have agreed work together after various discussion stages with smaller groups.  An affiliation agreement will be signed which sets out the areas of work to be covered by the Diocesan education team, the way the parish and the school will set out to work together and the generally agreed ethos and philosophy of this shared work.  The affiliation agreement will normally be signed for a three year period. Affiliation is renewable and can be reviewed by the headteacher, governing body, local incumbent or the Diocese at any time.  Such times might be a change in headship or a major change in the governing body.

What does the Affiliation Agreement look like?

This agreement is made between: 

St Agatha's College, Parish of St Hilda's, Great Bother and the Diocese of Chelmsford Board of Education.

The School will:

• build upon existing strong relationships with local churches, clergy and congregations for the benefit of its students and families;
• value and seek to develop high standards of religious education and worship;
• explore ways of developing links between the school and the Diocese.

The local church community will:

• seek to support and enrich the spiritual life and worship of the school;
• maintain and develop links with the school in appropriate ways;
• regularly pray for the school and provide other spiritual support when needed.

The Diocesan Education team will:

• treat the school as one of the family of church schools;
• offer the school advice and support from the officer team;
• ensure the Board of Education is involved in developing the links.

This agreement is made for the three school years    ............. 

The school agrees to pay the affiliation fee for these three years.

Signed:                        Headteacher                                  ..............

                                    Chair of Governors                        ..............

                                    Director of Education                     ..............

                                    Chair of Board of Education            .............. 

                                    Incumbent                                      ..............

                                    PCC Secretary                                ..............

Lesley Barlow  Peter Hartley

January 2007

---